ATLANTA–Holiday Inn, an InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) hotel, will host a collection of new experiences crafted specifically for families during its new “Summer of Smiles” program. Beginning in June, select Holiday Inn hotels will host on-property events through the brand’s new collaboration with Scholastic to help keep kids reading all summer long. Events also include Chocolate Milk Happy Hours in partnership with “fairlife” ultra-filtered milk and Otis Spunkmeyer baked goods. The “Summer of Smiles” coincides with Holiday Inn’s Smiles Ahead campaign, a multimillion dollar television, digital, and experiential marketing campaign that launched in April.
Actor Gaten Matarazzo, best known for his role as Dustin Henderson on the Netflix show “Stranger Things,” will serve as the Holiday Inn brand’s Kid Ambassador throughout the summer–showcasing how Holiday Inn hotels are kid endorsed and parent approved. Matarazzo will host one of the brand’s in-hotel “Summer of Smiles” events, where he will mingle and interact with guests, and will help bring the program to life for fans and followers on Social Media.
Holiday Inn will also host events in partnership with Scholastic, the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books. From June through August, select Holiday Inn hotels will invite kids to breakfast with popular Scholastic book characters Clifford the Big Red Dog and Geronimo Stilton, and gift them a Scholastic book at check-in the week of the event. Kids can meet and take pictures with their favorite characters, and will also receive a take-home frame to display their character photo.
On Aug. 21, the Holiday Inn Nashville-Vanderbilt hotel and Scholastic will provide guests with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch the first total solar eclipse in America in nearly 100 years. The hotel is along the eclipse totality line, providing families with the optimal view of this rare celestial occurrence. Kids and parents alike will learn about space with the “Magic School Bus Presents: Our Solar System” book. Guests at the complimentary party will also receive a special pair of eclipse-viewing glasses and have the opportunity to meet two Scholastic characters.
From June through August, select Holiday Inn hotels will offer a Scholastic lending library where kids can borrow a book to read during their stay. Parents who are away from home on business can also borrow a book to read their kids a virtual bedtime story. Participating hotels will lend traveling parents a stand for their smartphone or tablet so they can read hands-free to their little ones at home.
In June, select hotels will host a complimentary Chocolate Milk Happy Hour featuring indulgences for both parents and kids. The happy hour will have “fairlife” ultra-filtered milk—which is lactose-free and has 50 percent more protein with half the sugar as ordinary milk—and the new Delicious Essentials cookies from Otis Spunkmeyer, which are made with 51 percent whole grain.
Eric Lent, vice president, full service hotels and food and beverage solutions, the Americas said: “Nothing puts a smile on kids’ faces like summertime, and we want all of our guests to feel that same sense of joy when they visit our hotels this summer. We’re going above and beyond to celebrate even more of those unforgettable moments that truly put the joy in travel and leave a positive lasting impact on our guests. The beloved characters and popular books from Scholastic combined with fairlife and Otis Spunkmeyer’s nutritious, yet delicious, treats have helped us create a unique and fun summer program that will create life-long memories for both kids and parents alike.”
