Image: Hotel Indigo Edinburgh Princes Street
Leading hotel group, IHG Hotels & Resorts has launched a thoughtful new Grandparents Stay for Free limited offer, triggered by two years of lost family moments symptomatic of the pandemic.
Research conducted by the group revealed that over half (53%) of grandparents agreed that creating new memories with the extended family is a key priority for 2022. When asked what they missed most about not being able to spend time together as an extended family, almost a third of grandparents (32%) felt the loss of not receiving hugs, whilst nearly a fifth of all those surveyed (17%) missed making each other laugh.
2022 has been slated as the year of reconnection where many will be looking at booking their next trip, long or short, to spend some quality time together. Having missed out on milestone moments, multi-generational travel (3G travel), consisting of grandchildren, parents, and grandparents travelling together, is on the rise. Almost a third (28%) of those surveyed said that spending quality time together and making long lasting memories (21%) are the driving force behind booking their next 3G break.
Psychologist, Dr Audrey Tang, said: “Over the last two years, we have been deprived of the wonderful element of connecting with one another. Grandchildren have been born, children are growing up, parents and grandparents were restricted to waving across online platforms. It was something, but it’s not the same as true, personal, in life connection. Lack of human physical contact can result in lower levels of happiness, higher reports of depression and stress, but as restrictions have lifted, people can once again come together to embrace life and each other, change their environments and create new memories and experiences as a family.”
Introducing, Grandparents Stay for Free - a limited time offer running for just three weeks encouraging multi-generational travel and helping families to have time to reconnect and spend quality time together. Available at select hotels across Europe, the offer enables families to book two rooms for two nights at participating IHG hotels and receive the cheapest room for free.
Karin Sheppard, Managing Director at IHG Hotels & Resorts in Europe, added: “We know that families have truly felt the impact of not being able to spend time together and none more so than Grandparents who have missed out on milestone family moments. Creating special moments for everyone to come together is at the heart of the IHG Hotels & Resorts guest experience and we are here to help ensure that they have the best experience with us and be the gateway to new memories – whatever the reason for their stay. We value the importance of family time and helping our guests to reconnect - that is why we created our Grandparents Stay for Free offer, hopefully making coming together hassle free and enabling these families to focus on spending quality time together again.”
How it works:
Bookings must be made through this direct microsite only : ihg.com/grandparents, guests will be able to book a stay for two rooms, for two nights (only) at any participating IHG hotel and will get the cheapest room for free
Bookings need to be made at least seven (7) days prior to the check-in date
The offer allows grandparents or other family members to stay free in a second room when making a booking under the same name, for two rooms, in the same hotel, on the same dates
When booking the offer guests will see a charge against the second room, however the hotel will reduce the cheapest room charge to zero on check-in at the hotel
The offer will be available to book from the 30th of March until 20th April, for stays from 6th April – 15th July, when booking through ihg.com/grandparents
This offer only allows for room only bookings with a maximum of two rooms per booking (with one such room being the free room)
Should the booking be cancelled, a charge for one room for the entire stay would apply
The offer is available at select IHG hotels across the UK, Ireland, France, and Germany
Please visit the ihg.com/grandparents website for full terms and conditions.