Rewards Advent Calendar
- Brand
- Best Western
- Objective
- Loyalty
- Industry
- Travel & Hospitality
- Mechanic
- Quiz & Trivia
- Platform
- Web
- Agency
- Drimify
Objective
Best Western wanted to add an entertainment layer to its French loyalty program, Best Western Rewards, to stand out in a crowded hotel market and keep members engaged year-round rather than around a single one-off promotion. The games doubled as a growth lever for the program itself, drawing in new sign-ups and app downloads, at a time when French Rewards members already generated a large and fast-growing share of the brand's revenue.
Solution
Rather than one flagship game, Best Western ran a rotating slate of short browser activations woven into the booking journey. A quiz walks the player through a few questions about their travel preferences and hands back a personalized recommendation for where to go and which hotel to book. Complete a reservation on the site, and a digital scratch card appears right on the confirmation page: the player scratches it to instantly reveal a prize, anywhere from a €50 discount on the current stay to a full refund of the booking, paid out to one winner a day. In December, the format shifts to an advent calendar, unlocking a new branded mini-activity each day of the month — the same mechanic Best Western used in September 2018 for Rewards' 30th anniversary, opening a new question about the brand's travels, history, and offers every day, with city breaks, gift cards, and bonus points as prizes.
Results
Across a year, the campaigns drew more than 155,000 plays with a 90% completion rate and an 80% overall engagement rate; the December advent calendar alone logged 122,201 views, 105,796 plays, and 87% engagement.
- 1
The entry point is a real hotel booking: the player completes a standard reservation flow on bestwestern.fr, choosing a French property and at least one night, and confirming the stay. Participation is limited to adults with a confirmed, non-cancelled booking who are members of the Best Western Rewards loyalty club, or who join for free at that point in the flow.
- 2
The core mechanic is a digital scratch card that appears on the booking confirmation page: the player wipes away a covered panel with a finger or cursor to reveal an instant win-or-lose result, with outcomes pre-assigned to specific moments in time rather than randomized on the spot.
- 3
What the player can win changes from campaign to campaign: one wave awards a fixed discount applied directly to the current stay, another awards a cash refund on the booking paid out after the stay completes, capped at one winner per day and one prize per participant.
- 4
A separate mechanic offered under the same program is a quiz: the player answers questions about travel preferences and receives a personalized recommendation for a trip and hotel within the chain.
- 5
At year's end the brand runs an advent-style calendar: the player opens one new mini-activity or game per day, and must return daily to access every chance to win.
- 6
The same daily-calendar format was used earlier for a 30th-anniversary edition running the whole month of September 2018, where the player unlocked one day at a time and answered a question about the brand's travel offers and history.
- 7
That 2018 edition was also open to non-members, who could register on the spot to unlock the daily play; prizes included European city breaks, gift cards, and bonus loyalty points.
