Hotels are offering free upgrades, extra nights and food vouchers to encourage guests to stay
HOTELS are offering guests amazing deals and freebies to encourage them to stay, as coronavirus causes bookings to plummet.
Food vouchers, free upgrades and extra nights are just some of the ways travellers are being enticed to stay.
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Millions of hotels have been forced to shut their doors to guests with travel bans preventing holidaymakers from staying.
Even worse, many are seeking refunds, resulting in huge losses for chains and resorts.
However, this now means hotels are trying to encourage guests to return, according to .
For example, Playa Hotels & Resorts, with hotels in Mexico and Montego Bay, are offering automatic room upgrades, as well as £20 resort credit per room on bookings until April 2021.
Curaçao Marriott Beach guests will be given £80 of free food and drink credit, while Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve are giving you an extra night for free when staying for two.
Beer-themed Painted Lady Bed & Brew hotel in the US is selling a $75 (£60) gift token which is worth $150 (£121) - enough for a suite - as well as a free happy hour.
If you're worried about the trip not going ahead, many chains are also allowing free rescheduling or cancellations up to 24 hours before staying.
Or instead, hotels across the US are allowing for future stays, while adding an extra 25 per cent on top - making your money go further.
Website is selling $300 (£243) gift cards for hotel stays across the US and Mexico for just $200 (£162), meaning your future holiday will cost you less.
Caitlin Zaino von During, who created the website explained it was created as an "incentive to travellers" who are looking to their future holidays.
Of course, the UK is currently advising against all essential travel indefinitely, and bans are likely to be extended so caution is advised if booking a hotel in the next few months.
Jonathan Treiber, the chief executive of RevTrax, a promotional offer management platform, told that travellers may still be wary of deals: "Consumers may not want to risk money they can barely afford with the risk of losing it where they have no idea of refund policies if the hotel never reopens."
You can book it through your credit card, which offers additional protection if your stay doesn't go ahead, as well as only choose hotels you know you are likely to stay at.
If you have the finances, it is a great way to support the industry as well as have something to look forward to as well
Jan Freitag, SVP of Lodging Insights, added that gift cards are good ideas as long as customers are "comfortable and confident enough in their own employment situation".
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Airlines are also getting in on the deals to try and get passengers to book a holiday.
EasyJet are offering 99p checked baggage while Jet2 has launched their 2021 flight schedule.
Hotels are opening to NHS staff in the UK to let them stay for free while working on the frontline.