A Valentine's Day promotion to remember

Updated: 2015-08-22 03:52

(China Daily USA)

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Fancy promotional packages are a dime a dozen during Chinese Valentine’s Day, which falls on August 20 this year, but this particular one by The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong hotel stands out for its ability to allow couples to celebrate their love on land, in the air and on water. Moreover, it costs a whopping 1 million yuan ($156,244).

The package includes a two-night stay at the luxury hotel’s sprawling 410-square-meter presidential suite that comes with 9,999 red roses. In addition, guests will also receive a one-carat diamond ring, a pair of diamond-studded earrings and a necklace from French jeweler Chaumet.

To top it all off, couples will also get the chance to be chauffeured in a Rolls-Royce and embark on romantic trips in a private helicopter and yacht. The hotel on August 20 sold the package to a husband who wanted to surprise his wife.

According to the hotel, the actual value of the package is 1,341,372 yuan, which sounds similar to “lifelong love” in Chinese, but customers can buy the package for 1 million yuan.

“We have been constantly seeking opportunities to create life-long memories for our guests. Finances aren’t the issue here. Rather, it is about having an unforgettable experience that would make this special day more special,” said Yuan Haihua, director of sales of marketing at Ritz-Carlton Pudong.

Yuan added that many young Chinese couples these days are willing to spend big, noting that 30 percent of bookings for the hotel’s presidential suite come from such individuals. Furthermore, some of these couples don’t even belong in the ultra-rich segment but yet are willing to splurge half a year’s pay on the experience.

Chinese Valentine’s Day falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month and it was not until in recent years that this festival became widely celebrated as restaurants and hotels started to come up with marketing campaigns.

The Ritz Carlton, which is owned by US hospitality conglomerate Marriott International, is not the only one attempting to capitalize on the occasion. Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts, which was founded in Singapore in 1994, has also introduced a similar package at its Shanghai establishment this year.

Priced at 520,000 yuan, (520 sounds like “I love you” in Chinese), the package consists of a 24-hour stay at its 120,000-yuan-per-night presidential suite, two return business class tickets to any city with a Banyan Tree resort, and another two-night stay at this other location. Also included are annual spa memberships for two people and a one-day exclusive use of its rooftop bar to “pop the question”.

Banyan Tree’s management team said that all their rooms in Shanghai have already been booked on Chinese Valentine’s Day. The hotel also experienced full occupancy on the western Valentine’s Day that falls on February 14 every year.

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