Blogs

Marti Mayne  one-ups Katniss, Peeta and company by turning The Hunger Games  into No Hunger Games.

Their bed and breakfast packages give food to the local food pantries and other “no-hunger” causes in the towns and regions where the "No-Hunger Games" B and B’s are located.
The Capital gang and the denizens of its Districts should rejoice.

In the hugely popular movie, the characters fight for survival.
Instead of the “survival of the fittest” in Suzanne Collins’ trilogy and movie, Mayne and her clients celebrate the survival of the savory.

Mayne’s good at this. She’s been providing PR and marketing services for the Bed and Breakfast industry for years, so she knows a lot about food...and novels, and novel marketing opportunities when they come.

Distinctive Inns of New England have created culinary-stay packages to reassure anxious travelers that hunger or comfort will not be  problem at their chosen bed and breakfast.

The seven “No Hunger Games” packages each offer luxury accommodations (no sleep syrup needed), exceptional hand-crafted breakfasts and afternoon treats and libations that no guest has to fight for.

The complete list of participating inns and B and B’s and details are at Distinctive Inns of New England's No Hunger Games site, but our name was drawn, and we reported to the Rabbit Hill Inn in Lower Waterford, Vermont, to see how it all works out.

The benefits of this stay were simple, innkeepers Leslie and Brian Mulcahy explained:

*Two nights stay at this award-winning inn (“Top 100 Hotels Worldwide”: Travel and Leisure Magazine, etc.).
• A full gourmet breakfast, by candlelight
• A complete dinner for two, one night
• Chilled bottle of Champagne
• A picnic for two for the ride home
• Nightly candlelight turn down service and all gratuities and service fees included

What especially got our attention was the inclusion of Ziplining at Alpine Adventures  across the line in New Hampshire. We zip lined in Jamaica and Nicaragua, but doing the “white knuckle,” 80-foot drop at Alpine at 50 mph earned us the accolade of the brave and victorious “Tribute Couple.”

Leslie says that what really hooked the innkeepers on the package was the contribution to need-based organization, in her inn’s case, the  Vermont Food Bank. “We never stress this to our guests, but really, the basic motivation for the package is the giving to worthy organizations who work so hard to combat hunger.”

How successful is the “No-Hunger Games package? Brian and Leslie both agree that as a marketing  strategy it’s very successful in promoting the brand and generating buzz and press. But, they say, games or no games, nothing takes the place of attentive, caring service to guests.

Let the games go on.