Ideas that work May 2009

Homewood Suites by Hilton has an innovative way to promote Canadian travel to children—they recently produced the second in their Lewis the Duck series of children’s books, available at the brand’s Suite Shop convenience stores.

Lewis the Duck Goes to Canada was written by Homewood Suites’ global head of brand management, Bill Duncan and illustrated by Greg Cravens.  In the book, Lewis, daughter Lisa and son Lance accompany his wife Lois on a business trip to Canada.  Lewis and his family make the most of the business trip by seeing many of the sights that Canada has to offer, including a “duck’s eye view” of the Toronto skyline from the CN Tower, Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Niagara Falls and the Laurentian Mountains. The family takes in a hockey game and learns some French at a fancy restaurant in Montreal. And of course, they stay at Homewood Suites hotels.

This book, and its predecessor, Lewis the Duck and his Long Trip, stress the value of “workations”. “This book introduces the idea of bringing family along during business travel and highlights Canada as an important emerging market for our brand,” says book author Duncan, adding that approximately 40 per cent of Homewood Suites travellers have children at home. Homewood guests can also purchase a four-pack of rubber ducks featuring Lewis and his family at the hotel Suite Shops.