LHW $19.28 promo

[JonNYC]

To Celebrate Our 80th, We Are Taking You Back To $19.28

Just months after launching one of this year's most expensive holidays in honor of its 80th anniversary - an epic USD 1 million trip "Around the World" - The Leading Hotels of the World turns the tables - and back the clock - to embrace its founding year (1928). At 12 noon GMT (8 a.m. Eastern Time) on October 1, 2008, we will release a limited number of our most-coveted hotel rooms at the unprecedented rate of USD 19.28 per night. For 80 minutes only, you will be able to secure the celebratory USD 19.28 rate and experience a multitude of our iconic hotels.

Available exclusively at www.lhw.com/1928, and based upon availability, the promotion enables registered customers to reserve a maximum of two nights at USD 19.28 per night (exclusive of taxes, VAT or other supplemental charges) at a single participating hotel for travel between November 1 and December 15, 2008. Additional nights can be secured at the hotel’s standard rates. In order to have access to the special rate and expedite the reservations process, individuals are encouraged to pre-register on www.lhw.com/1928.

This offer is strictly subject to specific terms and conditions.

For more information and for a complete listing of participating hotels go to www.lhw.com/1928.

[Georgehf]

Thanks. iPhone alarm set.
Make sure that you register ahead of time.

[FlyerBeek]

15 minutes into the promo period and the entire website is completely down. They have also posted a phone number which - predictably - is busy.

-FlyerBeek

[FlyerBeek]

One hour down. Still nothing but this error message:

Sorry! Due to the overwhelming number of consumers currently trying to access this promotion, your request is being delayed momentarily. Please be patient, don’t get discouraged, and retry in a few seconds...

-FlyerBeek

[Georgehf]

I haven't been able to get through either.

[FlyerBeek]

Well, here's the final update...

I was never able to get past the initial error message.

At 9:13 EDT (7 minutes left), they posted this message:

Due to the overwhelming number of consumers participating in this promotion, we regret to inform you that due to technical difficulties beyond our control the 1928 promotion has been suspended indefinitely.

At the promotion's conclusion (9:20) they posted:

We regret to inform you that the more than 6000 room nights available at the start of this promotion have all been sold. Congratulations to the lucky participants who were able to get a reservation as part of this great offer!

I think I'm going to have to raise my BS flag on the last quote.

As best I can tell by following the 600+ post FT thread and the FatWallet thread, not a single member was able to succesfully book a room. At least some of the commentary (such as the forthcoming class-action lawsuit!) proved entertaining, so I wouldn't call it an entire waste of 80 minutes.

Were there any TB members who were successful?

-FlyerBeek

[JonNYC]

Originally Posted by FlyerBeek

As best I can tell by following the 600+ post FT thread and the FatWallet thread, not a single member was able to succesfully book a room. At least some of the commentary (such as the forthcoming class-action lawsuit!) proved entertaining, so I wouldn't call it an entire waste of 80 minutes.

Were there any TB members who were successful?

Considering those stats-- I'm sure not.

[FlyerBeek]

Latest update...

It appears that LHW will be sending out emails throughout the day with a form allowing registrants to list their desired properties and dates (along with a flexible date option). The forms will be accepted via email tomorrow starting at 12:00 GMT for 80 minutes and rooms will be assigned on a first-come-first-served basis. Folks will be notified within 7 days whether or not their reservation request could be fulfilled.

It remains to be seen whether or not their server systems will be able to handle an influx of 100,000+ emails at the same time tomorrow morning.

-FlyerBeek

[FlyerBeek]

Further Postponed...

After receiving two emails this afternoon (they forgot to add the attachment link to the first one) detailing the rescheduled promotion for tomorrow morning, the promotion has been further postponed.

Here's the latest email:

Thank you so much for your continued patience with The Leading Hotels of the World.
We are extremely sorry for the inconveniences we have caused and regret to advise
you that the USD 19.28 email promotion scheduled for tomorrow October 2nd shall be
postponed.

Although our original back-up plan provided a viable solution for the 150,000 people
who were registered, it was met with some confusion over submission procedures and
timing. In addition, we have become increasingly concerned that a large number of
non-registered respondents plan to submit forms which would inundate the system and
greatly diminish your chances of securing a USD 19.28 rate.

In view of this, please do not email your form tomorrow. You will most likely
receive an error message we have put in place as a safety mechanism.

We are sincerely committed to restoring your faith in our brand and do not want to
risk disappointing you again. We are working tirelessly to develop a solution that
will be fair for you and all registered participants. We will email you next week
with further details.

[HNL]

I got the last email, bit not the the others. I'm glad I pre-registered for this, and joined the Leaders Club. I think they are going to *try* and make this right for the pre-registered folks.