Sweepstakes and Contests, You Have to Enter to Win!

I have to admit, I am very lucky! I am a full time Travel Agent, and often at our trade shows there will be a door prize or two at the end of an event. I usually attend as many of these events as possible that will benefit my clients, or myself as this is where we get the most up to date information on the travel products and destinations that we sell. Some Travel Agents only attend a few of these events each year due to other obligations, or for the fact that they are often in the evening and on their own time. Lets face it you have more shots at winning if you enter more often. Other Travel Agents say to me all of them time "You always win"! The truth is I win once or twice in one year and then not win anything at all for the next three years. Nobody remembers the twenty times your name wasn't pulled only the three times that it was.

Early in my career I would enter all kinds of industry sweepstakes every week. It was usually just a matter of sending a copy of reservations that you have made anyway to a certain address (this was before email or the Internet). The process was easy, and my effort occasionally paid off.

I have a Travel Agent friend Paul who is the new Lucky One! He has won two or three GREAT trips a year for the last few years from a travel industry-marketing firm. Most recently he won two roundtrip air tickets to Europe, an Escorted trip for two to Colonial Mexico and a trip to Australia. These sweepstakes are widely published in our industry to bring attention to travel products or destinations. Face it, some contests or sweepstakes are worth your time and others are just tactics to capture your contact information. I don't even mind that if it is industry-related, after twenty years working in the travel industry most of the companies already have my information anyway. I did however stop entering at fairs or festivals; I was getting just too much junk mail and phone solicitations

Paul's good fortune had me reminiscing about the largest prize that I ever won. I was the June 1994 Las Vegas Convention and Visitor's Travel Agent Giveaway Winner! This was a contest for Travel Agents they sponsored twice a year. I received a phone call on August 9^th from the V.P. of LVCVA asking me if I remembered entering a contest a few weeks ago? I screamed so loud, the man now wears a rearing aid! I told him that I remembered it was a cash prize, but couldn't remember the amount. He replied, $11,777.00!

And that's not all! They flew me out to Las Vegas on a Northwest Airlines non-stop flight where I was greeted by limousine driver wearing a tux and holding an 18x22 matted sign that read "Welcome to Las Vegas, Penny Kane". He then greeted me with chilled champagne and a rose to take up to my 750 square feet Jacuzzi suite at the Luxor. At that time the Luxor was the newest hotel on the Las Vegas strip!

Later that same afternoon Monica Guinn and Curt Davis from the LVCVA picked me up at the Luxor and escorted me to pick up my rental car. Those same two representatives also escorted me to the famous Las Vegas sign where there was a press photographer. This photo was used in press releases in trade publications.

We then left for dinner at Spagos at Caesar's Palace where the three of us were joined by Jesse James, also from the LVCVA, and Jim Gentleman from R & R Advertising, the firm that handled the campaign.

The next morning was mine to be pampered in luxury at the then Spa in the Desert Inn. At that time it was the finest spa on the Las Vegas Strip, however this resort no longer exist. There I was treated to a salt glow scrub, herbal body wrap (my favorite!), full body massage and a facial. By this time I wasn't even familiar with the travel industry terms fare war or ticket exchange.... I was completely relaxed and felt like a queen!

I had one treat left: I was asked to pick the show of my choice (which was Starlight Express), was given excellent box seats (I'm pretty sure that I was sitting next to Michael Fishman of Rosanne Fame), and truly enjoyed this great production! My last two days in Las Vegas were spent on my own - one day was spent trying to see all of the new hotels and points of interest in Las Vegas - the last day I drove to Laughlin, Nevada, which I thought was very nice. (Laughlin is the Las Vegas for the geriatric crowd).

If you're wondering, I used the money that I won for a down payment on my first home. It was a small house on the canal to Williams Lake in Waterford, Michigan.

Everything in life is cyclic, and my luck the last few years has not been extraordinary. I have been lazy about entering lately, but after Paul's recent luck I think I will start paying more attention to the contests available! Pay attention to new contests, sweepstakes and promotions, and Don't Forget To Enter!