Next generation in vacation savings: the “anti-coupon”

Nov. 24, 2010 - PRLog -- Ottawa, ON “Coupons simply don’t work like they used to”, says Larry Raubach, Co-founder and Director of Marketing for Eat and Play Card.  Despite coupons being free and often widely available, “businesses kept telling us they’re disappointed with their coupon redemptions and didn’t understand why. We found the answers while interviewing tourists on the streets,” Raubach says.  Irrelevant offers, annoying restrictions, easy to forget, a hassle to manage and embarrassing to use, were some of the reasons. And so the “anti-coupon” was born.

What’s surprising is that coupon use by leisure travelers appears to be dwindling at a time when you would expect the opposite.  “Despite wanting the savings, people are realizing that they’re on vacation and the process of finding and managing coupons is simply not fun,” says Chris Ritchie, Co-founder and Director of Operations. But more importantly, “people want to manage their own expectations and like to plan around savings,” says Ritchie, “but coupons are like a box of chocolates – you never know what you’re going to get.”

Eat and Play Card’s unique design and simplicity offers unlimited savings potential and the ability for card-holders to maximize their savings in advance.   And it has attracted some of the world’s most popular brands as partners. In its second year, it has over 140 participating locations, including: Tony Roma’s, TGI Friday’s, Denny’s, Friendly’s, Pizza Hut, Ponderosa, McDonald’s, McCormick & Schmick’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Macy’s, Neiman Marcus Last Call, Reebok Outlet Stores, Gray Line and AVIS, just to name a few.

Coupons don’t provide any direct value to tour operators or travel agents. Eat and Play Card, however, is positioned as a value-add for travel providers, helping them not only save their customers a small fortune, but also acting as an incremental revenue driver.  Leisure travelers are hungry for savings. “To many, these savings can make or break a holiday, while they can entice others to upgrade their package,” Raubach says. “Travelers are tired of being gouged with all the surcharges and taxes. Travel providers need to find a way to add value again.”

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About Eat and Play Card

Eat and Play Card provides leisure travelers with access to exclusive % discounts and unlimited savings potential on dining, attractions, shopping, car rentals, golf and more. In less than two years, Eat and Play Card has attracted some of the world's biggest brands as partners and is available through some of the world's largest travel companies. Designed to avoid the 10 things people dislike about coupons and discount programs in general, Eat and Play Card provides the travel trade a unique, affordable and effective means to add value and drive incremental ancillary revenue.

Currently available for Orlando, Eat and Play Card is coming soon to Las Vegas, New York, Los Angeles, Hawaii and other popular destinations.

Visit http://www.eatandplaycard.com to learn more.