How do you launch a relatively unremarkable new product feature, in an exciting new way? This was the challenge we were presented with, in order to drive consideration of Hotels.com.

Hotels.com had recently repositioned itself as a ‘hotel matchmaker’, matching travelers with the property that was perfect for them, and the property comparison tool was the first substantiation of the being a matchmaker and a way to differentiate ourselves.

The experience of finding a place to stay until then was hardly matchmaking. Travelers were chasing properties all over the internet, spending on average 6 hours across 7 different websites (often giving up altogether). Using the real world insight of dating: everyone wants to be courted rather than desperately chasing.

So we flipped it: the new product feature wasn’t a functional way to compare hotels side-by-side, it was way to feel like you were being wooed by your potential hotel matches.

The film opens on a woman seated at home using the Hotels.com app. She identifies two properties she likes and presses the “compare” button. The film immediately dives into a split screen shot featuring the exterior of each hotel. The music kicks up, “Don’t you want me” by The Human League. Inside each property, the impeccably choreographed staff tend to their hotel duties all to the beat of the music. Each scene escalates as the hotels vie for the viewers attention. The music reaches a crescendo, quickening the pacing. In a grand finale, we see each hotel filled with staff singing the song with each maitre d holding their respective hotel’s key while serenading the camera in a final attempt to woo the viewer. The Hotels.com app appears once more showing that each property is ready to be booked.