NO JOKE: Free trip Around the World with Radisson Blu!

Posted By Jon Nickel-D'Andrea on Sep 6, 2016 | 3 comments

Whoa, this really caught my eye when I saw the notification come through on my app. Club Carlson brand Radisson Blu is offering a free trip around the world in partnership with SAS Scandinavian Airlines.

The rules are really simple.  There’s a game to play and all the answers are hiding in the Paper City that you see above.  Correctly identify the 5 cities and then you’re entered for a chance to win 2 round trip tickets from SAS and 30 (thirty) nights from Radisson Blu and Club Carlson!

Once you guess the five cities, you’re brought to this screen to tell them a bit more about your dream destination

The terms and conditions are pretty simple:

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open only to legal residents of Contest Eligible Countries who have reached the age of majority in their jurisdiction. Void where prohibited. Contest starts at 12:00:00 AM CT on September 1, 2016 and ends at 11:59:59 PM CT on October 12, 2016. One Grand Prize: A trip for two “around the world” including 30 total room nights at up to 5 Radisson Blu hotels and round trip airfare. ARV: US$14,050. Subject in all respects to the complete Official Rules. Sponsor: Radisson Hotels International, Inc., 701 Carlson Parkway, Minnetonka, MN 55305.

There is a catch, however.  When you click on the “Official Rules” you deep dive into the T&C and there’s this little gem.

“Describe your dream destination and why you would like to go there” (“Essay Question”) by typing an answer into the indicated text box (“Essay”). All Essays must be typed in the text box indicated on the Web Site, and be in English, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, German, French, Russian or Chinese, and be at least 250 characters and no more than 1200 characters, except if in Chinese, Essay must be at least 150 characters and no more than 500 characters”

Also…

6. CONTEST JUDGING:  Between October 13, 2016 and November 13, 2016, a panel of three (3) judges appointed by Sponsor (“Judge(s)”) will judge all eligible Entries received. The Judges’ decisions are final and binding on all matters related to the Contest.  All eligible Entries received will be judged equally based on the following criteria:

1. Creativity: How well you describe the destination you would like to visit and why:  40 points
2. Personality: Ability to create excitement through storytelling and emotional resonance: 40 points
3. Clarity of Writing: 20 points

So I just entered to win, but my essay was pretty short and really sucked, about 150 characters, so make SURE to write an actual essay.  You can enter every day throughout the promotion period (October 12th) so do it and make a damned good essay!  Sell yourself!  Oh, and you can’t have the same essay every day.  So if you’re good at writing and “creating excitement through storytelling and emotional resonance” you might stand a good chance. I think I’m screwed however.

I don’t know about you, but 30 free hotel nights to me sounds like a dream.  You could do it in up to 5 hotels.  Where would you like to go if you won?