Romantic Rendezvous and A Giveaway

Heart-shaped jacuzzi tubs have a habit of following me around. Or maybe it's just romantic travel in general. It's rare that I stay in accommodations that don't have either aromatic soap, massage oils, or heart-shaped tubs. There's a certain draw to these things that has them finding their way into guest rooms around the world. This would certainly be to my advantage if I had a lovely belle I frequently traveled around with, but that hasn't happened in quite some time.

Nonetheless, that hasn't stopped me from running a bubble bath, sipping on a glass of champagne, indulging in chocolates, and pouring aromatic soaps like "romance" and "passion" into heart-shaped tubs. But evidently aromatic soap, chocolates, champagne, and bubble baths are more effective when there is someone else there to enjoy them with. Romance and travel both have a certain alluring quality to them. Put these things together and that allure is even stronger.

While I may not be the most suave romantic traveler, that doesn't mean I don't like talking about it, because whenever there's the topic of romantic travel, you can rest assured there's a story - often awkward for the story teller, yet hilarious for the listener. Take the topic of romantic travel to social media and the stories are even better. That's why I was stoked to be moderating this week's #Expchat on romance and travel.

I'm not so sure what the thousands of tweets during this week's romance and travel #Expchat revealed. I can confidently say that it revealed that travelers can be extremely creative, since I now have over 100 date ideas that beat the heck out of anything I've done in the past. The chat could possibly have also revealed that travelers are practicing safe sex, since many people responded with "condoms" to the question about what one item should be packed on a romantic getaway. However, that answer was trumped by massage oil. When I asked what one celebrity people would want to travel with on a romantic getaway, one person simply responded with "George". When I asked if they meant George Michaels, I was quickly corrected that "George" meant Clooney, and not Michaels, Costanza, or Lopez.

But how do people generally feel about travel and romance? A recent Expedia study revealed that nine out of ten adults love a romantic Valentine's Day getaway. For as much ranting as there is about Valentine's Day, that's a lot of people that would love a getaway for Valentine's Day. But really, who wouldn't? The study also revealed that over 75% of those who have single friends are up for a non-Valentine's Day trip. It seems like an easy choice for me. No matter how you feel about Valentine's Day, you can't deny the allure of a getaway for it.

If you're like most people, you're probably racking your brain for what to do this year for Valentine's Day to avoid having to just pick up a box of chocolates and roses. I mean come on, you can do better than that. Well I'm here to help. I'm giving away not one, but TWO $100 coupons to use on Expedia.com. Think of it as me empowering you to have a romantic rendezvous.

Giveaway Details

Two people will randomly be chosen to receive a $100 coupon to use on Expedia.com.
First way to enter: Leave a comment below, answering the following question: If you could travel with any person in the world, who would it be with and where would you go?
Second way to enter: Tweet about the giveaway with the following link http://bit.ly/xlfSfp, using the hashtag #whathappensonvday. Here are some example tweets to get you started:

I hope George Clooney is free Tuesday, because we're going on a romantic rendezvous if I win this http://bit.ly/xlfSfp #whathappensonvday
Why want a rock for Valentine's Day when I can take a romantic getaway http://bit.ly/xlfSfp #whathappensonvday

Tweeting/commenting more than once doesn't give you more chances to win. If you tweet once, you get one entry. If you tweet 100 times, you get one entry. So this means you can get up to two entries: One for commenting and one for tweeting.
The giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. PST on Monday, February 13, 2012.
Two winners will randomly be chosen and notified by email. They will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen.
An announcement will be made on this blog post and on Twitter once the winners have been confirmed.
Coupon can be used for a hotel or package. Full terms and conditions can be viewed here.

Congratulations to Matt Jones and Jason Castellani for winning. Go crazy!

Hopeless romantic or not, this post came under the influence of Noah & The Whale's Give a Little Love from their Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down album. A glass of Flor de Cana was also present, which probably doesn't have the same romantic appeal as a glass of wine. More importantly, Expedia didn't pay me to write this and it's not a part of my job description in the partnership I have with them. I'm not even receiving one of these $100 coupons. I'm giving them both away.