PHOENIX, Ariz., May 21, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via PRWEB - Best Western International , THE WORLD'S BIGGEST HOTEL FAMILY®, is once again teaming up with Disney Channel to bring a virtual version of a popular young TV star into the lobbies of more than 2,220 hotels this summer via an augmented reality experience.
Beginning today, travelers entering any Best Western hotel in North America will be greeted by a life size display of Zendaya, the star of the upcoming Disney Channel Original Movie "Zapped." Guests can download the free Best Western ALIVE! app, available through the iTunes App Store or Google Play , to bring the display to life and snap a photo "with" Zendaya that can be shared with friends and family on social media.
Along with giving every guest the chance to take a picture with a digital Zendaya, one lucky fan will get the chance to meet the star in-person through the Best Western and Disney Channel 'Get Zapped with Zendaya Zweepstakes.' The sweepstakes grand prize winner and three guests will attend an exclusive Disney experience in Los Angeles, to meet Zendaya, learn her favorite dance scene and show off their new moves in a dance video that will air on Disney Channel. Details for the sweepstakes can be found at disneychannel.com/getzappedsweepstakes for U.S. residents and family.ca/getzapped for Canadian residents.
"There's a natural connection between a movie like Zapped that families watch together and summer vacation, which is the time when families come together to hit the road. We're excited to once again be partnering with Disney Channel to bring Zapped to life for our guests through a unique augmented reality experience and sweepstakes," said Dorothy Dowling, senior vice president of marketing and sales for Best Western International.
About the Best Western Alive! Experience
The Zapped augmented reality experience builds on the success of Best Western's first foray into augmented reality last summer, themed around Disney's hit "Teen Beach Movie." Teen Beach fans downloaded the Best Western ALIVE! app more than 48,000 times last summer and helped travelers create social experiences that reached more than 1.9 million Facebook users.
The Best Western ALIVE! app was created through a partnership with Aurasma, the world's leading augmented reality platform, and represents one of the hottest innovations in consumer electronics. By digitally superimposing graphics, audio and other enhancements from computer screens onto real-time environments, the Best Western ALIVE! app allows users to see graphics for every perspective and adjust to user's movements.
ABOUT BEST WESTERN INTERNATIONAL, INC.
Best Western International, Inc., headquartered in Phoenix, Ariz., is a privately held hotel brand made up of more than 4,000* BEST WESTERN®, BEST WESTERN PLUS® and BEST WESTERN PREMIER® hotels in more than 100* countries and territories worldwide. Now celebrating 68 years of hospitality, Best Western welcomes hundreds of thousands of guests nightly. Best Western provides its hoteliers with global operational, sales, marketing and promotional support, and online and mobile booking capabilities. More than 20 million travelers are members of the brand's award-winning loyalty program Best Western Rewards ®, one of the few programs in which members earn points that never expire and can be redeemed at any Best Western hotel worldwide. The brand's partnerships with AAA/CAA and Harley-Davidson® provide travelers with exciting ways to interact with the brand. In 2013, Best Western earned our highest level of brand recognition, including our fifth AAA/CAA Hotel Partner of the Year award, second Compuware Best of the Web Gold award, fourth No. 1 ranking in Brand Keys Consumer Loyalty Engagement Index for midscale hotels and seventh TTG Asia Best Mid-range Hotel Brand. Forty-one percent of Best Western hotels worldwide won TripAdvisor Certificates of Excellence for customer satisfaction.
For more information or to make a reservation, please visit bestwestern.com.
*Numbers are approximate and may fluctuate.
###
This article was originally distributed on PRWeb. For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/05/prweb11862651.htm
Best Western International, Inc. Todd Sommers +1 (602) 957-5750
