The heartwarming story that made love-struck travelers swoon over the Westgate New York Grand Central

Winning the hearts and minds of travelers is the ultimate goal for properties of all types, and takes a thoughtful strategy on the part of the marketer.

Transactional approaches, like discounts, can impact conversion in the short term—but are nothing more than a ‘fling’ in the mind’s eye of the traveler. Instead, emotional connections are what leave a long-lasting impact on prospects.

Together with Flip.to Customer Success Team Lead, Michael Mathews Westgate New York Grand Central tapped into inspiration and authentic experiences to do just that—winning over tens of thousands of future travelers along the way.

How it started

Maurice and Sally Goller caught the attention of Westgate’s marketing team. The lovebirds spent their honeymoon at the property—then the historic Hotel Tudor—some 76 years before.

Old 1940s black and white photograph of Sally and Maurice Goller

The story Best-selling novelist, Agatha Christie, said of love, “It’s a curious thought, but it is only when you see people looking ridiculous that you realize just how much you love them.”

And that’s exactly when love struck for Maurice Goller. In the school cafeteria, to be precise. Right after his future wife, Sally, was banished to his table for the crime of being too loud.

Immediately drawn to her boisterous personality, that ridiculous encounter turned into a Coney Island date, and eventually a marriage sealed in a Brooklyn ceremony on October 20, 1945.

For the next three nights Maurice and Sally celebrated in luxury at the historic Hotel Tudor, now the Westgate New York City Grand Central—at a rate of $6.25 per night.

Like a good Hallmark movie, the team found the Gollers’ backstory tugged at their heart strings, and knew others would find it endearing, too. Telling their story would inspire more travelers looking for a romantic escape.

Love turned travel inspiration

Westgate invited storytellers to congratulate the anniversary couple by submitting their own romantic vacation stories from past travels.

That welled up beautiful memories, and made a meaningful introduction to Westgate.

Word spread at the speed of Cupid’s arrow, 💘 drawing hundreds of storytellers who sent heartfelt memories of their own, and reached over thirty thousand friends and family with their stories. That attracted a little romantic spark from hundreds of leads for the Westgate New York Grand Central.

2 photos sitting side by side. Photo submission from Dotty F. of a young couple with the female draping her arms around her husband's neck. Photo submission from Mary C. showing a young couple on a mountain hike holding hands.2 photos sitting side by side. Photo submission from Cedric B. of a young couple standing close together in front of a forested area. Photo submission from Mark T. showing a young couple on a motorbike in a small alleyway.

A genuine love story featuring a cute couple inspired an audience of hopeless romantics, and sent them right into the arms of the Westgate New York Grand Central. Which proves there is such a thing as love at first sight.

Visit NC launches first-of-its-kind collaborative, joining regional destinations to drive measurable, real-time impact to lodging partners

Destinations, lodging properties and travelers converge with Visit North Carolina’s launch of NorthCarolinaBound, a collaboration on the destination marketing platform Flip.to. For the first time, destination marketers and the lodging industry are joining together to market and win over travelers on a single platform—growing audiences and directly driving revenue for the travel industry.

The goal is to help state tourism accelerate quickly, profitably and sustainably. “It’s our mission to drive meaningful growth to the tourism industry with innovation that provides measurable impact,” said Wit Tuttell, director of Visit NC, a unit of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina.

“NorthCarolinaBound delivers directly to our destination and lodging partners in all 100 counties while engaging with travelers in positive ways. Our regions and lodging industry will be pleased, as we are, that there’s no cost for them to participate.”

Screencapture of Flip.to for North Carolina Bound webpage https://join.flip.to/ncbound

By joining, industry partners get access to the Flip.to marketing platform. Travel brands start by winning over travelers in the dreaming phase, reaching and inspiring a right-fit audience with the help of past guests and locals. In the planning phase, brands spark conversations with travelers deciding where to go next, and increase conversion with the revenue impact tracked in real-time.

Richard Geiger, president of Visit Winston-Salem in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, emphasized the immediate value of taking part:

“We’re bringing measurable support to our lodging partners. This strategically and effectively connects our destination and partners with travelers. We are confident Flip.to will fortify and complement our efforts to grow leisure travel to Winston-Salem.”

Beyond its power to reach and win over new visitors to the state, the platform provides first-of-its-kind insights to every member that joins, Tuttell said. Regional and statewide demographic data, along with behavioral insights, will inform decisions about the best investments of marketing dollars.

By working together on a single platform, destinations and lodging properties will earn the most profitable business by using these insights to improve their marketing funnel and bottom-line growth, staying the course of dynamic progress for North Carolina.

“Our collaboration with Flip.to is a watershed moment for the state,” added Allison Schult, Visit NC’s Strategic Marketing Consultant.

“NorthCarolinaBound not only brings incredible innovation; the platform brings the state closer to all of our regional destinations, it creates powerful interactions and connections between industry partners and their lodging communities, and tracks measurable impact in real time to revenue—it’s a competitive edge.”


To learn more and engage, destination marketing organizations can connect at join.flip.to/northcarolinabound/destinations. Accommodation providers can get started at join.flip.to/ncbound.