Hotels.com Offers Paid Retro Beach Motel Vacations to Contest Winner

  • Hotels.com is giving one person $15,000 to travel to beach motels across the country.
  • The winner will be provided with a Polaroid camera and other vintage giveaways to document their trip.
  • Hotels.com’s ranking of the top 10 retro beach motels make up the travel itinerary.

A new Hotels.com contest is offering the chance to get paid to travel to beaches across the US.

The prize package for the “Retro Beach Motelier” includes $10,000 for transportation to the “10 best retro beach motels” and $5,000 for spending during the trip, according to the contest’s website.

The winner will also receive vintage beach gear including a solar-powered AM/FM radio, striped umbrellas, and a retro Polaroid camera to document the trip “for future generations.”

To enter, hopefuls must fill out a brief questionnaire by midnight on August 5. In addition to basic information like name, email, and Instagram handle, the application also includes questions like “If you time traveled to the ’50s, who would you spend your beach vacation with?”

Applicants must be at least 21-years-old to be eligible for entry, and winners will be selected on August 12.

Exterior of the Vagabond Hotel in Miami.

Vagabond Hotel


Vagabond Hotel



Included in the 10 boutique beach motels on the itinerary are Miami’s Vagabond Hotel and San Diego’s The Pearl Hotel, as well as other venues featured on Hotels.com’s ranking of the best retro beach motels.

Hotels.com spokesperson Melissa Dohmen said in a press statement that the contest was designed to “prove that beach motels can be just as luxurious” as upscale, all-inclusive resorts.

“These timeless motels are not only budget-friendly but will transport beachgoers — literally and figuratively — back in time to truly disconnect and relax,” Dohmen said in the statement.