Nontraditional businesses get in on Black Friday deals
A cross Colorado, countless businesses deals and special will be promotions offering starting this Friday as part of the Black Friday-Cyber Monday weekend that serves as the unofficial kickoff of the holiday shopping season. Not all of them hail from the traditional corners of the retail sector. Hotels, spas, even recreational pot shops, are getting in on the act this year. The deals range from half-off rooms to discounted festival tickets to champagne and caviar. The fledgling Origin Red Rocks in Golden is among the hotels that have announced special offers available for purchase this weekend. In a promotion starting Friday and ending Monday, people who book a two-night stay at the Origin through March 31 will get a $40 voucher for the hotel’s restaurant and bar, Nomad Taqueria + Beer Garden. Book online at originhotel.com/ redrocks/packages. The 124-room hotel opened in August. It’s the official hotel partner of Red Rocks Amphitheater. But concert season is over and management is looking for ways to showcase what Origin has to offer beyond proximity to an iconic music venue. “It’s really just about getting out there and getting local people to come out and try us out,” Agnes Kwietniewski, the Origin’s director of sales, said. Here are a few other hotels offering discounts of their own: • The Garden of the Gods Resort and Club is offering a $200 resort credit with any three-night stay booked between midnight Wednesday and 11:59 p.m. Monday.
Offer good on stays through May 15. For booking visits: gardenofthegodsclub.com/cyberweekend-sale.
• Boulder’s St. Julien Hotel and Spa is offering a 50 percent off the second night of two-night stays booked though March. Offer opens Friday and closes Monday. It is subject to availability. To book, call 720-406-9696.
• The 10-room Dove Inn in Golden is offering 30 percent off stays between December and April, so long as they are booked on Friday or Saturday. Book online at thedoveinn.com using the promo code Buysmall.
Debbie Billings is staying at the Origin Red Rocks this week as part of a trip to visit a friend in Fort Collins for Thanksgiving. The Cincinnati resident didn’t book her room as part of a Black Friday promotion, but she thinks the hotel is on to something.
“I think it’s absolutely fantastic,” she said. “I think more hotels should do it. Why wouldn’t you? Especially in the slower time of the year when you’re trying to fill it up.”
The Renaissance Denver Downtown City Center Hotel is taking a different approach to holiday promotions. It is offering a “Cyber Holiday Shopping” package. Starting at $289 per night for a two-person room, guests who stay between Sunday and Jan. 1 (pending availability) can get free valet parking, complimentary in-room breakfast and Bloody Mary or mimosa bar and a $100 Amazon gift card. Bookings have to be made a week in advance. Call 303867-8100.
Kelly Wilson, the hotel’s director of sales and marketing, said a similar promotion last year netted about 25 bookings, but it didn’t include free valet parking or other valueadding features.
“With this one we’re trying to create little bit of a buzz,” she said. “Come do your holiday shopping under our 28-foot tree.”
The All Things Vain Medi Spa in Lone Tree will be offering “Holiday Mixer” packages through Sunday, packages that include half-off spa treatments along with other items. One package, the “Champagne and Caviar Luxe,” entitles the recipient to a half-off facial and caviar treatment with a real caviar mask. It’s going for $650.
Even Colorado’s latest boom industry is getting in on the act. The Green Solution, a chain of 16 recreational marijuana dispensaries, is offering a variety of in-person and online specials this weekend. On Black Friday, all shoppers who buy something at Green Solution locations can purchase a key lime truffle (made with hash oil) for a penny. All Green Solution locations will be open limited hours on Thanksgiving.
“We’ve always been mavericks in our industry, and this is really a great way to say thanks for the communities that support us,” Jordan Bryant, the company’s creative director, said in an email. “Thanksgiving and Black Friday is a fun cultural event that we love to participate in. This feeds into one of our core principles to have fun and celebrate our products.”