Brief Explanation

One of Wink's pet peeves is the wastage prevalent in the Singapore's hotel industry especially for freebies like shampoos and soaps taken by travellers but are almost always stored away and never used. So, rather than add to the wastage by producing a new range of amenities and passing the cost to consumers, Wink wanted give these forgotten freebies a new lease of life by turning them into an upcycling and repurposing movement that every traveller can participate.

The Brief

Wink is a smart, contemporary and no-frills boutique hostel that believes luxury and comfort shouldn't come at a high cost by offering premium features like pod-style beds, efficient smart lighting at traveller-friendly prices. They wanted to reinforce their brand philosophy with a memorable brand extension exercise for their amenities that stays true to their anti-opulence, anti-indulgence ethical approach to luxury.

How the final design was conceived

Wink Hotel's customers are a diverse, well-travelled group who transit from hotel to hotel frequently. We saw an opportunity to appeal this group of people to donate the freebies they've collected from previous hotel stays but never use, like shampoos, notepads and combs. We then applied the Wink Hostel branding on these items, and passed them on to travellers who have a use for them. The bonus -- they now have a great story to regal their friends when they get home.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

The idea of being able to pass on these hotel freebies to fellow travellers became part of a unique upcycling effort onground, which allowed us to amass a sizable amount of freebies that is self-sustaining. The story of how Wink gave forgotten freebies a new lease of life also generated positive PR, reinforcing Wink Hostel's brand experience as a traveller-friendly, socially-responsible business as a result of press coverage on many influential user travel sites like groovetravelers.com and superadieanme.com.