Hooters Jumps on Paid Parking News With Jab at Megaresorts and Free Beer

Hooters Casino knows a good PR opportunity when it sees one, and the off-Strip casino is taking full advantage of recent news Caesars Entertainment and Wynn Las Vegas will soon charge for parking.

The folks at Hooters claim their valet and self-parking will not only remain free, but guests who take advantage of the casino’s free parking will also get a free beer.

To qualify for the free beer, guests are asked to either present a receipt from another Strip parking garage or post a photo of their car in the Hooters lot on Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #IParkedForFree.

Guests can make their way to the Hooters lobby bar to redeem the free beer offer.

Hooters Las Vegas
We are not a beer person, but this almost makes us want to visit Hooters. Bonus: Hooters.

Kudos to Hooters for acting quickly to ride the wave of publicity resulting from the chatter about paid parking in Las Vegas. We also appreciate the fact they read our blog, since their news release started with the sentence, “Monopoly isn’t the only place to find free parking!” We’re right there with you, Hooters.

Hooters hasn’t said when the free beer offer expires, but let’s hope it’s not when the casino later has to reverse its position on paid parking, because other casinos have tried similar marketing strategies in the past, sometimes with less-than-ideal results.

In 2011, Caesars Entertainment touted the fact its resorts didn’t charge a resort fee. The company (where we worked at the time, incidentally) went so far as to create an ad campaign featuring “angry showgirls,” presumably to illustrate how frustrated guests were about these infuriating fees.

Angry showgirls
It seemed like a good idea at the time.

In March 2013, Caesars Entertainment caved to market pressure and began charging resort fees, resulting in a level of awkwardness that continues to inspire face-palming to this day.

Hang in there, Hooters. Sometimes risks pay off, sometimes they don’t. Vegas was built on that premise, come to think of it.