Polle de Maagt 
Polle de Maagt
Story.
At the Kimpton Fitzroy in London, I walked up to reception and said: “Chilled to perfection.”
That was the secret social password at the time.
In return, I received £15 in free drinks.
The financial value was modest. The feeling was not.
For a moment, the check-in changed. I was not only a guest giving my name and credit card. I was someone who knew the secret, and the person behind the desk was in on it too.
People enjoy benefits. They remember being part of something.
What they did.
From time to time, Kimpton publishes a seasonal password through its social channels. Guests who say it while checking in receive a surprise.
Each participating hotel has room to interpret the reward differently. It might be a drink, food and beverage credit, a small gift or another perk.
The mechanics are deliberately simple:
- Kimpton shares the phrase.
- A guest notices and remembers it.
- The guest says it at reception.
- The host responds with a surprise.
There is no coupon to scan, form to complete or loyalty dashboard to open. Just a phrase and a shared smile.
Why it works.
The password rewards attention without feeling like a conventional promotion.
It creates a small group of people who are “in the know”. That feeling of belonging can be more memorable than the value of the reward.
It also gives frontline staff an easy invitation to perform a small act of hospitality. The campaign does not end with a social post. It becomes an interaction between two people.
And because each hotel can choose its own reward, the idea is consistent while the experience can still feel local.
Try it yourself.
Create a phrase, signal or question that unlocks a small moment between a customer and an employee.
Do not make it a discount code. Make it an invitation to play along.
Then give the person receiving the signal enough freedom to respond in a way that fits the moment.
Hide one simple phrase in a place your most attentive customers already follow. Decide what your team may do when someone uses it.
More from Kimpton: the CEO’s phone number, raid the bar and social hour.
Source: my stay at Kimpton Fitzroy London, my original post of December 2018, and Kimpton’s recurring social-password programme, still active in 2026 with participating hotels choosing their own surprise. Bell made with Midjourney.
