Image via YouTube
Sometimes ingenious marketing ideas fall into your lap; other times they get locked into your store.
Waterstone's, previously featured as the place that locked in a befuddled tourist, is throwing a sleepover for those who would actually like to spend an overnight in a large bookstore.
The Guardian's Marta Bausellsreports the Waterstone's in Piccadilly, London, will be the brief home to 10 lucky people, writing, "Waterstone's are offering a sleepover to ten guests and their partners this Friday (24 October) in their flagship London Piccadilly store."
Those with dreams of being tucked away with volumes of books can enter the contest fray through Airbnb's official website. As Bausells notes and we also wrote about in August, an Ikea in Australia had a similar event, welcoming a few visitors to have a rare sleepover in its midst. The American Museum of Natural History in New York City offered a sleepover, taking a page from the popular movie Night at the Museum.
Although Ikea and New York's Museum differed in the inspiration department, Waterstones' event comes on the heels of a tourist accidentally getting locked into the Trafalgar location, tweeting a bookstore pickle that quickly became viral.
Here is a Good Morning America segment on the odd story that spawned quite the lovely sleepover occasion:
Poor David Willis from Dallas, Texas, was just trying to visit the bookstore a few minutes before closing. Unfortunately, he is an unassuming traveler, because workers didn't see him and locked him in at closing.
Two hours, some Twitter drama and a few blaring alarms later Willis was set free, leaving with quite the story.
Waterstone's, it would seem, got something in return. While neither the report nor the contest page confirms it, we presume the book retailer owes at least some inspiration from the recent locked-door debacle.
According to Airbnb's website, entering the contest is really quite simple: "Tell us in one sentence what book you would read if you were to spend the night in a bookshop, and why."
If you win, you get a night among volumes of books, offering so many possibilities for entertainment. The website continues, "Settle down on the comfy airbeds and sleeping bags provided and drift off surrounded by the fantastical tales, incredible true stories and beautiful books of all shapes and sizes that are packed into the more than eight and a half miles of book shelves."
The book lovers among us have daydreamed about being locked away with countless books for a spell, getting to peruse seemingly endless possibilities. From browsing the classics to thumbing through sci-fi/fantasy books, where would you head to first? The best part in all this is that there is no wrong answer, just a night of literary wonderment.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
