ASTA has named the Freemyer family of Sweetster, Indiana, as
the winners of its Vacation Do Over contest.
After submitting a video chronicling their worst vacation ever, the family will
now get a trip planned by an ASTA advisor.
"Our goal in this campaign was two-fold," said
ASTA CEO Zane Kerby. "First, we needed to understand the pain points that
consumers experience when they book on their own. And second, we want to show
the value that travel advisors provide by redoing one ruined trip in particular
for a lucky winner. We're excited to show the meaningful difference a travel
advisor can make."
Dan and Stephanie Freemyer and their two young sons, Tait and Lucan, have been awarded a trip valued at up
to $10,000 as a result of their successful entry into the contest.To enter,
ASTA asked consumers to share a video of themselves talking about their
vacation gone wrong.
The Freemyers
told the story of their honeymoon 12 years ago planned by Dan. The road trip
adventure started right after their wedding in Indianapolis. They had eight
days to get to North Carolina, where Stephanie would go straight to her
orientation for her new teaching job.
On day one, Dan busted his chin open and would spend the
night in the hospital, but not before backing their car into the side of the
bed-and-breakfast where they were staying. Misadventures plagued the entire
trip, which eventually ended with Dan dropping off Stephanie just in time for
her orientation (after brushing her teeth and changing at a Walmart). Shortly
after he dropped her off, their car burst into flames on the side of the road.
Dan hitchhiked back to the school that night to pick her up.
To say that many disasters occurred from day one to day
eight would be an understatement.
"People kept telling us, 'It only gets better,' but
each day kept getting worse until it literally ended in flames," Stephanie
said in a statement. "Now we have two young boys who can join us on this
vacation do-over, and we're excited to make memories that will last forever."
Erika Richter, ASTA's director of communications, said the
Society received hundreds of submissions.
"It was a difficult decision to make because there are
so many bad vacation stories out there," she said. "We wish we could
redo them all, but ultimately our internal selection committee decided that the
Freemyer family is the winner, and we couldn't be more thrilled to see the rest
of their journey unfold."