At zzdtravel.com, we pay close attention to when the marketing hype doesn’t match the reality. And so do our loyal fans: Our revealing have now been viewed by millions of people.

But plenty of marketers deserve credit for running authentic, creative campaigns about their properties. Which is why we are tickled pink this year to be a a part of the HSMAI Adrian Awards, which honor creative brilliance and best practices in hospitality, travel, and tourism-related marketing. At a black-tie gala on January 28th, zzdtravel.com will present the inaugural “World is Your zzdtravel Award” to recognize the best authentic marketing program.

Today, we are thrilled to announce the three finalists: Extended Stay America for their “The New Way to Stay” campaign, Homewood Suites for their “Be at Home” campaign, and Hampton Hotels for their “Hamptonality“ campaign. We choose these three finalists based on their exciting and inspiring ad campaigns that showcased unique — and accurate — aspects of their properties.

As part of the judging process, our hotel investigators visited a random location of each of the three finalists and compared the claims made in the ads to reality. We checked out these hotels from top to bottom.

Kitchen at the Homewood Suites by Hilton Edgewater

Grab-and-go Breakfast at Extended Stay America Secaucus – Meadowlands

Duvet at Hampton Inn Manhattan-35th St./Empire State Building

An zzdtravel investigator in action at one of the finalist hotels for the Adrian Awards.

We can’t wait to announce the winner in a few weeks — stay tuned.