Vernon Lodge featured in prize package on beloved US game show The Price Is Right

Photo: Jon Manchester

Vernon, B.C. ... come on down!

Vernon's Prestige Vernon Lodge and Conference Centre was featured on beloved U.S. game show The Price Is Right Wednesday morning.

The hotel shared video of the prize segment on its Facebook page, saying: "Well this was fun to watch! Check out the video to see if the Price is Right contestant won the getaway to stay with us!"

The CBS game show is the No. 1 show in American daytime TV and is watched by more than 5.4 million Americans a day.

The Lodge was featured in a Christmas-themed episode that included a six-night stay in a king balcony suite as well as a daily dinner at the hotel.

In the Check Game segment, host Drew Carey asks contestant Melody Rose to write a check for an amount, when totalled with the vacation, that would fall within a $1,000 range. Unfortunately, the contestant overbid.

Hotel general manager David Gibbs says he knew the segment was coming, although he's not sure when it was taped.

"It was fun for the staff to watch," he said, adding it was a great opportunity that provided huge exposure for the hotel as well as the Okanagan.

“When producers approached us to participate and sponsor the prize, we of course said yes. It’s such an iconic game show that is watched by millions of people. We would have loved to welcome the contestant to our beautiful city had she won."

“This was such a fun opportunity to be a part of,” added Amy Nunn, vice-president of sales and marketing for Prestige Hotels.

She notes this was the sixth time in two years that a Prestige property has been featured as a prize on the show. Other Prestige properties previously featured include Kelowna, Radium Hot Springs, Prince George, Nelson, and Cranbrook.

They hope to have more locations featured in 2021.

Gibbs says the packages were first arranged a couple of years ago, and when the Lodge's sister property in Prince George was featured last year, it caused a few laughs when the game show's producers used photos of Lake Louise instead.

"It ended up boosting the prize package because local companies added on after the publicity," said Gibbs. "But this time, we made sure they used the right images."

The Vernon prize package was valued at $5,839 and featured several images of hotel while promoting Vernon as a destination "located near pristine lakes and wineries."