Dive into The Mermaid Craze with 'Fintastic' vacation workouts by Hotels.com (video)

NEW YORK, Aug. 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Move over unicorns, your time is up. Mermaids officially now rule, with three times more people preferring to be a mermaid (13%) than the horned beast (4%). Even more mermazingly, over a third (37%) of people believe that mer-people exist, with 6% claiming to have seen one – that's 19.6 million people in the U.S. alone! To celebrate the passion for these ocean-dwellers, Hotels.com® is launching exclusive mermaid workout classes in select locations worldwide.

The fintastic workouts will launch in September at select Hotels.com properties as limited edition sessions, and cater to the one in three (35%) travelers who want a vacation destination that offers them unique and interesting activities – like mermaid workouts. These mermaid classes are the perfect opportunity to channel your inner Ariel from The Little Mermaid, who is the favorite pop culture mermaid (42%), ahead of the Pirates of the Caribbean mermaids (9%) and Madison from Splash (7%).

According to new research* from Hotels.com, fun-loving travelers are seeking more than the norm from their accommodation, with almost a quarter (24%) more likely to try mermaid workouts at their hotels than hot yoga (23%), Barre (19%), inflatable obstacle courses (16%) and HIIT (11%). The desire to embrace the mermaid life is so strong that almost half of vacation-goers (46%) claim they would book a hotel just so they could take part in a finned fitness session - how 'fliptastic'!

Led by a professional mermaid (yes, really!), guests will be invited to slip into their very own mermaid tail, dive into an underwater world and flip, roll and twist their way through a series of bespoke and challenging exercises. Most importantly, the classes are guaranteed to be the perfect 'gram moment'.

Johan Svanstrom, President of Hotels.com brand says, "These days, vacationers don't just want an infinity pool and a king-size bed, they want experiences they can get stuck into and brag about on social media. We know they want memorable vacation moments and these mermaid classes are exactly that, how many times in your life are you going to be able to splash, flip and swim like Ariel? We're 'flippin' excited to introduce these exclusive classes to all the fun-loving travelers out there and give people the chance to try something really unusual and #Mermazing."

Guests can preview the classes in an exciting video from Hotels.com, featuring none other than Merman Chris, a leading gold-finned Insta-merman from the northern seas. Merman Chris says, "It was a dream come true to swim down and join Hotels.com in the video and share my secrets of the deep with the world. Being a merman is a wonderful life but it's not easy, we need to keep our bodies in tip-top shape to be able to power through the water, dive into the depths of the fathoms below AND look glamorous on a rock at any given time – my fins get a proper workout. These classes have my finslap of approval, and it makes me the happiest little fish to know that people everywhere have the chance to pull on tails and join us in the water."

In a year that has seen the success of Siren, Nicki Minaj frolicking on the beach as a mermaid and the revamp of 'The Little Mermaid', the worldwide obsession for mermaids extends beyond just wanting to be one. A fifth (21%) of vacation-goers worldwide would travel somewhere if they thought they would spot a mermaid and one in ten (9%) would rather date a mermaid or merman than a human. Looks like it's time to update your Tinder profile; or should we say 'Finder' profile?

Men seem to have the biggest mer-session, as almost 40% of men are enchanted by merfolk and think they could fall in love with one. More than one in ten men would like to be a merman and 8% of women say their hubby or boyfriend would be more likely to try a mermaid fitness class than them!

The exclusive mermaid workouts** from Hotels.com will launch this September in hotels in Spain, Japan and Mexico. Available at the Zafiro Palace Palmanova hotel in Mallorca from September 20 – 22, at the Kanucha Bay Hotel & Villas in Okinawa, Japan from September 17 – 21 and at Camino Real Polanco Mexico in Mexico City on September 1, 8, 15 & 22.

The classes were inspired by the trend also featured in Hotels.com latest ad campaign in the Nordics, France, Italy, Spain, Australia, French Canada, Mexico and Brazil, featuring a merman. Ocean dwellers and seafarers are encouraged to swim to Hotels.com to book their hotel and next underwater adventure. Find out more details here on where you can make a splash this September. Now that's mermazing!

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