Resort Show Section

What Are Your Top Selling Name-Dropped Gifts, and Why Do They Sell So Well?

At the Mountain Harbour Resort in Mount Ida, Ark., “Real Housewives of Mountain Harbor” wine tumblers are the runaway bestseller. “We can’t keep them in stock,” said Lodge Manager Pati Brown. “They’re so funny, and people love to laugh at themselves.”

The women who buy the $25 tumblers are having fun with the stereotype of wine drinking girlfriends — but they’re also supporting a local, women owned company that donates a share of its proceeds to women’s shelters. “That matters to people as well,” Brown said.

T-shirts are the best-selling name-dropped category at the Gouldings Monument Valley Resort in Valley, Utah, which has a variety of souvenirs, from inexpensive impulse buys to $1,000 rugs. “Stickers also sell really well,” noted Store Manager Kerrilynn Tree. “People will stick them on their vehicle, their refrigerator, or their laptop.”

Logo drinkware is the top category at Grand Bear Resort at Starved Rock in North Utica, Ill. Shot glasses are especially popular: “I think a lot of people collect them from everywhere they go,” observed Store Manager Annette Adams. Coffee mugs and water bottles also do well.

At many hotels, gift shops do a brisk business in the same custom branded toiletries or robes the guests enjoy during their stay. That’s the case at 1886 Crescent Hotel and Spa, Eureka Springs, Ark., where the name-dropped best-sellers across three retail outlets are the same shampoo, conditioner, moisturizing lotion and body wash found in guest rooms.

“We have them in the room, so people already have the experience of using these items,” said Assistant Spa Director Jordan Little. ❖