Malmaison Dundee powers city with tourism initiative and staff rewards

The newly launched Malmaison Dundee Eat, Sleep, Love Local package includes a £50 Dundee Gift Card to spend locally as part of the hotel’s drive to strengthen the city’s tourism economy. Cards will also be available to pick up in reception.

Malmaison Dundee has introduced three new initiatives using the city’s local gift card as part of efforts to drive footfall, spend and tourism in Dundee.

A new Eat, Sleep, Love Local package at Malmaison Dundee includes breakfast, room and a £50 Dundee Loves Local Gift Card for visitors to spend locally in the city with over 240 businesses, including shops, restaurants and attractions.

Guests at Malmaison Dundee can additionally pick up the Dundee Gift Card from the hotel reception and load with their chosen value immediately using Load This Card, enhancing the convenience of the local gift card for gifts.

Staff at the 91-bedroom boutique hotel will also receive the Dundee Loves Local Gift Card as a reward in Malmaison Dundee’s employee of the month initiative, and the card will be used on an ad-hoc basis to reward staff for going above and beyond.

Ewa Rankin is Cluster Sales Manager at Malmaison and said the Eat, Sleep, Love Local package will help strengthen Dundee as a destination:

“Including the gift card in our Eat, Sleep, Love Local is a way for us to promote Dundee and invest in our city. It connects Malmaison Dundee with the community as a way for us to respectfully promote local businesses. And it is really nice for the hotel guest because they can use the QR code on the back of the card and see a wide variety of local businesses to spend their card, raising awareness of places to experience locally. The reality is that we don’t know what guests' preferences are, or their interests but the gift card covers lots of options.

“As Scotland’s fourth biggest city, Dundee has a strong tourism economy and it’s really important that we, as part of that economy, contribute and lead on initiatives which strengthen Dundee as a destination, such as our Eat, Sleep and Love Local package and making the card available for guests to buy. Dundee’s range of businesses, including artisanal and independent businesses, play a large part in the city’s overall appeal for tourists, so it’s only right that we in turn support these businesses with the Dundee Gift Card.”

Dale Simpson is General Manager at Malmaison and said: “We chose to use the Dundee Gift Card in our Eat, Sleep, Love Local package and in our team rewards because we’re keen to support our city and its businesses. These are the businesses that in turn support us.

“Almost 250 businesses are part of the Dundee Gift Card, including big brands and independent businesses, and all of these businesses are local businesses contributing to a strong local economy. We liked the diversity of the card and the range of sectors it could be spent at, from retail to hospitality, leisure and health and beauty.

“A high proportion of our staff live in Dundee, as do their families. They’re proud to be from Dundee and it makes complete sense for us to gift our staff a gift card where the benefit stays here in Dundee. With a Gift Card in their hand, our team might be encouraged to try a Dundee business they’d never have tried otherwise.

“Using the Dundee Gift Card also aligns with our values at Malmaison which include being real, respectful, progressive and collaborative. Being respectful, for example, is about how we treat our staff and our community, as a part of that community and as a leader in that community. The gift card allows us to collaborate with our community across a range of different businesses. If they win, we win, and vice versa.”

The Dundee Gift Card is part of the Scotland Loves Local Gift Card initiative, which was introduced in 2021 as a means to direct spend to local communities, and power economic recovery, delivered by Scotland’s Town Partnership (STP) and Perth based fintech Miconex. A new Do It All In Dundee Discount Card was also introduced in 2024.

Alison Henderson, CEO, Dundee & Angus Chamber of Commerce: “Tourism is vital to the Dundee economy and what better way to introduce tourists to the city than a Dundee Gift Card? It’s a gateway to everything a visitor to the city could want or need. The Eat, Sleep, Love Local package from Malmaison Dundee is a wonderful example of a business taking an innovative approach to using the gift card in their own marketing to benefit their customers and their city.”

Scotland’s Towns Partnership chief officer Kimberley Guthrie said: “This is a fantastic example of local businesses working together to support each other - encouraging people to discover more about Dundee. Partnership and collaboration is a powerful force in building a stronger local economy.”

Colin Munro, managing director of Miconex said: “Malmaison Dundee’s use of the Dundee Gift Card will drive tourism in the city, and encourage employees to spend at local businesses. Receiving a Scotland Loves Local Gift Card is the beginning of a journey of local exploration, and can be particularly effective as a way of offering a curated range of products, services and experiences to tourists.”