Hotels.com, the official travel sponsor of the NBA, is partnering with comedians and actors Sam Richardson and Ike Barinholtz to play NBA hotel employees in a new ad campaign with the league, set to air during NBA All-Star from February 17–19, 2023.

The spots hilariously highlight what is a routine experience for players, who spend just over half the season — 42 games, to be exact — on the road in hotels across the country. Many of the league’s official lodging partners make special accommodations for NBA players throughout the season such as supersizing beds, raising the height of showerheads and offering special room-service menus.

“There’s this real-world truth baked into the spots in that the players we watch week in and week out spend over half their season in hotels,” said Lish Kennedy, vice president, global brand marketing for Hotels.com and Vrbo at Expedia Group. “Hotels.com is best at helping travelers find their perfect match and we know that ultimately, the best NBA hotel is run by the biggest NBA fans. With Sam and Ike, we were able to take on the point of view of the hotel staff to show how these properties make sure the league’s biggest stars feel like they’ve arrived at their perfect somewhere when on the road.”

NBA-Obsessed Hotel Staff

In the travel brand’s first TV spots with the league since inking their multi-year partnership deal with the NBA back in 2020, Richardson plays a business-minded manager at a high-end hotel and Barinholtz the NBA-obsessed concierge. Hilarity ensues when in between helping guests, the pair strike up conversation about the hotels’ famous guests — such as star power forward Anthony Davis.

The comedians were a natural choice for the campaign, given their real-life NBA fandom. Richardson, a Detroit native, is a longtime Pistons fan and worked with one of the team’s legends — Rick Mahorn — on the TV show Detroiters. Barinholtz, who grew up in Chicago, has been a loyal Bulls fan since childhood, with fond memories of following the team during their championship runs in the 1990s. 

The ads include 30-, 15- and 6-second cutdowns that will air throughout the remainder of the 2023 season on ESPN, Turner, NBA TV and digitally across YouTube, social and direct publisher channels such as Complex, Bleacher Report and Vice.

Hotels.com Traveling Hoops Study

In a recent survey from Hotels.com[1], most basketball fans said they’d travel up to 600 miles to see their favorite player or team, and 40% of respondents said their No. 1 criteria in choosing where to stay for a game is proximity to the arena. However, NBA fans aren’t skimping on style. Most prefer to stay at a 4- or 5-star hotel on the road, and more than 30% said they’d pay an extra $400 a night to stay at the same hotel as their favorite team or player.

Of the cities NBA fans would most like to travel to, Los Angeles, New York and Chicago topped the list. And the teams that fans would most like to see on the road are the Lakers, Bulls and Warriors. The Miami Heat and Boston Celtics also made the top five.   

For more information on where to stay and to save an average of 15% on thousands of hotels throughout the NBA season, download the Hotels.com app and become a member today.

[1] Research conducted by One Poll on 2,000 U.S.  adults who are fans of basketball, carried out on December 12, 2022 – December 14, 2022.