Official Rules for the Winter Swear Jar Sweepstakes

No Purchase Necessary. A Purchase Will Not Increase Your Chances of Winning.

Eligibility

The Sweepstakes was open only to legal residents of the 50 United States (including DC) who were at least eighteen (18) years old. Employees of Hotels.com, L.P. (“Sponsor”), as well as the immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings, and children) and household members of those employees, were not eligible to enter.

Entry Period

The Sweepstakes began at 12:01 AM CT on February 6, 2019, and ended at 11:59 PM CT on March 22, 2019, or when all ten (10) prizes were awarded, whichever came first (the “Entry Period”). Entries submitted before or after the Entry Period were not eligible. Sponsor’s computer was the official time-keeping device for the Sweepstakes.

How the Swear Jar Fills Up

During the Entry Period, Sponsor searched Twitter for posts from US residents that included a complaint about winter and a swear word (a “Qualifying Tweet”). For every Qualifying Tweet Sponsor found, Sponsor added $0.25 to the Swear Jar. (Although Sponsor did not find all Qualifying Tweets, Sponsor reserved the right to add more than $0.25 to the Swear Jar for each Qualifying Tweet it found.) Once the Swear Jar reached $1,000, a prize was made available, and Sponsor awarded that prize in a random drawing of all entries received by the time of the drawing. At that point, the Swear Jar was emptied out and restarted at $0. This process repeated until the end of the Entry Period. If the Swear Jar was not full on March 22, 2019, Sponsor reserved the right to not award any additional prizes.

How to Enter

There were two (2) ways to enter:

On the Website: Completing the entry form conferred one (1) entry.

On Twitter: Posting a complaint about winter on Twitter using the hashtag #WinterSwearJar conferred one (1) entry.

For all Entries: All entries were required to be received during the Entry Period. There was a limit of one (1) entry per person per day, regardless of method of entry. Subsequent entries were disqualified. The use of multiple e-mail addresses or Twitter accounts, an agency, or any automated system to enter was strictly prohibited, and Sponsor reserved the right to disqualify any entries received through such methods. By entering the Sweepstakes, participants indicated full and unconditional agreement to, and acceptance of, (a) these Official Rules and (b) Sponsor’s decisions, which were final and binding. Winning a prize was contingent upon fulfilling all requirements in these Official Rules.

Sponsor’s Rights to Entries

Entrants did not transfer ownership of their entry by entering the Sweepstakes. However, by entering, entrants granted Sponsor, its agents, licensees, and assigns an irrevocable, perpetual (non-exclusive) right and permission to reproduce, encode, store, copy, transmit, publish, post, broadcast, display, publicly perform, adapt, modify, create derivative works of, exhibit, and otherwise use the entry as-is or as-edited (with or without using the entrant's name) in any media throughout the world for any purpose, without limitation, and without additional review, compensation, or approval.

Drawings

Each time the Swear Jar filled up during the Entry Period, Sponsor selected one (1) potential winner in a random drawing of all entries received by the time of the drawing. The odds of being selected depended on the number of entries received. Sponsor notified each winner via e-mail (if the winner entered on the website) or via a direct message from @Hotelsdotcom to the winner’s Twitter account with instructions on how to claim the prize.

Potential Winner Requirements

Except where prohibited, a potential winner could be required to complete and return a declaration of eligibility and liability/publicity release. If a potential winner failed to respond to the notification or to sign and return the required documents within 5 days, he/she forfeited the prize, and Sponsor could select an alternate potential winner in a random drawing of all remaining entries received. Only three (3) alternate potential winners were contacted.

Prizes

Up to ten (10) winners each received a $1,000 Hotels.com gift card. Use of the gift card was subject to the applicable terms and conditions. Prizes were sent within 7 days of verification. A winner was responsible for paying any applicable income taxes and any and all other costs and expenses not listed above. Any prize details not specified above were determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. A prize could not be transferred and had to be accepted as awarded. Entrants could not request cash or a substitute prize; however, Sponsor reserved the right to substitute a prize with another prize of equal or greater value if the prize was not available for any reason.

General Conditions

In the event that the operation, security, or administration of the Sweepstakes was impaired in any way, Sponsor could, in its sole discretion, either: (a) suspend the Sweepstakes to address the impairment and then resume the Sweepstakes; or (b) award the prizes at random from among the eligible entries received up to the time of the impairment. Sponsor reserved the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify and seek damages from any individual who tampered with the operation of the Sweepstakes, violated these Official Rules, or acted in a disruptive or unsportsmanlike manner. Sponsor’s failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision. The Sweepstakes was subject to federal, state, and local laws and regulations and void where prohibited.

Release and Limitations of Liability

By entering, participants agreed to release the Sponsor, Twitter, their respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, and each of their respective officers, directors, employees, and agents (collectively, the “Released Parties”) from any claim or cause of action arising out of participation in the Sweepstakes or receipt or use of any prize, including, but not limited to: (a) unauthorized human intervention in the Sweepstakes; (b) technical errors that may affect the Sweepstakes; (c) printing errors; (d) lost, late, postage-due, misdirected, or undeliverable mail; (e) errors in the administration of the Sweepstakes; or (f) injury or damage to persons or property. Participants further agreed that in any cause of action, in no event should the Released Parties be liable for attorneys’ fees or other legal costs.

Privacy and Publicity

Except where prohibited, participation in the Sweepstakes constituted consent to Sponsor’s use of the participant's name, likeness, voice, opinions, biographical information, and state of residence for promotional purposes in any media without further payment or consideration.

Disputes

Participants agreed that any disputes, claims, or causes of action arising out of, or connected with, the Sweepstakes should be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by the appropriate court located in Dallas, Texas. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation, and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of Sponsor or participants in connection with the Sweepstakes, are governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of Texas, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules.