Fancy a free hotel stay? A ten mile bike ride could net you a night with Voco

Riding as little as two miles a day will mean prizes if you stay at voco Hotels until the end of January through its "Very Important Peddler" scheme.

The luxury hotel chain is offering guests the chance to earn prizes through using a free-of-charge hired bike. For two miles cycled in a day, guests can claim a "delicious cocktail or hot drink of their choice", or the much prosaic, but possibly more valuable, 1,000 IHG One Rewards points.

For five miles cycled in a day, guests can claim a spa treatment, food and beverage discounts - which could mean a complimentary meal or afternoon tea, or 5,000 reward points.

Ten miles is the big one, though, which should take you less than an hour even on the supplied town bikes; you win 10,000 IHG points. These can be cashed in, and our basic sleuthing tells us that this could mean a free hotel night. 

It might not be the most extravagant hotel or ideal location for those 10,000 points, but it could be a free night away nonetheless. Or they could be added to your bank of existing points for a more exciting getaway, of course.

The cycling deal is available at voco St. David’s Cardiff, voco St. John’s Solihull, voco Edinburgh – Haymarket, voco Reading, and voco Grand Central Glasgow until 31 January.

Sadly, you can't rack up mile upon mile on the same day to claim points, with the 10 mile limit in operation, and you are unlikely to be able to repeat the feat throughout your trip, with Cycling Weekly being told it comes down to availability. However, 10,000 points for a small cycle is no mean reward.

All you have to do is log the ride on your preferred fitness app to prove the activity actually took place.

In the press release, the head of voco Hotels, Julie Cheesman, said: “We know responsible and sustainable travel is high on our guest’s agenda, so with our VIP package we are encouraging guests to ‘come on in’ and experience what makes the voco brand unique, while rewarding them too. 

"To end the year on a high, and approach 2023 with the momentum we intend to carry on, we hope that the miles cycled by our guests contributes in some way to supporting green targets in our communities across the UK and encourages more to tread lightly on our planet.”