How about something like the promo 'The Hoxton' in London runs every quarter.

Basically it's a sale, run a few days before the start of the next quarter.

500 rooms @ £1
500 rooms @ £29

No more than 5 rooms available at each price per night. All prepay, no refunds.

The thousand rooms sell out in less than 30 minutes, with many thousands of people trying to get them.

Regular rates are in the £80 to £180 depending on day of week and availability.

This promo, word of mouth, and the fact it's a great hotel, made it a highly popular, well known place in it's first year.