The Funeral That Saves You Money: How Our SXSW Stunt Turned Heads in Austin
While brands competed for attention with flashy activations and celebrity appearances, our vintage hearse and bright yellow coffin broke through the noise with a simple message: service fees are dead.
"Is that... a funeral for fees?" Yes, yes it was.
This question echoed through downtown Austin this weekend as our vintage hearse navigated the SXSW crowds. Behind it walked our "grieving" party—complete with a jazz band, professional mourners in pink boas, and a bright yellow coffin emblazoned with "R.I.P. FEES."
We weren't there to blend in. We were there to bury something.
When Theater Meets Marketing: The Power of the Unexpected
SXSW attendees are bombarded with marketing. They've developed impressive filters to ignore traditional approaches. So we asked ourselves: What can't people ignore? What makes them stop scrolling—both literally and figuratively—in the middle of the busiest festival in tech?
The answer: A funeral procession where no one is actually sad.
As our hearse rolled down Congress Avenue, something fascinating happened. The initial confusion ("Who died?") quickly transformed into understanding and engagement as people realized what we were celebrating: the death of unnecessary service fees in vacation rentals.
The Birth of an Unconventional Idea
The concept began with a simple insight: For nearly two decades, travelers have accepted paying 15-20% extra in service fees when booking vacation rentals. That's hundreds of dollars per booking that benefits neither the traveler nor the property manager.
Rather than explaining this problem through PowerPoint slides or panel discussions, we decided to personify it. Enter T.H.E. (Thomas Henry Edward) Middleman, the self-proclaimed "fee architect" who'd spent 18 years perfecting the art of charging travelers for doing all the work themselves.
After giving him a brief life on social media, we staged his funeral at the exact moment we launched our fee-free booking platform.
Bringing T.H.E. Middleman to Life Before His Death
Before staging his funeral, we needed to give T.H.E. Middleman a life. We created an Instagram account (@thatextracharge) where Thomas Henry Edward Middleman proudly documented his 18-year career as the vacation rental industry's "fee architect."
Through a series of increasingly smug posts, he boasted about his business model of "charging people for doing all the work themselves" and showcased his masterpiece: transforming a $200/night rental into a $389/night experience through strategic fees. The account transformed an abstract concept (service fees) into a character with personality—someone who embodied everything travelers disliked about booking platforms.
His final crisis post, discovering Savvy had eliminated his fees, created the perfect narrative bridge to our SXSW funeral procession. While T.H.E. Middleman may be dead in the Savvy ecosystem, his legacy lives on across other booking platforms—and something tells us this character's story isn't quite finished yet. Some chapters may still need to be written as non Savvy travelers continue to discover the true cost of middleman fees.
The Authentic Reactions That Turned Our Funeral into a Celebration
What truly validated our approach wasn't just the attention we received, it was how quickly our funeral transformed into a genuine celebration. As our procession moved through downtown Austin, something remarkable happened: people didn't just watch, they joined in.
Festival-goers clapped along with our brass band. What began as a funeral procession evolved into a spontaneous party celebrating the end of an era.
"Wow, that seems like such a simple solution," commented one onlooker after hearing our explanation. "That makes a lot of sense," nodded another.
The most telling reactions came when people understood exactly what we were "burying":
A group of friends standing in line: "So we could book the same place for hundreds less?"
These weren't just engagement metrics, they were real people dancing, laughing, and celebrating alongside us as they realized there's a better way to book. The funeral for fees had become a street party for savings, with Austin's famous weird spirit embracing our theatrical approach to problem-solving.
The Procession Continues
As our funeral procession continues through the final day of SXSW, we're reminded that the most effective marketing doesn't just communicate features—it creates moments that matter.
By ceremoniously laying to rest the practice of charging excessive service fees, we're not just promoting a platform. We're championing a shift in how travelers and property managers connect—directly, transparently, and without unnecessary costs.
In that sense, our funeral isn't just a marketing stunt. It's a declaration that the era of paying more for nothing is over.
And that's something worth celebrating, with or without a bright yellow coffin.
