Inbox Insider: Hotels.com takes advantage of Cinco de Mayo

May is just around the corner, and marketers are taking advantage by launching e-mail campaigns promoting the month's holidays.

For one, Hotels.com has launched a push for Cinco de Mayo, featuring sales at Mexican hotels.

On April 27, I received a colorful, image-filled e-mail from the travel booking site. In a great example of a marketer using e-mail effectively, the message was laid out like a newsletter, was timely and had a valuable offer.

The message also lived up to its headline, “Sizzling Cinco Savings! Save 50% and Get $50 Back‏!” As promised, there is a coupon code offering recipients savings of 50% at the top of the e-mail, as well as $50 back at booking.

The e-mail links to a landing page with a featured Acapulco hotel at the top. Along the right side, there are three popular spring break-related cities — Cancun, Los Angeles and Orlando — with recommended hotels for each. Consumers have rated all of the featured hotels well, which the company used well to get consumers to book rooms.

The e-mail also included a general search tool to help consumers look for hotels from the message itself. There is also a share-to-Facebook feature at the top of the page, which is a great way to entice consumers to share deals with friends.

The message also includes deals for travelers who may not be making a run for the border, including four “Top Deals of the Week” and three “Hotels in Top Cities as low as $59!” The e-mail also links to the company's preference center, where consumers can unsubscribe or define how they want to be communicated with.

That is a lot going on for one little e-mail.