The website hosting the Hong Kong Tourism Board’s giveaway of HK$10 million (US$1.28 million) worth of hotel discounts crashed on Friday under intense demand from the public.

The website “Staycation Delights – Holiday At Home” which is offering discounts worth HK$500 (US$64) for 20,000 hotel bookings, was offline for half the day as eager users tried to access the page at 10am on Friday. More than half of the hotels participating were booked out by the evening.

Under the promotion, people who spend at least HK$800 between March 26 and May 31 at designated physical retail or dining outlets can get a HK$500 discount for a hotel staycation package at the participating hotels.

Some 20,000 bookings were up for grabs covering 140 local hotels, including leading brands such as The Peninsula in Kowloon and The Ritz-Carlton in West Kowloon. They were among the first to run out of discounts. Based on an online price tracker, The Peninsula charges an average of HK$2,888 for a single room for one night, while The Ritz-Carlton charges HK$2,679.

The tourism board said it was investigating why the website was inaccessible, but that the was restored around 3pm. A spokeswoman clarified the webpage was never meant to be a booking site, and residents should redeem the discounts directly with the hotels. The webpage only provided information on which hotels still had slots available under the promotion.

As of 7pm, rooms at 80 out of the 140 participating hotels, or about 57%, were booked under the promotion.