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Case study · Tourism

More direct bookings, less reliance on intermediaries

Brand and destination campaigns, a website with an integrated booking engine and revenue tracking by channel for a group of five boutique hotels in city and coastal destinations.

ClientHotel group (confidential)
ServicesGoogle Ads · Web development · Analytics
Duration10 months
MarketSpain, France and the United Kingdom
+41%Direct bookingsIn 10 months
39%Direct channel sharePreviously 28%
2.3%Website conversion ratePreviously 1.2%
−19%Intermediary commissionsAs a share of revenue
Starting point

Visibility handed over to intermediaries

More than 70% of bookings came through online travel agencies, whose commissions eroded the margin on every stay. The agencies themselves bid on the hotels’ names on Google and captured users who were already searching for the brand.

The website used an external booking engine that broke both the user experience and the tracking: there was no way of knowing which campaigns generated bookings or how much revenue they brought in.

Goals
  • Increase direct bookings
  • Win back branded searches
  • Measure revenue by campaign and hotel
  • Improve website conversion
Approach

What we did

  • 01Brand campaigns

    Campaigns for each hotel to protect branded searches, highlighting the benefits of booking direct.

  • 02Destination campaigns

    Searches by destination and type of trip in three markets, with bids adjusted to occupancy and season.

  • 03Website and booking engine

    A new website with the booking engine built into the design, visible availability and a three-step booking process.

  • 04Revenue tracking

    Actual revenue from each booking sent to Google Ads and Google Analytics, by hotel and by campaign.

Results

Results after ten months

Direct bookings per month (index)100 → 141
Before
After
Direct channel share28% → 39%
Before
After
Website conversion rate1.2% → 2.3%
Before
After
Process

Project phases

  1. Month 1

    Measurement

    Integration of the booking engine with analytics and Google Ads.

  2. Months 2–3

    Campaigns

    Brand campaigns for each hotel and destination campaigns in three markets.

  3. Months 3–6

    New website

    Design and development with the integrated booking engine and destination content.

  4. Months 6–10

    Optimisation

    Bidding by occupancy and season, and conversion improvements.

We have won back the guests who were already searching for us by name, and we can now see how much revenue each campaign brings to each hotel.

SDSales DirectorBoutique hotel group
Services applied

Disciplines in this project

Paid Ads Web development Analytics and CRO
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