Alder Boutique Hotels · Hospitality
Shifting a boutique hotel group from OTAs to direct bookings.
Creator partnerships, metasearch and a guest lifecycle programme lifted direct bookings 46% and cut commission spend.
- Client
- Alder Boutique Hotels
- Industry
- Hospitality
- Duration
- 8 months
- Location
- Charleston, SC
Alder Boutique Hotels
Hospitality · 202546%
more direct bookings
- more direct bookings
- 46%
- less OTA commission
- 18%
- metasearch ROAS
- 5.4x
01 · The challenge
Where they started.
Alder's four properties relied on online travel agencies for 70% of bookings, losing margin and guest relationships.
Objectives
- 01Grow direct share of bookings
- 02Reduce OTA commissions
- 03Fill shoulder seasons
02 · Strategy
The plan.
Inspire on social, win the comparison at the moment of booking, and give guests a reason to book direct next time.
Creator stays
Travel creators matched to each property's audience.
Metasearch
Google Hotel Ads with price-parity monitoring.
Guest lifecycle
Pre-stay and post-stay journeys with direct-booking perks.
03 · Execution
How it unfolded.
Month 1–3
Content and creators
Eighteen creator stays and a content library for each property.
Month 2–5
Direct booking
Metasearch campaigns and booking engine optimisation.
Month 4–8
Lifecycle
Email journeys and a returning-guest offer.
04 · The work
Inside the campaign.
A look at the assets, pages and systems behind the results.
Alder Boutique Hotels
Sponsored
Alder Boutique Hotels
Sponsored
05 · Before & after
What changed.
| Metric | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Direct share of bookings | 30% | 44% |
| OTA commission spend | $1.1M | $0.9M |
| Repeat guest rate | 9% | 15% |
06 · Business impact
The result.
Alder now owns the relationship with almost half its guests and reinvests commission savings into guest experience.
Direct bookings / month
Monthly · engagement period
| M1 | 420 |
|---|---|
| M2 | 436 |
| M3 | 470 |
| M4 | 498 |
| M5 | 531 |
| M6 | 566 |
| M7 | 590 |
| M8 | 613 |
We finally own the relationship with our guests. Commission savings alone paid for the engagement.
Grace Whitmore
Commercial Director, Alder Boutique Hotels
07 · Key learnings
What we'd tell anyone in their position.
Give guests a reason
Direct-only perks mattered more than price.
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