Rob & Susie have taken advantage of the ResBook PMS combined with a booking engine on their website. Our marketing team have also partnered with them to develop their Tourism Themed Website and social media campaigns to drive awareness and bookings resulting in a successful first season.
We turned to ResBook because the team offered both a well-proven reservation system, and an opportunity to use their skills to develop and implement an initial social media marketing plan for our small luxury lodge.
Given we literally started from scratch as a brand new boutique luxury lodge we have been super pleased with the outcome. The results speak for themselves, and we have had more people stay with us since we started on 1 September 2022 than we ever dreamed would be the case.
Rob & Susie - Ranginui Retreat
Social media ad campaigns that attracted thousands!
As a brand new boutique hosted accommodation, the challenge was to build awareness from nothing, and grow demand to increase their occupancy rate.
Being new, rural, and away from the crowds doesn't mean you can't draw in thousands of people online! Armed a new website, online booking engine, and a comprehensive social media campaign, amazing results were achieved!
The social campaign built awareness, drove website traffic and delivered bookings from these results:
- Over 51,000 people reached
- Over 219,000+ impressions
- Over 6,000 clicks to their website
- 7,300 engagements - reactions, saves, comments & clicks
- All achieved with a low cost per click of $0.23
With these metrics Ranginui Retreat is well placed to build on their social media strategy for future campaign successes.
We are pleased to share that the partnership with the ResBook marketing team was fundamental in achieving an occupancy rate of 30% in the very first season, including 100% occupancy for their cottage in January 2023. The Social media campaigns drove over 6,000 clicks to their website!
What do you see as the biggest challenge for the next season?
Rob: We have now been operating for 7-months and, from a standing start have been really humbled and a bit overwhelmed with the great responses we have been getting from guests who have stayed with us, and with the encouragement we have received from the ResBook team and Destination Wairarapa (our RTO).
The biggest challenge is we will be going into a new season still learning new things and trying not to make the same mistake twice! We need to keep raising the awareness of the New Zealand and overseas market that we are here and that whether you seek relaxation, adventure, or simply a change of scenery, our lodge offers an unparalleled sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of daily life with luxurious accommodations and exceptional dining.
What is one piece of advice you would give someone who is looking to start an accommodation business?
Rob: Do your homework. By that we mean, understand the market you will be operating (and competing) in by analysing what others are doing in your area and beyond, and learn what you don’t know by getting a team to help you. Having a marketing plan that is the result of really testing what you are offering, having good systems for reservations and financial management, and having systems in your business to help provide a consistent, quality service is key.
In our experience, everyone is good at one aspect of a business or job, but they need a team to help in those areas where they are maybe not as expert, or where they lack experience.
Finally, this is a business, if you treat it as a hobby, you will find it tough. (I guess that’s way more than one piece of advice!)
ResBook: How has ResBook helped you and your business?
Rob: Having a reservation system that isn’t that hard to understand, links with other systems to stop double-booking or missed bookings, and provides reports in detail as well as trends is essential for our business. We are also finding that, as you get into it, it does things that we wouldn’t have known to ask about at the start, but now find invaluable.
ResBook: What is one of your favourite guest stories or experiences?
Rob: We had a lovely couple from New Zealand and their friends from Canada stay with us. We had some amazing conversations on a huge range of topics, but one of our guests decided that it was his job to fix a gate that was sticking at the entrance to our vegetable garden. Despite our saying, “you don’t need to do this”, he went ahead and did a fantastic job! As I remember we celebrated with a shot of single malt to relaunch the gate.