How To Save On OTA Commission

How To Save On OTA Commission

How to save on OTA Commission

Actual Hotel Campaign

Online Travel Agencies (OTA), such as expedia.com, booking.com and hotels.com can be vital to your hotel, especially if you are an independent hotel, but at what cost? Typically, it’s 15–30% commission per room booked, but can go even higher depending on your agreement with the OTA. In order to minimize these costs, the ultimate goal is to have guests book direct with your hotel. This not only alleviates commission fees, but allows you to market directly to your guests in the future.

DAE & Company works hard to develop strong digital campaigns which would allow you to book more customers direct on your website and establish a database for low-cost future marketing.

Securing reservations through your own advertising builds brand loyalty, increases your database, and saves you money. It also helps to further develop the relationship with your best customers – returning guests – allowing for future revenue that costs you zero in additional advertising dollars. We know this because we’ve done it.

Challenge

Create campaigns that maximize your return on investment and create opportunities for future marketing campaigns, loyalty programs and future revenue.

Execution

Typically, the marketing plans we develop for our resort properties are fully-integrated campaigns that utilize both digital and traditional mediums, although most traditional mediums have some aspect of digital included. A well-rounded plan ensures that you will be seen no matter where your customer is in the booking process… whether they are simply researching and dreaming, or ready to book.

For the purpose of this case study, however, we will be analyzing and comparing digital ad spend only, as digital is easily tracked and we are able to attribute revenue to each ad.

Our digital campaigns are carefully researched and designed to invest in terms and key phrases that are actually driving bookings, not just click-thrus. We develop copy and creative that maintain brand integrity utilizing a strong call-to-action. We carefully monitor results and shift our spends to maximize revenue throughout the campaign, reporting stats to our clients each month.

Digital Results

Based on a 10-month campaign, our average Return On Ad Spend (ROAS) is 8:1, which means for every $1 spent in advertising, you receive $8 in revenue.

Cost for media per reservation is approximately 12-14% of revenue. This is a savings of 7-16% over OTA commission.

Real Number Results

Hotel OTA Graph

DAE & Company just saved you $64,000 to $128,000

Note: Above results are annual results for a resort hotel.

City Council Election — Call to Action Campaign

City Council Election — Call to Action Campaign

City Council Election

Call to Action Campaign

Two city council member hopefuls reached out to DAE & Company to help with strategy, media planning and design for their 2020 campaigns.

Challenge

DAE & Company had three main challenges with this local political campaign: 1) Lake Tahoe is a small city with minimal outlets for marketing and outreach. 2) The two candidates had similar platforms, so they wanted to run together to gain more attention, but still be thought of as individual candidates. 3) Marketing funds were fluid as donations were coming in at the same time the campaign was launching.

Execution

As donations came in, we used their funds effectively and efficiently – garnering the highest saturation possible within our target audience in a highly competitive environment.

We ensured each candidate had a clear and distinct voice while capitalizing on the strength of their core values, and developed a media strategy that optimized R/F on multiple platforms – focusing on digital for its flexibility, and peppering with local newspaper, flyers and community signage.

Although navigating new policies for Facebook and Instagram political ads would be challenging and time consuming, we maximized our experience and network to ensure a seamless approval process.

 

Social Media

Election campaign social media image

Print Advertising

Cristi Creegan City Council Print Ad
Election campaign print advertising

Web Banner

election web banner for John Friedrich

Results

impressions during 2.5 months

clicks through to websites

Both candidates won by what we like to refer to as a landslide.

Nevada Fire Safety Council — Awareness Campaign Development

Nevada Fire Safety Council — Awareness Campaign Development

Nevada Fire Safety Council

Awareness Campaign Development

Challenge

Increase awareness about creating defensible space for aiding in firefighting efforts to protect Tahoe-area homes, families, neighborhoods, open land, and the Lake. Additionally, increase the number of Lake Tahoe basin homeowners participating in the defensible space program and receiving inspection vouchers, which are redeemable for a $1,000 rebate.

Execution

The Get Defensive campaign utilized Lake Tahoe basin homeowners and firefighters in various “defensive” positions to connect with the community. Though the message about responsible homeownership and aiding local firefighters was serious, a light touch of humor helped capture the target audience’s attention. Audiences were further compelled to take action through a limited-time $1,000 rebate for completing the defensible space program. We developed a marketing and communications strategy focused on appealing to both individual homeowners and the entire community. The media mix included highly targeted social media, internet (website and advertising), print ads, promotional events, public relations, collateral, direct mail and cable television.

Print Ad

Get Defensive Print Ad

Website

Fire Safety Awareness Website

Post Card

Tahoe Defensible Space Postcard

Web Banners

Fire Safety Google Banner
Defensible Space Web Banner
Fire Safety Animated Web Banner

Results

local homeowners completing the program

The Get Defensive campaign set a record – with more than 750 Tahoe basin homeowners completing the defensible space program, nearly double from the previous year’s home inspections. In addition, Get Defensive awareness soared as Tahoe residents recalled reading articles in local media and seeing campaign ads, resulting in increased visits to their website. Eventually, TahoeFireSafe.com was integrated into ReadyForWildfire.org.

Tahoe Resource Conservation District — Awareness Campaign Development

Tahoe Resource Conservation District — Awareness Campaign Development

Tahoe Resource Conservation District

Awareness Campaign Development

The Tahoe Resource Conservation District needed to inform Lake Tahoe boaters of a newly-established, mandatory boat inspection program in an effort to protect the health of the Lake.

Challenge

To inform Lake Tahoe boaters of a new watercraft inspection program and the damage caused by quagga mussels, at the same time creating “buy in” to the program, so Lake Tahoe boaters are more receptive to boat inspections and fees.

Execution

We used a simple and positive approach that focused on caring for Lake Tahoe while enjoying its natural resources. To capture and resonate with the target audience, the team utilized over-the-top imagery of boaters and popular water sports placed on a beautiful and recognizable shot of Lake Tahoe so that the boat looked larger than life. Although one of the key elements of the campaign was informing boaters about the devastating damage that transported quagga mussels were causing to the Lake and watercraft, the campaign focused on boat inspections for overall Lake health. Campaign elements included print and digital advertising, billboards, direct mail, collateral distribution and public relations.

Post Card

Tahoe Boat Inspection Direct Mail

Rack Card

Lake Tahoe Boat Inspection Rack Card

Billboard

Boat Inspection Awareness Billboard

Results

%

raised awareness within target market

The award-winning campaign ran for approximately five months and resulted in a significant increase of awareness within 94% of the target market. The campaign’s success also prompted the State of Nevada Division of Wildlife (NDOW) to use it for its statewide efforts.

Tahoe Wedding Sites — Website Redesign and Digital Campaign

Tahoe Wedding Sites — Website Redesign and Digital Campaign

Tahoe South

Website redesign and Digital Campaign

Over the last 30 years, DAE & Company has evolved the LTVA Wedding Co-op into a high-performance digital campaign.

Challenge

Evolve current website & digital ad design/messaging to better engage with the emerging market while continuing to provide benefits & information on our co-op properties. Increase RFPs and click-throughs to partner pages and develop a very trackable website with tag management.

Execution

Consumer and competitive research provided the foundation for determining design aesthetics, photography, language and competitive positioning within our newly emerging market.

DAE & Company orchestrated a seasonal photo shoot to provide new photography and videography, created a compelling series of digital display units, updated copy and created #LoveLakeTahoe to better speak to the market.

Website

Redesign of Tahoe Wedding website

Digital Advertising

Tahoe Wedding Sites web banner
Love Lake Tahoe web banner

Results

%

RFP submissions up YoY

%

Partner site click-throughs up YoY

%

Outbound link clicks up YoY

Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel — Meeting/Group Creative Campaign

Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel — Meeting/Group Creative Campaign

Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel Logo

meeting/group campaign

Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel needed to connect with meeting planners bombarded by an incessant stream of marketing and sales pressure.

Challenge

Create awareness both for the property and the destination with meeting planners in highly competitive marketing space.

Execution

The property not only competes on a state-wide level with such marquee destinations as San Diego and Monterey, but locally dukes it out with neighboring hotel/casino properties which frequently use cut-rate pricing tactics to lure planners and their attendees. To rise above the noise, we crafted a signature “Hello” graphic modeled after the classic “Hello, My Name Is” introduction stickers and tied it into LTRH’s alpine setting. The use of complimentary words as the name would represent both the hotel’s amenities and the Lake itself. Using this creative, we developed a variety of landing pages and emails, digital, social and SEM advertising banners, as well as an E-Book planner guide and on-site signage.

Campaign Icon

Hello My Name Is Flawless

Website

Group and Meeting planners web page

Web Banners

Hello My Name Is - Meeting Planner Web Banners

Email Marketing

Tahoe Meeting Planner email marketing

Video

Results

  • Increase for new group bookings 30% 30%
  • Increase in banquet sales beyond the 2020 goals 50% 50%