How Does a Very Small Hotel Compete Against Giants?
Successfully, if you use the web as effectively as the ‘Tween Waters Inn on Captiva Island. That’s the conclusion of a September 13, 2007 article in Gulf Coast Business Review. It paints a detailed portrait of what they have been able to accomplish with a lot more creativity than dollars.
Southwest Florida is blessed with two beautiful barrier islands: Sanibel and its slightly more remote next door neighbor, Captiva. Life there is still pretty close to the paradise that older residents of Naples and Fort Myers remember from less crowded times. The ‘Tween Waters Inn is a charming reminder of gentler times. But its marketing needs are all about our globally connected reality.
Here is their reality:
- small hotel with 137 rooms and 19 cottages
- owned by small hotel company
- limited marketing budget
- can only afford to spend 2.5% of their revenues on marketing
- they compete with 3X larger South Seas Resort just a few miles away
- they compete with two Ritz Carltons and a Hyatt less than 35 miles away
- they compete with the rest of Florida
Here’s what they did:
- partnered with creative agency, Noise Inc.
- launched new 30 page website in November 2005
- made the site is visually appealing and content rich
- search-engine optimized
- can book a room on every page
- uses online reservation system that charges 6% commission
- created special promotion to commerate anniversary in 2006
- 75 2 night room packages
- collected 15,000 email names–only 1% opt out
- ongoing email campaign–33% open and 15% click through
Investment
- $20,000 for the website
Results
- online bookings up from 5% of total to 20% of total
- occupancy up 7% and net/room up 25% over 2006 vs. -5.6% and 2.6% in Fort Myers
The bottom-line: You don’t have to be big to compete, but you do have to be smarter and more creative than the other guys. Choose a partner that really knows how to leverage content and the web(In fact, the Noise, Inc. website does a fine job of content marketing) And, even if you’re on an island, you can be just a click away from customers all over the world.
Gulf Coast Business Review did a terrific job of nailing down exactly how the ‘Tween Waters Inn made it happen. If you do business in SW Florida, you might want to consider their free trial subscription.. I know I’ve become a regular reader.
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[...] That’s the conclusion of a September 13, 2007 article in Gulf Coast Business Review. It paints a detailed portrait of what they have been able to accomplish with a lot more creativity than dollars. Click here to learn how a small budget beats a big budget. [...]
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Comments [4]
Newt: I want to thank you for the commentary regarding my agency’s work on behalf of ‘Tween Waters Inn. I’m blessed to be able to say that Jeff Shuff of TWI demonstrates the old ad adage: good clients get good work. Well, he’s a great client for all the right reasons, and it’s been my honor to come to know him and perform for him.
John,
When I got my copy of GCBR, I was thrilled to see that we have local folks who really understand content marketing. What’s great about the net is that you can leverage brainpower and creativity without losing your shirt.
What disappoints me is that too many agency folks are still not up to speed–either for their clients or for their own websites.
Newt
Newt:
This the first issue of your onliner I have received. Good on you, as we used to say in Australia. I share your observation that too many advertising agency people believe the web and the internet are still a “fad”. In fact, among those of us who got on board early, the web/internet - from web sites to blogs to email marketing - has become a marketing tool of first choice.
Bill,
After having looked for a mini-vacation spot last night, I looked at a Hilton property. In fact, the ‘Tween Waters Inn website is much more useful, attractive, and content rich. Sometimes, it looks as though being big doesn’t get you anything. And that a hometown marketing agency can beat out whatever monster agency Hilton is using.
Newt