The challenge

Like much of the travel industry, St Austell was reliant on online travel agents (OTAs) to drive room bookings to their estate of pubs and accommodation across the South West. Whilst this was effective at increasing overall bookings, it comes at a price: high commission fees and the opportunity to build direct relationships with customers. The customer experience up to the point of booking had been very transactional, with little autonomy to inspire, persuade and drive bookings directly.

There was a clear gap where they weren’t able to communicate the right message on the right digital channel throughout the purchase journey. They wanted a strategy that enabled the brand to create and nurture their own relationships with potential customers.

“Owning the moments that matter”

The strategy combined paid search, paid social advertising, and SEO to ensure that St Austell was present across the digital channels that holidaymakers use as they research, plan, and book a holiday in the South West.

This combined strategy firstly reduced the dependency on OTAs, but also allowed St Austell to take ownership of their customer relationships over the longer term and communicate their brand and unique venue offerings on their own terms.

We optimised and drove traffic towards each venue’s individual website, rather than St Austell’s main website, to build up their digital ecosystem and win more visibility in the search results, in turn, providing better long-term value.

Overview of the market

The St Austell venues are all located in the South West of the UK. They saw a huge spike in demand during the easing of restrictions post-Covid, with holidaymakers limited to staycations in the UK, and the South West being a popular destination for these types of trips.

The strategy needed to retain that interest and desire post-pandemic, encouraging people to keep booking staycations in the region over holidays abroad.

We used market insights to drive the strategy and align it back to the findings. For example, against the backdrop of the cost-of-living crisis, holidaymakers have been searching for better value. So, the role for St Austell was to inform holidaymakers about cheaper accommodation options and free things to do.

Hospitality: How digital can help drive footfall

true deep dive into the state of the nation and highlight the challenges impacting the sector. The white paper shares tech and digital tactics being used by operators to drive appeal for their venues alongside valuable case studies.