Increase Bookings by 30% in 45 Days Doing 2 Things

In the last 45 days, I increased bookings by 30% doing two things for a property management group.

Here's how I did it:

But first, some context:

Let me give you a quick elevator pitch of the property management group.

• I can't provide the exact name of the company. So for the sake of this article, we will call them "STR Wisconsin".

• Prior to working together, STR Wisconsin was using Airbnb, VRBO, organic search, brand awareness Google ads and referrals from travel organizations as their primary discovery platforms.

• They average anywhere between 180-250 nights booked per month.

• Guests pay $200-$450 per night.

• They are in a big tourist area.

They were already in a pretty good spot. But, their occupancy rate was just a tad low.

Here are the two things I did to increase bookings by 30%:

Day 0-45 // Google Ads

I starting running Google search ads.

The goal here was to be number one on search results for anyone looking for stays like STR Wisconsin.

Here's how my ads were set up:

Design: I used a tool called Google Keyword Planner to find 20-25 keywords people use to find stays like STR Wisconsin.

I.e. Lodging near Lake Superior, cabin rentals in northern wi and stays in northern wi.

Those are the terms I paid Google to put me at number one for.

Targeting: I found the major markets (cities) STR Wisconsin gets their traffic from.

Then told Google to only show my ads in those markets. (p.s. it was Dallas (reverse snowbirds), Chicago and Minneapolis).

Goal: I switched the campaign goal to sales (bookings) and let the intelligent Google algorithm find active buyers.

After I told Google:

• What search terms my ads should be shown for.

• Who they should be shown to.

• And what my goal is.

I just trimmed the fat every week.

• If I was spending money on a keyword that didn't get clicks, I'd delete it.

• If I saw people were clicking on an image of a beach, I'd add more beach images.

• Once we started getting closer to the leaves changing color, I'd test summer pictures with fall pictures

Day 30-45+ // Meta Ads

After Google ads were up and running I started building out Meta ads.

The goal here was to spark the desire to book from a frequent traveler.

Here's how I set up Meta ads:

1. I did competitor research on Meta Ads Library to find an ad format that does well.

2. I hired a videographer to capture the content and an editor to put the ads together.

3. I sprint tested the finished ad creative to find headlines that get clicks.

4. Then, I advertised the winning ad creative from the sprint test to my audience with the same goal as Google Ads. Bookings.

Here's something interesting I noticed:

My Google ads started doing better after I began running Meta ads.

Have you ever seen a movie clip on social media and thought to yourself, "that looks like a good movie, I want to watch it." Then, go search for it on Google?

Same idea. My Meta ads act like movie trailers for the full experience of my stay. Guests see the ads and search for my properties on Google.

A good sign that my ads are doing their job of creating a desire to book.

The Formula:

Google search ads are catering ads. You pay to place an ad in a spot where people are already searching for you.

Meta ads are interruptor ads. You pay to interrupt people online whether they're thinking about you at that moment or not.

The two work really well together because:

• Meta Ads get guests to think about you.

• Google Ads make it easy for them to find you and book whenever they are ready.

A winning combination.

That's all for today. I'll see you in the next article.

Before you go

I’m currently building an all-in-one marketing agency focused on:

👉️ Direct bookings

👉️ Ads

👉️ Social media

and creating an endless pipeline of guests.

Want to join the waitlist? CLICK HERE. I plan to launch November 2024.