The Coniston

Partnership

The Coniston Hotel Country Estate & Spa in Skipton, North Yorkshire, has always excelled at creating meaningful guest relationships. A family-run business for over 50 years, they partnered with Journey in 2018 to strengthen their digital presence. Recently, they engaged us to revitalise their commercial strategy and boost revenue from direct business.

Challenge

The Coniston faced challenges in standing out amidst last-minute deals, while struggling to compete with major platforms like Expedia and Booking.com. Lacking in-house digital expertise, they recognised the need to grow their online presence, particularly to attract a broader age range of new customers.

Approach

We worked closely with The Coniston to develop a robust commercial strategy alongside a comprehensive digital marketing plan to enhance online visibility and engagement. By leveraging data-driven insights, we optimised the website for conversions, turning browsers into guests and providing a seamless booking experience through our ecommerce platform.

Stats

Direct Room Bookings YOY
+ 70 %
Website Conversion
+ 125 %
ROAS
+ 92 %

Strategic services

A tailored commercial strategy

We supported The Coniston develop a robust commercial strategy, guided by our performance team. By creating a strategic framework with clear timelines and actionable steps for their in-house team, we ensured that our approach aligns seamlessly with The Coniston’s commercial goals, driving measurable results and sustainable growth for their business.

“There’s a direct correlation between the increase in sales and staff morale. We are seeing great occupancy rates; the staff are embracing the guests and delivering on guest experience. There’s a fantastic atmosphere across the hotel and wider estate; the hotel feels alive.” Louise Bolton, Director at The Coniston Hotel.

Website

Bringing the story to life

Our approach was a holistic and strategic one, encompassing several critical elements. First, we created a journey map to understand how visitors will interact with the site and easily navigate all the experiences on offer. Second, we focused on conversion optimisation, employing data-driven insights to enhance the website's effectiveness in converting browsers into guests. Mobile usage has increased, with 66% of orders now completed on mobile devices (a 10% increase YOY). Additionally, we worked on bringing The Coniston's brand to life online, aligning the website with the brand's identity and values.

Driving direct business

Increasing engagement

Working together we helped The Coniston maintain a strong digital presence that is both innovative and has grown alongside their business. We have regularly reviewed the digital strategy to bring the hotel closer to its guests, increasing its digital reach and utilising its marketing budget effectively. We used Google and Meta campaigns to promote tactical room rates and packages, seeing a 92% increase in return on ad spend (ROAS) and 127% increase in conversion.

Technology

Seamless ecommerce

At The Coniston, the diverse offerings—from accommodation to spa services, gift vouchers and dining—highlighted the need for guests to effortlessly curate their own stay. Journey’s ecommerce platform seamlessly integrated these options, providing real-time availability that allows guests to book everything at once, any time of day. This technology not only reduced calls and operational pressure but also significantly increased revenue through add-ons and total guest spend. Shortly after implementing the platform, The Coniston recognised how much potential revenue had been previously overlooked, particularly during peak booking hours from 7pm to 9pm when their reservations department was closed. The results speak for themselves: direct room bookings increased by 70% year-on-year, website conversion rates soared by 125%, gift voucher sales rose by 68%, and 27% of room bookings included a table reservation.

Don’t take our word for it

“We didn’t have digital expertise within our business, but knew that we needed to grow that side of our business. Journey has helped us not only devise a strong commercial strategy thanks to its performance team, but activate that plan by working with their digital marketing team and utilising their technology solutions.”
Review by Louise Bolton Director at the coniston
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