Case Study: Island Vista Resort achieves more direct bookings with Fuel Travel

Island Vista Resort boosts direct bookings with Fuel Travel, cutting CPA to $39.97

Island Vista Resort, a luxury oceanfront property in Myrtle Beach, was struggling to compete with online travel agencies (OTAs) for direct bookings through its paid search campaigns. Their previous management had not employed modern best practices, and the resort needed to drive more profitable direct bookings. They partnered with Fuel Travel to manage their Google and Microsoft Ads with the goal of achieving a better return on ad spend than the commissions paid to OTAs.

Fuel Travel implemented a strategic paid search campaign using authority-establishing ad copy, exclusive deal messaging, and competitive rate extensions. They utilized automated bidding and extensive A/B testing to maximize exposure and minimize costs. As a result, Fuel Travel increased the resort's direct bookings while only increasing total ad spend by 8.5%. They achieved a cost per acquisition of $39.97, significantly lower than the $297.76 per booking that would have been paid in OTA commissions, based on an average booking value of $1,483.30.

Island Vista Resort