Their Story

Lakestone Lodge is a purpose-built, six-bedroom luxury eco-lodge nestled on the shores of Lake Pukaki on New Zealand’s South Island. The lodge was created in 2016 by local couple Anna and Mike Bacchus, who together with their young children were looking to launch a family-run business. The lodge is designed to offer guests an off-grid experience without being too remote, maximizing the spectacular surrounding lake and mountain vistas from every room.

Their Goal

Gain exposure and increase occupancy during the winter months.

Every property that partners with Luxury Escapes has its own set of objectives which inform the campaign. For Lakestone Lodge, this was to raise ongoing exposure for the property through Luxury Escapes’ extensive marketing channels (including a social following of more than one million, an email audience of more than 2.5 million and a magazine with 200,000 monthly page views) and boost occupancy during the quieter winter months to ensure they could keep their staff employed year-round.

The Campaign

Online Offer Page: A carefully-curated deal page incorporating the key selling points of the property.

Social:

4x Posts (2 x Exclusive, and 1 x 'Best of the Week') across Facebook (1.1M Followers)
3x Posts (2 x Exlusive and 1 x ‘Best of the Week’) across Instagram (175k+ Followers)

EDM: 5x eDM appearances, including a hero position, subject line eDM over the 14-day marketing campaign.

Campaign Impact

Fill low season: More than 80% of bookings landed during the winter season
Increased ALOS: Average length of stay was increased from 1.5 – two nights to three nights
Increased direct bookings: Halo effect: word-of-mouth bookings from Luxury Escapes customers to their friends
Increased F&B spend: 75% of Luxury Escapes’ guests made additional F&B purchases during their stay
Incremental business: 90% of guests wouldn’t have stayed at Lakestone Lodge if it wasn’t for the Luxury Escapes promotion
Increased reach: Social posts reached more than 160,000 people and generated more than 5.5k video views

“The key objective for the hotel was to fill winter weekdays,” explains Rebecca Maitland, the Luxury Escapes Partnerships & Contracting Manager who worked with Lakestone Lodge to build the campaign. “When no other partner could deliver into this period, Luxury Escapes generated more than 250 room nights with 80% of bookings in winter and 72% mid-week, in one campaign.”

“We had heard anecdotally about Luxury Escapes,” says Anna Bacchus. “We were absolutely blown away by the success of the promotion. It delivered everything they had promised and it was almost as though someone had just turned a tap on and the bookings just poured in.

Organically, we would have struggled over the winter months as bookings are quieter during that time, so Luxury Escapes helped to fill that gap.”

Interested in reading more partner case studies? Check out these links below:

Why Australia’s Hottest Boutique Hotel Partners with Luxury Escapes

Grand Hyatt Bali Shares Four Key Benefits from Partnering with Luxury Escapes

How Luxury Escapes Sold 4,800 Room Nights for a Previously Unknown Japan Resort