Why Australia’s Hottest Boutique Hotel Partners with Luxury Escapes
Their Story
The brainchild of sisters Siobhan and Elisha Bickle, the privately-owned and operated Halcyon House is a one-time surfing motel completely transformed into one of Australia’s hottest and most talked-about boutique hotels.
The property is nestled in a prime beachfront location on Australia’s east coast in Cabarita Beach, New South Wales, a two-hour drive from Brisbane, 15 minutes from Gold Coast Airport and 30 minutes north of the trendy Byron Bay. It features 19 uniquely-designed rooms and two luxury two-bedroom suites, together with a beachfront pool, a terrace area and an award-winning, Chef-Hatted on-site restaurant, Paper Daisy, named one of Australia’s Top 100 Restaurants by the Australian Financial Review 2018.
In just three short years since it opened its doors for the first time, the hotel – together with Paper Daisy – has attracted worldwide media attention from the likes of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar and has won countless awards. It was declared one of ‘The Best New Hotels on the Planet’ by Travel + Leisure in 2016 and was one of only three Australian properties to be featured in Conde Nast Traveler’s coveted Gold List 2018. It is also part of the exclusive Small Luxury Hotels of the World collection, which accepts just 5% of the 1,000 hotel applications it receives each year.
The hotel’s exquisite interiors, together with a carefully-managed PR and influencer marketing programme, have transformed the property into an Instagrammer’s dream where the well-heeled of Australia and beyond descend to see and be seen. The recent addition of the Halcyon Spa has cemented its reputation as the go-to destination for a luxury boutique break in Australia.
Their Goal
Create incremental demand in low occupancy periods without compromising the hotel’s luxury image.
Why would a successful, high profile hotel – and no history of working with OTAs (online travel agencies) due to demand – choose to partner with Luxury Escapes? With an average occupancy rate of 90% and a limited number of rooms to fill, the prerequisite was not to generate a huge quantity of room nights.
The answer is simple: there is always a layer of incremental business to be generated and an extra slice of the pie to be added. By partnering with Luxury Escapes, the hotel’s minimal low occupancy periods were boosted, a new interstate clientele of affluent, semi-retired and retired FIT travelers was reached and it gained exposure on Luxury Escapes’ carefully-curated marketing and social media channels with an extensive reach.
“Partnering with Luxury Escapes provided us with an opportunity to expose the Halcyon House brand to a new audience and further expand our marketing reach without the investment risk of other digital based campaigns,” explains Mauro, General manager of Halcyon House. “Working with Luxury Escapes was very easy. Our dedicated Account Manager guided us through the process which made everything run seamlessly.”
Our Solution
Curate a luxury package aimed at a prestigious clientele to generate room nights and increase average length of stay.
“We wanted to create the best boutique beachfront escape possible for our customers,” explains Tim Clark, the Partnerships and Contracting Manager who worked closely with Halcyon House to perfect the offer. “We tailored the experience to couples and foodies, as research has shown that our customers are keen gourmands. The incredible Paper Daisy is a huge draw card of the hotel so we felt it was essential to include a dining experience there. We also incorporated a complimentary bottle of Prosecco and spa credits into the offer to enhance that element of adults’ luxury – which also encourages the upselling of services whilst at the hotel, as customers are likely to spend more whilst at the spa.”
The Luxury Escapes content team tailored the offer to interstate customers looking for luxurious waterfront getaway.
300 room nights were sold and an average stay length of 2.4 nights was achieved, while the property’s positive ratings on TripAdvisor were boosted to cement its position as the top property in Cabarita Beach.
“We noticed a significant increase in the number of enquiries and bookings as a result of the Luxury Escapes campaign. The exposure, particularly via their loyal 2.1 million newsletter subscribers, extensive social media following and editorial coverage, offered us the benefit of increasing our occupancy rate over what has traditionally been our low season,” says Mauro. “The impact of the campaign was immediate. Over the course of a few weeks we received an increase in enquiries resulting in more accommodation bookings.”
The Campaign
Luxury Escapes Marketing
Curated Offer Page: with custom editorial + detailing key Halcyon House selling points
Social Media: 4x Posts (2 x Exclusive, and 2 x 'Best of the Week') across Facebook (1.1M Followers) and Instagram (175k+ Followers)
EDM: 5x eDM appearances, including a hero position, subject line eDM over the 14-day marketing campaign.
Luxury Escapes Magazine Inclusion: 200K monthly page views
Campaign Impact
300 room nights generated during low season
55% of customers upgraded their length of stay or room type
60% of customers took up the Day Spa credits or dined over dinner (in addition to the included lunch), providing significant incremental revenue for the property
For more on Halcyon House, be sure to check out their website and Instagram for more content on this stunning property!
