Bridge Retreats
163K followers, and the job was to stop giving the margin to Booking.com.
The business
A luxury private-stay brand running three distinctive UAE properties, the Japanese House in Ras Al Khaimah, Al Junaidi Farm in Sharjah, and Armani House in Abu Dhabi. Al Junaidi alone runs nine bedrooms, four outdoor pools, horse riding and a private cinema.
The brief
A brand with 163,000 Instagram followers and 532 posts was still taking a meaningful share of its bookings through OTAs, paying commission on demand it had generated itself.
What was in the way
- A large, genuinely engaged social audience that was not converting into direct bookings, attention was being monetised by Booking.com and Airbnb instead.
- Three properties with completely different guest profiles, being marketed as one undifferentiated brand.
- Extreme seasonality: UAE staycation demand collapses in summer and spikes on long weekends, so an evenly-spread budget wastes most of itself.
- High-consideration, high-ticket bookings where a group organiser needs to convince five other people before anyone pays.
What I did
Rebuilt the direct-booking path
The enquiry flow was restructured so the shortest route from an Instagram story to a held date ran through the brand's own channels, not a marketplace listing.
Gave each property its own audience
The Japanese House, Al Junaidi Farm and Armani House were separated into distinct campaign structures with distinct creative, because a couple booking a design retreat and a family booking a nine-bedroom farm are not the same buyer.
Concentrated budget into demand windows
Spend was weighted toward the booking windows that precede long weekends and national holidays, rather than spread evenly across a calendar where half the year does not convert.
Built for the group decision
Content and landing pages were designed to be forwarded, the organiser needs assets that sell the property to the rest of the group without them ever visiting the site.
What changed
Delivered as part of the Outbox Agency portfolio, alongside Viking Restaurant, AlBarq Express and LePadel Club.
Keep exploring
You have explored 0 of 48 planets.
More in Hospitality
Viking Restaurant
#1 of 231 restaurants in Ajman. 4.9 stars. That rank is the product.
The 7 Elements Staycation
Selling quiet, to people who are exhausted by Dubai.
Lé Padel Club
Five panoramic courts, 300 seats, and a Tuesday afternoon problem.