The Challenge
This 45-room boutique hotel in Shoreditch was spending heavily on Google Ads but seeing diminishing returns. Their cost per acquisition had crept up to £85, their return on ad spend sat at a disappointing 2.1x, and they had no Meta Ads presence at all.
The existing Google Ads account was poorly structured — broad match keywords were eating the budget, there was no negative keyword list, and conversion tracking was misconfigured. The hotel was essentially paying for clicks that never converted.
What We Did
- Google Ads restructure: Rebuilt the entire account with tightly themed ad groups, exact and phrase match keywords, and a comprehensive negative keyword list to eliminate wasted spend.
- Meta Ads retargeting:Launched Facebook and Instagram retargeting campaigns targeting website visitors who didn't complete a booking, with dynamic creative showcasing room types.
- A/B tested creative: Ran systematic tests across ad copy, imagery, and landing pages. Lifestyle photography outperformed room-only shots by 3.2x on click-through rate.
- Conversion tracking overhaul:Implemented proper server-side tracking with enhanced conversions, feeding accurate data back into Google's bidding algorithms.
The Results
Within three months of the restructure, cost per acquisition dropped from £85 to £22 — a 74% reduction. ROAS climbed from 2.1x to 7.8x, and direct bookings (bypassing OTAs like Booking.com) increased by 68%, saving the hotel thousands in commission fees.
“We were haemorrhaging money on Google Ads before Byter stepped in. Now every pound we spend comes back nearly eight-fold. The Meta retargeting alone has been a game-changer for direct bookings.”
— Marketing Director