How a 24-Room Seasonal Lodge Filled Its Shoulder Season
24-room seasonal mountain lodge
The Challenge
Peak weeks sold out on their own, but spring and fall left rooms empty. Discounting on OTAs filled some nights, at the cost of margin and rate integrity.
Marketing was one-size-fits-all: the same peak-season message ran year-round, and there was no plan for the guests who would actually travel in the off months.
What We Did
Shoulder-season positioning
We built landing pages for the segments that travel off-peak: weekend retreats, couples, small groups and remote workers, each with its own offer and photography.
Search and paid in the booking window
Budget moved from always-on to the 30-to-60-day booking window before each shoulder period, targeting high-intent searches rather than broad awareness.
Direct-only value
Package perks and flexible dates reserved for direct bookings gave guests a reason to skip the OTA without deep rate cuts.
Email calendar
A seasonal email calendar to past guests announced shoulder-season packages ahead of public release.
The Results
- ✓Shoulder-season direct bookings grew 55%.
- ✓Occupancy in off-peak months rose 19 percentage points on the base period.
- ✓Cost per direct booking fell 24% as paid spend concentrated on the booking window.
- ✓Average rate held up because incentives were value-adds rather than discounts.
Seasonal properties win by matching spend and messaging to the weeks that need demand, not by marketing at the same volume all year.
Anonymized case study. Results vary by property, market and starting point.
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