Industry: Hospitality and Tourism

How We Elevated Overall Lodging Revenue for a Family-Owned and Operated Destination Resort

Project Overview

Sugar Lake Lodge (SLL) is a top-rated, family-owned and operated resort that offers all-inclusive activities, chef-crafted dining, cozy accommodations, professional development programs, and other unique amenities on the crystal-blue waters of Sugar Lake in northern Minnesota. SLL chose DRPM to help differentiate them from their competition by transforming their current website and digital campaign to increase overall lodging numbers and boost the resort’s success.

The Challenge

Sugar Lake Lodge wanted to boost their lodging revenue after numerous years of static numbers. Several factors made this goal challenging, such as a fiercely competitive Northern Minnesota hospitality market, the resort’s distance from the Twin Cities, and concealed resort capabilities and differentiators that weren’t known to the public. To combat these challenges, they needed help to better understand the marketplace, identify their key differentiators, and enhance their existing website and digital campaign to gain increased visibility and sales.

DRPM's Solution

Our first step was to complete competitive audits and foundational research to unveil market insights and opportunities, which helped to shape our overarching marketing strategy and direction. From there, we developed key promotional phrases such as “One in a Million,” “Ultimate Vacation Destination in Minnesota,” “Minnesota’s Best Kept Secret,” and “The Mediterranean of the Midwest” to be utilized across all campaign efforts. Next, we designed and developed a new website on a user-friendly content management system to help the client have access to update content on their end. The optimized site streamlined navigation, improved the digestion of information, and promoted action to complete a lodging reservation. When launching the digital marketing campaign, we created and implemented Google and Facebook ads, third-party digital ad placements, email marketing, search engine/web optimizations, direct mail pieces, and YouTube ads.

Our Results

90%+

Increase in Total Website Traffic

23%+

Increase in Organic Website Traffic

24%+

Increase in Total Lodging Revenue

Visuals

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What Did They Say About Us?

“The thought that your team has put into the marketing plan, the alignment of the plan with our markets, and the communication with us has all been outstanding.”
—Fred Bobich, CEO of Sugar Lake Lodge

Are You Ready

To Propel Your Marketing Investment?