🌊 How We Booked $52,000 in Off-Season Reservations (on a $100/Month Ad Budget)

Client: An Oceanfront Hotel in Carolina Beach, NC
Campaign By: Nextwave Concepts
Timeline: February – May 2025
Goal: Boost pre-summer occupancy with a promo code
Result: 72 reservations totaling $50,225.22 in revenue
ROI: 12,456.31%

If I could give you over $125 for every dollar you gave me, how much would you give me?

🧠 The Challenge

Anyone in the hotel world knows: spring can be a weird time. People aren’t quite in summer vacation mode yet, but the beach is still calling. A long-loved condo-tel right on the ocean in Carolina Beach, wanted to fill some rooms and bring in extra revenue before the summer surge hit.

Enter: the offseason hustle.

🎯 The Strategy

We put together a three-pronged campaign to reach both familiar faces and new potential guests:

• Email Marketing:
  We wrote to a curated list of past guests gathered over many years—people who already loved the place—and reminded them that the offseason has its own charm (fewer crowds, cheaper rates, sunsets that still slap). The only way to get the promo code? Click through to a blog post on the website. A little curiosity never hurts.
• Facebook & Instagram Ads:
  We mirrored the message across social, targeting a lookalike audience built from the hotel’s past guest list. We went wide—most of the eastern U.S.—but skipped most of the saturated southern beach states (except for our own sweet North Carolina, of course).
• Lean Budget, Big Return:
  We kept it super simple: $100/month in ad spend. Not a huge budget, but it did the job. And then some!

📈 The Results

• 72 bookings over three months
• $50,225.22 in revenue
• $0.15 cost per click (compare that to $2–$3 from the hotel’s in-house ad efforts)
• 12,456.31% return on investment
• $125.65 for every dollar spent on ads
• One happy client, now planning on how we can help them some more

💡 Why It Worked

This campaign worked because it didn’t try to be everything to everyone. We focused on real people who were already inclined to love what our client had to offer—whether they’d stayed before or just matched the vibe.

It wasn’t about flashy graphics or viral gimmicks. It was thoughtful targeting, tight messaging, and consistent execution. And that made all the difference.

🤝 Want Results Like This?

We love helping businesses turn underperforming months into unexpected wins. Whether you run a hotel, a shop, or a service, Nextwave Concepts can help you connect with the right people and turn browsers into bookings.

📬 Let’s talk—you bring the challenge, we’ll bring the strategy. Click here to schedule a chat.