Vizergy® Helps Property Transition from Branded to Independent; Earns HSMAI Adrian Award
"Sugar Bay Resort and Spa has seen great results from our partnership with Vizergy. The website is not only beautiful, but it is also managed on a state-of-the-art content management system (CMS). Vizergy’s CMS is versatile and allows for great flexibility in our dynamic web marketing initiatives,” said Kashmie Ali, Managing Director.
Vizergy developed a modern, custom website and mobile site for the luxurious resort located on beautiful St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands to cater to travelers seeking leisure trips, weddings and romantic getaways, but also to reach a new target market of meeting and event planners.
The new sites adhere to the latest in custom usability trends, including professional, layered imagery and scrolling that sells both the property and exotic location. Search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) ads maximize the site’s visibility, while a “social media hub” works to engage travel shoppers in the channel they prefer. Their ultimate goal in year one was to produce at least a 10:1 ROI. Vizergy met Sugar Bay’s initial goal and continues to produce positive year-over-year growth.
Below is a sample of the Sugar Bay Resort and Spa’s online performance metrics that support how Vizergy'sdata-driven marketing strategies continue to produce positive year-over-year results:
- 2013 ROI = 18:1
- $1.4 million in direct website bookings in 2013
- Almost 800,000 visitors and over 160,000 customers delivered to the booking engine in 2013, up 17% and 18% respectively over 2012
- Produced nearly $680,000 in bookings in its first three months live
- Almost 60% of website visits attributed to SEO and PPC advertising
- Over 12% of total traffic is on mobile devices, visiting the mobile friendly version of the site
- Site ranks on Google or Bing first page search results for approximately 70 targeted keyword phrases
“Before uniting with Vizergy, Sugar Bay was working towards building their brand identity as a newly independent property that had recently left the Wyndham family,” said Pam Rothenberg, Vizergy’s Director of Client Services. “The key to their success was our dedicated team of Account Managers that worked with the property's team to clearly define goals, research their comp set and implement an effective strategy to provide Sugar Bay the online presence they need to increase revenue in such a hyper competitive market.”
The Adrian Awards, now in their 57th year, is the largest and most prestigious travel marketing competition on the globe. This year’s contest attracted more than 1,200 entries from around the world, with entries judged by top executives from all sectors of the industry. On Feb. 24, 2014, HSMAI will pay tribute to Vizergy during the annual HSMAI Adrian Awards Gala at the New York Marriott Marquis a black-tie affair attended by more than 1,000 hospitality, travel and tourism marketing executives.. Following the gala, all winning entries will be accessible in the Adrian Awards Winners Gallery at www.adrianawards.com.
About Sugar Bay Resort and Spa
Sugar Bay Resort and Spa on the island of St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, is located only eight miles from the international airport, is nestled on 32 lush acres of a beachfront mountainside, overlooking some of the most breathtaking views in the Caribbean. The 294 rooms and suites all inclusive resort is just minutes away from world-acclaimed Magens Bay and a short drive from the cruise docks, Red Hook ferry, St. Thomas duty-free shopping and an 18-hole championship golf course. Sugar Bay’s self-contained convention center offers the most flexible meeting facilities on the island. Groups are offered 15,600 square feet of meeting space, including a 6,720 square foot Estate Ballroom that overlooks the Caribbean and accommodates 800, 12 conference rooms, an amphitheater with tiered seating, and three spacious outdoor terraces with Caribbean Sea vantage points and views. For reservations, visit www.sugarbayresortandspa.com or call Direct: (340) 777-7100 Toll free: (800) 927-7100. Follow Sugar Bay Resort and Spa on Facebook and Twitter.
About HSMAI
The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) is committed to growing business for hotels and their partners, and is the industry’s leading advocate for intelligent, sustainable hotel revenue growth. The association provides hotel professionals and their partners with tools, insights, and expertise to fuel sales, inspire marketing, and optimize revenue through programs such as HSMAI’s MEET, Adrian Awards, and Revenue Optimization Conference. HSMAI is an individual membership organization comprising more than 7,000 members worldwide, with 40 chapters in the Americas Region. Connect with HSMAI at www.hsmai.org, www.facebook.com/hsmai, www.twitter.com/hsmai andwww.youtube.com/hsmai1.
About Vizergy®
Vizergy is an award-winning digital travel marketing company that empowers hoteliers to know more, do more and achieve more–with the ultimate goal of delivering maximum online revenue. The company uses data-driven decisions to provide strategic guidance in the evolving world of online marketing. Online marketing services include search engine optimization, pay-per-click and display advertising, local marketing, website and mobile website design and development, reservation software and advanced analytics. Since 1998, Vizergy has propelled thousands of branded and independent hotels, resorts and hotel management companies to success.
For more information on Vizergy and its services, please visit vizergy.com, call William Bellis at 904.389.1130 Ext. 171 or emailwilliam.b@vizergy.com. Join us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.