Halden House
An independent guesthouse taking bookings through a third party and paying for the privilege on every room.
The brief
Halden House was full most weekends and keeping less of it than it should. Almost every booking arrived through a listing site that took a cut, because the guesthouse's own site could not take one.
Guests were finding Halden on the listing site, reading the reviews there, and booking there. The site's job was to be the better place to make that decision, and then to close it.
State the direct rate plainly on the page. Do not hide it in a banner.
What we did
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Content direction
A shot list and content plan built around the six things guests ask about before booking.
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Web design
Rooms, rates, availability and the surrounding area, in the order people actually read them.
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Direct booking
A booking engine integrated into the site, with the rate advantage stated in plain words next to the price.
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Build
Static build, fast on a rural 4G connection, which is how half the traffic arrives.
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Print
In-room guide and a check-in card that point returning guests at direct booking.
How it was done
- 01 Step 01
Reading the reviews
Went through two years of guest reviews on the listing site and pulled out what people actually mentioned. That became the content order.
- 02 Step 02
Designing the decision
Put the rate, the room, the cancellation terms and the location on one screen, so nobody has to open a second tab.
- 03 Step 03
Direct booking
Integrated the booking engine and made the direct rate the clearest number on the page.
- 04 Step 04
Closing the loop
Designed the in-room material to make the second booking direct, since the first one probably was not.
Handed over
Everything below is owned outright, in editable and print-ready formats, with the source files.
- Content plan and photography shot list
- Full site design, mobile first
- Static build with booking integration
- Editable rooms and rates structure
- In-room guide, print-ready
- Check-in card and signage
- Basic SEO setup and local listings
- Handover guide
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