The newkings boutique hotel | International Holidays: Simplifying the Online Customer Journey

The newkings boutique hotel is a 12-year-old, 4* boutique hotel. The luxury hotel, set in the heart of Cape Town, attracts thousands of people from all over the world, every year.

Offering 41 stylish rooms and suites, the hotel boasts sleek features and stunning views of the ocean against a breathtaking backdrop of mountains.

Its newly refurbished Zest Restaurant has an authentic wood-fired Grill where the head chef places a strong emphasis on simplicity in his dishes. He uses locally-sourced, fresh produce, and never uses more than three ingredients per meal, with the wood fire offering a smoky depth to his dishes.

Before the pandemic, the hotel was running. Post-pandemic, the hotel was flourishing.

Before May 2021, newkings had no technology in place to help manage its bookings. This meant they were missing out on vital opportunities to engage new demographics, encourage more bookings, and drive their revenue.

With no online presence, they were only reaching a small percentage of their full potential.

So, what did they do differently?

The newkings team used the lockdowns to implement some drastic changes. They underwent a full renovation and transformation of the hotel, bringing it to life by injecting elegance and sophistication into every corner.

They also recruited Profitroom to engineer a beautiful, simplistic and functional website. The launch of the website in May 2021 coincided with newkings officially partnering with Profitroom. They now use Profitroom’s website and Booking Engine - and they’re thrilled with its continued success.

Martine Wood, the general manager at newkings, said: “Prior to our partnership with Profitroom, we had no system in place at all. People would come and go from our website, and we’d never know anything more.

Now, we have the ability to retarget abandoned bookings with automated follow-ups and data capturing.”

Profitroom facilitates newkings ideal customer journey by offering:

• Simplicity
• Calls-to-action
• A seamless journey
• An easy payment process
• Automated retargeting
• Good integration
• A clean system

Profitroom ensures the booking process is clean, fast, and simple; there are no flashing pop-ups or pages of information required. The customer simply has to add in basic details before being taken straight to the payment process.

There are ‘Book Now’ buttons featured throughout, offering plenty of opportunities for guests to follow through with their bookings.

Profitroom’s booking engine also offers relevant and timely call-to-actions for upselling packages.

The key features allow guests to book additional experiences, such as Champagne and Sunset tours, city tours, and the Cape Town Aquarium - or simply just add on breakfast.

This helps families to plan their excursions in advance, leading to more direct, uncomplicated bookings.

Martine said, “The ability to integrate different promotions and upsell directly contributes to an increase in revenue.”

Profitroom has a dedicated customer success team who work alongside your business every day to help drive performance.

Bradley Williams, the reservations and revenue manager at The newkings boutique hotel, said, “The key elements of Profitroom are its people, passion, relationships, and service. We’ve already recommended them; we wouldn’t ever be without them now. They’re good listeners and are always available. We’ve never had to wait; we have regular calls and zoom meetings - and they’re always more than happy to visit us. Considering the distance and time difference, Profitroom is only ever a phone call away.”

Profitroom has helped newkings build from the ground up, increasing their direct bookings and simplifying their online processes.