Case Study
Geary Parkway Motel is an independent motel located in San Francisco, California — operating in one of the most competitive and high-cost hospitality markets in the United States. Like most independent accommodation providers, the motel had historically relied on third-party booking platforms (OTAs) for the majority of its reservations, giving it limited control over its customer acquisition costs, brand positioning, and direct booking revenue.
In a market dominated by major hotel chains and aggressively marketed boutique properties, Geary Parkway Motel needed to build its own discoverable digital presence — one capable of generating direct booking intent, improving local search visibility, and reducing dependence on commission-heavy OTA platforms.
Heavy reliance on OTA platforms for bookings — limited direct traffic and no owned customer acquisition channel
Heavy reliance on OTA platforms for bookings — limited direct traffic and no owned customer acquisition channel
Independent hotels and motels that rely entirely on OTAs are permanently at a disadvantage — they pay commissions on every booking, have no brand relationship with the customer, and cannot retarget or remarket to past guests. The goal was to build a digital ecosystem that generated direct visibility, direct traffic, and direct booking intent — reducing OTA dependence and building long-term brand equity.
We built a coordinated multi-channel growth strategy combining Meta paid advertising, organic social content, and Google Business Profile optimization — three channels working together to capture travellers at every stage of their discovery and booking journey.
We structured the paid strategy across two campaigns, each serving a different stage of the funnel:
Alongside paid campaigns, we built a content strategy for Facebook and Instagram centred on travel storytelling, San Francisco lifestyle content, and hospitality-focused narratives. The approach positioned Geary Parkway Motel not as a budget accommodation option but as a smart, well-located base for exploring San Francisco — shifting the brand perception from transactional to aspirational.
GBP is the single most important local discovery tool for hospitality brands — and it was significantly under-optimized before we began. We implemented a comprehensive GBP strategy including:
Meta campaign audience analysis revealed a clear performance pattern — female travellers aged 55+ and 65+ delivered the strongest engagement quality and traffic efficiency. We refined targeting to concentrate budget on these high-intent demographics while maintaining broader awareness reach for younger audiences at lower cost per impression.
Period December 2025 – January 2026
10 ads
139,427
82,339
4,982
$0.13
3.88%
$716.18
February 2026 – June 2026
28 ads
224,579
153,472
12,564
6,428
$0.16
5.59%
$1,948.48
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Geary Parkway Motel’s results prove that independent hospitality brands can build powerful direct discovery channels without massive budgets. If you operate a hotel, motel, or hospitality business and want to reduce platform fees and build your own guest acquisition system, Braineax can build it.
