The brand
Originally built in the 1970s, the Inn @ Northrup Station was rediscovered and transformed by Portland architect Steve Routon. The exterior reflects the true character and spirit of Northwest Portland. Suites at the Inn allow guests the opportunity to interact with the street scene below from a series of private decks and patios accented with soaring trellises. Spacious suites along with fully featured granite kitchens or kitchenettes are hallmarks of this one-of-a-kind hotel. Artfully designed, the Inn @ Northrup Station has become known as a unique boutique hotel with a very distinctive Northwest Portland flair.
The challenge
With limited resources, productivity is important for staff at the Inn @ Northrup Station. And when Misty Moore, Director of Sales and Marketing, would prepare to send any promotional marketing campaigns, she struggled to ensure the right person received the right message. Her main concern was excluding guests with future reservations in order to avoid the frontdesk staff having to handle multiple calls requesting price adjustments.
She explains, “Our email solution didn’t allow us to accurately segment our guest database. We were forced to create recipient lists and manually remove upcoming guests, using a different list. It was really time consuming and ineffective. I knew there had to be a better way to manage campaign recipients.”
The team was also interested in improving their guest experience with post-stay feedback and had a goal of improving their online rankings. Before they used Revinate the hotel was ranked 13 on Tripadvisor in Portland.
The solution
When Misty began using Revinate Marketing in 2018, she quickly realized how easy segmentation could be with the right marketing platform. With Revinate’s rich segmentation functionality, she can automatically identify the right guests to receive specific campaigns. Because campaign set-up is so straight-forward, she’s able to create more personalized campaigns that drive significant revenue with minimal time and effort. For example, with the right personalization, a seasonal flash sale promotion drove $8K of direct revenue.
Revinate also proved to be an easy transition for the team’s graphic designer. Initially, she was worried about learning a new tool, but found it to be easier to work with than their previous email platform. She could quickly create beautifully branded emails, targeted at the right audience. Because it’s so simple to create campaigns, the team is doing more one-time promotions than before. A Cyber Monday campaign, for example, received a 64% open rate and drove more than $16K in direct room revenue. A July 2023 Events 15% Promo drove $11K in room revenue with a 34% open rate.
The Inn @ Northrup Station also leverages Revinate Guest Feedback to automatically capture feedback from guests, respond to reviews, and drive new bookings. When they began using the solution, the hotel was ranked 13 on Tripadvisor. Within a year of using Revinate, they reached number one.
The results
Today, the Inn @ Northrup Station is leveraging its people and technology far more effectively. With Revinate Marketing and Revinate Guest Feedback fully operationalized, they have achieved these results:
- Lifetime Revenue: $1.6M
- Average email health: 60%
- Average open rate in 2023: 19%
- Average room revenue per campaign in 2023: $6K
- Reached #1 on Tripadvisor (from #13)
