One site for The Quay, Eelbrook House and Saltcote Mill that is quick to book on a phone, and a plan to keep more of the £142,000 a year you now pay online travel agents.
Mara, thank you for two days on the estuary: the Quay at high water, Priya's kitchen garden at Eelbrook and the mill race at Saltcote. This is what we took away from them, and from the booking data you sent afterwards.
In the year to March 2026, 61 of every 100 bookings came through online travel agents, at an average commission of about 18%. That added up to roughly £142,000, or about £3,840 for each of your 37 rooms.
Dan and Priya both told us that most phone callers start on an agency listing and ring to ask whether it's better to book direct. It is: direct guests get breakfast included. Nothing on your websites says so.
"People find us on the agency sites, then phone to ask if it's better to book with us. It always is. You just can't tell from our websites."
72% of visits to your three sites last year came from phones, but only 1 in 10 website bookings were made on one. The Quay's site dates from 2014, Eelbrook's runs on a site builder with its own checkout, and Saltcote Mill's still shows the winter 2023 menu. Booking a double room at Eelbrook on a phone took us 4 minutes 40 seconds and 23 taps.
Four numbers we'll report on every month after launch.
| Measure | Today | Target | By |
|---|---|---|---|
| Share of bookings made direct | 39% | 55% | 18 months after launch |
| Commission paid to agencies each year | £142,000 | £104,750 | 18 months after launch |
| Phone visits that end in a booking | 0.6% | 2.0% | 6 months after launch |
| Time to book a room on a phone | 4 min 40 s | 90 s | At launch |
Commission at target assumes room revenue and average commission stay at 2025 to 2026 levels. Moving 16 points of bookings from agencies to direct saves about £37,250 a year. Ines will set up tracking in the first week so we start from a clean baseline.
Three phases, each ending with a decision from you.
Weeks shown for Signature, starting Monday 2 November if you approve by 23 October. The studio is closed from 21 December to 1 January.
Weeks 1 to 3
A day at each inn with your managers and a few regular guests, a year of booking data, and every page of the three current sites.
You decide: the structure of the site and how the brand looks online.
Weeks 4 to 9
The phone version first: finding a room, choosing dates and paying in under 90 seconds. Then everything else follows from it.
You decide: design sign-off, with the second payment.
Weeks 10 to 16
Built on a content system your managers can update from a phone, connected to your booking engine, with the old addresses redirected so search rankings carry over.
You decide: go live, with the final payment.
Two recent projects Tomás and Ines led.
Six timber lodges in the Peak District
A new site and phone-first booking took direct bookings from 22% to 51% in 14 months, saving about £48,000 a year in commission.
"Within a year we'd dropped one of our two agency listings altogether."
Four neighbourhood restaurants in Bristol
Their gift voucher shop sold £61,400 in its first December, and 38% of buyers had never eaten with them before.
"The voucher shop paid for itself before Christmas."
The same five people from kickoff to launch.
Design director
Leads the project and is in every review with you.
2 days a week
Strategy lead
Runs discovery, the guest interviews and the monthly numbers.
1.5 days a week
Producer
Your day-to-day contact for dates, decisions and invoices.
2 days a week
Senior designer
Designs the booking journey, room pages and inn pages.
4 days a week
Lead developer
Builds the site and connects it to your booking engine.
Full time during build
All prices exclude VAT.
Choose a package and any extras. The total, the timeline and the payment schedule update as you go, and so does the payback estimate below.
Every point of bookings that moves from agencies to direct saves about £2,328 a year: £142,000 spread across 61 points.
From 39% direct today. Our target is 16 points, to 55%.
Commission saved each year
£37,250
Direct share from 39% to 55%
Pays back Signature in
19 months
£56,000 one-off
Still paid to agencies
£104,750
a year, down from £142,000
Assumes room revenue and commission stay at 2025 to 2026 levels and savings run at the full rate from the month after launch. If you add the care plan, its £900 a month comes off the savings.
Type your name and tick the box. We'll send the contract and the first invoice for £16,800 within one working day, and hold Monday 2 November for kickoff.