Hospitality · Vietnam · 2024
SOJO Hotel: Cutting OTA Dependency with CRM Automation and Direct Booking Growth
AKA Digital deployed a CRM automation and personalised SMS strategy for SOJO Hotel — driving an 85% increase in direct bookings, reducing OTA commission costs by 40%, and lifting average booking value through AI-powered conversational flows.
The Challenge
SOJO Hotel was heavily reliant on OTA platforms (Booking.com, Agoda, Expedia) for the majority of their room bookings — paying commission rates of 18–22% per reservation. They needed a direct booking strategy that could compete with OTA convenience while building a proprietary guest relationship that reduced platform dependency and long-term cost per acquisition.
Our Approach
AKA Digital designed a CRM-powered direct booking engine using personalised SMS and email automations triggered by guest behaviour: post-stay win-back sequences, anniversary and birthday offers, early-bird exclusive rates for returning guests, and an AI conversational flow via WhatsApp that handled booking inquiries, room preferences, and upsell prompts without human intervention. All campaigns were unified under CRMMind — AKA Digital's proprietary CRM automation stack.
The Outcome
Within two quarters, SOJO Hotel's direct booking share grew from under 20% to over 37% of total reservations. OTA dependency dropped significantly, recovering an estimated 40% of previously paid commission costs — with average booking value rising as CRM-driven upsells converted more guests to superior room categories.
Technologies Used
AKA Digital Solutions Deployed
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