Property view of Margaritaville Lake Resort Lake Conroe, Houston TX

Changing latitudes: a lake-loving audience is the key to a strong opening for Margaritaville Lake Resort, Lake Conroe | Houston

Beyond one-to-one traveler journeys, we’ve built a platform that launches hoteliers on a marketing journey, too. A journey that infuses the tenets of good hospitality from beginning to end, and that’s simple to manage, yet incredibly impactful.

When Margaritaville Lake Resort, Lake Conroe | Houston opened its doors, the property brought an entirely new concept to the area. They had to build an audience, and inspire them to get “into a vacation state of mind.

They tapped Flip.to to do just that—and when lake life called, this audience answered, to the tune of incredible impact:

Infographic: A look at Impact, 1 Year for Margaritaville Lake Resort, Lake Conroe Houston. 1,300,000 friends & family reached and inspired in the dreaming phase, in the most authentic way possible; 77,000 travelers unveiled in the planning phase, deciding where to go next; This resulted in $1,600,000 in reservations tracked in real time to direct, incremental revenue

So, how’d we get here? Let’s dive in. 🏊👇

Timing is everything, until it’s not

As you’d expect, mid-2020 was a challenging time to open a new resort—even for one with rock star branding and universal name appeal. But schedules are schedules, and a property sitting idle is guaranteed to earn zero returns.

On the edge of glimmering, boater-friendly Lake Conroe, the 335-room island outpost was fresh off a massive renovation and rebranding that made it unique to any other offering on or near the lake.

Changes in Latitudes

As it does, the Margaritaville brand brought a slice of boat-drink-inspired island life to the heart of land-locked Texas, where it created a new lakefront destination fit for the surrounding drive markets of Houston, Dallas, and Austin.

Caribbean-hued paint schemes and thatch-roofed palapas inspire a more southern latitude, while Jolly Mon Water Park, also tucked in a grove of swaying palm trees, kicks up a splash of fun. Of course, no Margaritaville property is complete without a signature LandShark Bar & Grill, which in Lake Conroe, is appropriately set waterside.

Photo submission from Christi G. showing a small child standing in a kiddie pool at a water park with arms outstretched splashing water.

Flip.to leads the charge

To thwart the unfortunate debut timing, the resort needed to grow an audience ready to receive this fin-tastic new concept.

When we partnered with the lakeside property, Flip.to Customer Success standout, Joseph Meuse, quickly became an extension of their marketing team.

Joseph helped formulate a strategy to reach and inspire travelers, especially ones that would be most engaged with lake life. His input led the resort’s team to launch conversations with a new audience in an authentic way, and at the right time in their traveler journeys.

Photo submission from Kellie P. showing 2 boys on innertubes floating down a lazy river in a water park.

Advocacy in the dreaming phase

Joseph first helped to maximize the impact of the Advocacy platform. He and the property’s team launched a campaign around lakeside memories.

Stories began flooding in, filled with travelers’ best moments spent on or near the water—a positive connection which was now associated with a new resort.

This led the brand into conversation with these potential new guests, and created an ever-growing audience for the resort with a love of the lake. Once the property was fully open, Flip.to helped to win-over this new audience with the right messaging.

Photo submission from Laura N. showing adirondack lounge chairs right by Lake Conroe, Houston TX

Discovery in the planning phase

Joseph then switched on the Discovery platform to win over planners visiting the resort’s website. This part of the platform starts conversations in a reimagined way, leads planners to unveil, and learns their intent.

Flip.to helps Margaritaville Lake Resort, Lake Conroe | Houston re-engage these planners around that intent when they’re ready to book. That effort increased conversion at the bottom of the funnel, and together with Advocacy humming along in the dreaming phase, fueled a successful opening year for the property.

A successful partnership

The platform sparks genuine conversations around travelers’ intent, comes fully charged to grow audiences, and converts planners into guests—all with only light lift from your team, and at a much lower cost than through traditional marketing channels.

Published by

Zach Stovall

Senior Creative Strategist for Flip.to. Content guy, island explorer, traveler, slight-to-medium goofball.