La Favorita
When the results-based model was proposed to us, accepting it felt natural: sharing goals in a win-win logic was the decisive factor for us.
Cala Gonone, Italy
15
Background
La Favorita is located in Cala Gonone, in the province of Nuoro, overlooking the Palmasera seafront. It is a year-round hotel with 15 rooms, a restaurant, and a bar, for a total of 110 seats. Most guests come from Northern Europe, while the Italian market becomes more significant in August.
When the team took over the hotel in 2024, they found a property that was still quite basic, both in its offer and in its organization, but with strong potential and plenty of room for improvement.
In the first few months, the focus was mainly on the product and the service. Breakfast, which had initially been limited and self-service, was expanded. The restaurant, previously closed, was reopened and made accessible to guests outside the hotel as well.
The goal was to enhance the hotel, attract more guests, and increase profitability.
The request
When they took over La Favorita, the owners already had experience in the restaurant business, but little familiarity with the hospitality sector. For that reason, they initially decided to keep the tech stack inherited from the previous ownership: PMS, booking engine, channel manager, and website.
After the first season, however, La Favorita realized that this setup was not enough to unlock the property’s full potential: the tools were basic, cumbersome, and required a high amount of manual work.
“The PMS was very incomplete. It didn’t really support you with anything. There was no automation at all. Everything had to be changed manually. We couldn’t send emails directly, and we were spending hours writing quotes, while the website didn’t allow us to promote restaurant events.
Also, since we didn’t have a dedicated tool, we managed prices as best we could, partly by looking at competitors and partly based on demand. It was a continuous process of checking and changing rates. The problem was that this created much more work for us. In quiet periods we could manage it, but in high season it cost us a huge amount of time.”
When the team reviewed the results of the first season, they realized that profit margins were far below expectations.
At that point, La Favorita understood that simply replacing the tools would not be enough. What they needed was a partner who could help them completely rethink both operations and sales strategy.
The solutions
La Favorita turned to Smartness, which, after a careful assessment of the property, proposed activating Smartresults: the results-based model that provides not only software, but also a dedicated team managing both strategy and operations end to end, activating all the key levers for growth.
“Before taking over La Favorita, one of the owners had run a car dealership and was already used to a management culture built around goals. That is why, when the Smartresults model was proposed to us, accepting it felt natural: being able to share goals in a win-win logic was the decisive factor.
We also knew we wanted to do revenue management, but we did not have the time or the resources to build everything from scratch. With the Smartresults team, we set up a clear and transparent model, and from day one we felt supported and reassured.”
The Smartresults team started with a detailed analysis of the property’s distribution and sales flows. The initial review showed that:
- OTAs accounted for 52%
- offline direct bookings were solid at 38%, but not yet strong enough to have a decisive impact on the final result
- the booking engine contributed only marginally, at 10%
The priorities were therefore to increase total revenue and strengthen the direct channel, especially on the digital side. To achieve this, Smartresults structured coordinated work across three areas:
The first was pricing, with Smartpricing Ultra, to improve average room value, respond more precisely to demand, and distribute availability more effectively.
The second was direct sales management, with Smartcrs, which made it possible to handle inquiries and negotiations in a more organized way, increasing quote conversion rates.
The third was the website and booking engine revamp, with Smartsite Ultra, to strengthen the website as a sales channel and make the booking path more effective.
The results
In one year with Smartresults, La Favorita achieved significant growth not only in revenue, but also in the quality of its distribution and in its ability to generate more value through direct channels. The work carried out helped make the property commercially stronger, with a more balanced mix and a more efficient way of operating.
Direct and intermediary revenue: more structured growth
Total revenue increased by +43% in one year, while ADR rose by +7%. These numbers become even more meaningful when you look at how that growth was distributed:
Revenue from direct bookings grew by +61%, with the booking engine increasing by more than 200% and becoming the main driver of direct channel growth. Offline direct bookings also continued to grow, rising by +21%.
At the same time, while OTAs continued to generate revenue, they lost relative weight in the distribution mix: direct revenue moved from 48.3% to 54.4% of total revenue, while intermediary revenue declined from 51.7% to 45.6%.
Less manual work: more time for product and loyalty
Alongside commercial growth, the new setup also allowed the team to reduce the burden of manual tasks and free up time to improve the offer.
“For us, there has been a huge reduction in workload. Now we can take better care of guests at the property and think more long term. For example, by creating experience packages in advance that help us maximize bookings for the next season.
Smartresults helped us not only increase bookings, but also encourage earlier ones. At Christmas, guests are already booking for summer. Now, at the beginning of May, we are already selling October. We are starting to build our loyal customer base.”