April 2025 – Waterwheel Marketing, a boutique hospitality consultancy specializing in marketing systems for resorts and vacation ownership groups, has launched its newest offering, the Direct Booking Audit, a high-impact, strategy-first service designed to help hospitality brands reduce OTA dependency, optimize their booking ecosystems and grow direct revenue.

Unlike generic audits or marketing checklists, this Direct Booking Audit is a fully customized, market-exclusive engagement that addresses the real friction points and missed opportunities most hospitality teams don’t know are costing them bookings.

“Hospitality brands are losing revenue they don’t even realize is leaking, from missed visibility to fragmented booking flows to untapped value drivers,” said Kelley Ellert, Founder of Waterwheel Marketing. “This audit isn’t just about identifying problems, it’s about delivering a plan your team can actually execute.”

What the Audit Covers

Each audit includes:

• Guest Booking Path & UX: Secret-shopper style review of how travelers discover, navigate, and attempt to book directly.
• Website Strategy & Conversion Optimization: From weak messaging to offer confusion, we find where bookings are lost.
• Brand Visibility & OTA Footprint: Including discoverability on Google, social platforms, and emerging AI search tools.
• Revenue Opportunity Audit: Analysis of ADR, merchandising, upsells, guest experience, and even alternative competitor models.
• Marketing & Paid Media Review: Including campaign strategy, creative alignment, targeting, and retention systems.
• Actionable Recommendations: A full implementation-ready plan with priority timelines, budget tiers, and execution options

Audits typically take 2–4 weeks, and are tailored to fit the brand’s size, goals and internal structure.

One Per Market: Exclusivity That Protects Brands

To ensure value and protect brands who get an audit, only one hospitality brand per geographic market will be completed. Since an in-depth competitive and market analysis is included, once a market is claimed, it’s no longer available to competitors.

“We’ve seen resorts increase direct bookings by 50% in less than a year after implementing the strategies we outline,” Ellert shared. “It’s not just about cutting OTA costs, it’s about building a sustainable path to stronger margins and brand control.”

Who It’s For

The Direct Booking Audit is specifically designed for:

• Hotels, Resorts, Short Term Rentals
• Management Companies and Property Groups
• Mixed Use Properties
• Campgrounds and Unique Properties
• Other Accommodations

Visit DirectBookingAudit.com for more information and to secure your market.

For questions or media inquiries:
Kelley Ellert, Founder, Waterwheel Marketing
kelley@waterwheelmarketing.com

About Waterwheel Marketing
Waterwheel Marketing is a consultancy and agency hybrid that designs and implements custom marketing solutions where brand, PR, advertising and content work together as an integrated ecosystem. Founded by Kelley Ellert, who brings 20 years of cross-industry experience, the firm works with clients in hospitality, travel, tech, B2B and nonprofit sectors. The company offers both strategic direction and hands-on implementation, with each engagement tailored to the client’s specific resources, operational structure and goals. Learn more at waterwheelmarketing.com.

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