Challenge

Set in the enviable surf town of El Zonte, El Salvador, the boutique Hotel Michanti is synonymous with two things: adventure and community. With dozens of reviews on Booking.com, the surf-loving and entrepreneurial founder, Pablo Schildknecht, knew he was creating something special. A health-conscious restaurant menu, wifi available anywhere on the grounds, a hammock canopy and tropical pool deck all created an atmosphere that seemed to delight guests from around the world. Yet, the Michanti brand was so much more than hospitality. The founder, a native of El Salvador, was passionate to not only help guests discover the authentic beauty in their country, but also invite the community into the opportunities offered through guided tours and more. When the pandemic hit the entire hospitality industry, the founder quickly realized he needed to communicate not only their Covid-19 precautions as a hotel, but all the unique opportunities such as influencer retreats, surfing excursion trips, and more that they offered and made them truly themselves!

The Big Question

Looking to the other side of the pandemic, how can we best communicate with our past and future guests right now?

Solution

Knowing they needed to “deep dive” into their brand identity as well as create a workable guest communication strategy, the founders called on BryteBox. Through a series of in-person conversations and observing just how integrated the Michanti founder and employees were in the El Zonte business community, the BryteBox team went to work to create an authentic means of sharing not only who the Michanti brand was, but everything they had to offer to like-minded guests. 

First off, BryteBox sat down with the founder to document their current communications efforts and channels as well as determine who they were as a brand. A comprehensive communications strategy was created that incorporated all the channels (social and digital + local, national, and international) used for promotion. 

Next, BryteBox ensured that each team member knew his or her role in the Hotel Michanti communications flow. BryteBox set up Asana workflows for the team and provided full training. As part of the operational toolkit necessary for up-leveling the brand, BryteBox also created an email newsletter template and contact database with segmentation within the full content strategy.

Result

“Our meetings [with BryteBox] were highly interactive and they created a whole new relationship with the brand [and our guests]. Brad painted a clear picture of where we have to be and helped us get the ball rolling in that direction,” said Hotel Michanti Manager, Felipe Emura.

Building a solid communications strategy on the newly minted brand identity foundation developed with BryteBox, Hotel Michanti saw near-immediate results. Traffic to the website increased and converted into a notable increase in new bookings. Their contact list and email database also grew from visible opt-ins uniquely targeted to adventurers. Additionally, Hotel Michanti now had several touchpoints for departed guests and a strategy for return business.

BryteBox Quote

Pablo has instilled an incredible community-first culture at Hotel Michanti. And the guests experience it first-hand, time and time again. This type of leadership and employee comradery enabled the Brytebox team, as the storytellers of the brand, to produce quick key media and business wins for Hotel Michanti. We anticipate an even bryte-r future as their story continues to resonate with more and more travelers and adventurers!