Every quarter, a pattern emerges in the Cloudbeds Digital Marketing data: a small group of properties pulls dramatically ahead of the pack. In Q1 2026, the top 10 performers didn’t just do well, they averaged over $87,000 in net sales each, at a blended return of more than 10x their ad spend.
They chose the right channel mix, and committed to it
The most consistent thread across top performers was intentional channel strategy. Properties didn’t dabble across every available platform, they made deliberate choices and went deep.
Some leaned hard into Meta with retargeting to stay visible across the full booking journey. Others ran Full Stack campaigns combining Google Hotel Ads, metasearch, and display retargeting to capture demand at every stage. A handful bet entirely on metasearch and won big on volume.
The takeaway is that there’s no single “correct” channel. But one thing the top performers all had in common was conviction. They picked a strategy built around their property type, average daily rate, and audience — and they stuck with it.
$87K
Averaged in net sales each
They kept ad spend lean relative to revenue
Across the top 10, ad spend as a percentage of net sales ranged from just 4.1% to 13.7%. For context, OTA commissions typically run 15–25%. The most efficient properties were effectively paying a fraction of the OTA rate to drive direct bookings, and keeping the margin.
This isn’t about spending less. It’s about spending with intent. Properties that tracked their effective commission rate and optimised toward it consistently outperformed those that treated ad spend as a fixed cost.
They understood their ADR, and built campaigns around it
The top 10 spanned a wide ADR range, from $80 at a budget Miami property to $499 at a boutique glamping resort in North Carolina. What they had in common was that their campaigns were calibrated to their price point.
Higher-ADR properties invested more per booking because the economics supported it. Lower-ADR properties focused on volume, running campaigns optimised for impressions and click efficiency. Neither approach is inherently superior, but both require knowing your numbers.
They weren’t the biggest properties on the platform
This one surprises people. The top performers ranged from 19 to 196 rooms, with several sitting under 80. Scale wasn’t the differentiator. What mattered was how well they converted the demand that existed for their destination and property type.
A 25-room glamping property and a 196-room beach resort both made the top 10. The common denominator was smart campaign management, not inventory size.
The bigger picture
In Q1 2026, just 2.2% of active Cloudbeds Digital Marketing properties generated 29% of total net sales. That concentration isn’t a sign that the product only works for a lucky few, it’s a signal of how much upside remains for the other 97.8%.
The gap between average and top-performing isn’t about budget or brand recognition. It’s about strategy, commitment, and knowing which metrics actually move the needle.
The properties at the top of this list figured that out. The question is, what would it take to join them?
