Does a Higher PPC Budget Actually Make a Difference?
Overview
The Leopold Hotel Sheffield is a four-star hotel in the heart of Sheffield’s city centre, just steps from top attractions, restaurants, and cultural spots. Known for blending historic charm with modern comfort, the hotel attracts a mix of leisure and business travellers year-round.
In the past, their PPC (pay-per-click) activity has focused on maintaining steady visibility and driving direct bookings at an efficient cost. This time, we wanted to test a different approach. We increased the budget for a short period to see if more investment could drive a noticeable boost in bookings and revenue.
The Challenge
Our client is a boutique city hotel in South Yorkshire with 89 rooms. We had identified February as a historically challenging month for bookings. To counter this, we recommended increasing their PPC budget to capture more demand and drive direct bookings. The client agreed, and March was used as our comparison month with a reduced budget.
Process
In February, we significantly increased the PPC budget to test whether scaling ad spend during a quieter period could deliver more conversions and higher booking value. March’s campaigns were run with a smaller budget to provide a clear comparison.
Results
February, with the larger budget, delivered stronger outcomes across all key business metrics:
- More conversions and a greater share of direct bookings
- A noticeable increase in both traffic quality and volume
- A substantial uplift in direct booking revenue compared to March
March was more efficient on a cost per click and click through rate basis, but February’s larger investment achieved a greater commercial impact.
Conclusion
- Increasing spend during periods of low demand can still generate strong returns when campaigns are well targeted
- Efficiency metrics like CTR and CPC matter, but business outcomes tell the real story
- A well timed budget increase can pay for itself many times over
The Takeaway
For hotels, especially in competitive urban markets, budget allocation should reflect market conditions. When there is opportunity to gain market share, a higher PPC budget can deliver measurable results in bookings and revenue.
