Increase in direct website bookings in a six-month period
Estimated annual saving in commission fees
Ranking for “quirky bars London” keyword on Google
Uplift in cross-venue exploration between April and October 2022
Client & context
The Little Door & Co. runs London’s most beloved fictional flat shares: The Little Yellow Door, The Little Scarlet Door, The Little Violet Door and other venues across Notting Hill, Soho and Clapham. They build legendary house-party experiences through the hidden bar concept. Their digital front door, however, wasn’t nearly as welcoming as the real ones.
The challenge
- Confusing user journey: customers loved individual venues but had no idea they were part of a group, meaning no cross-pollination between locations.
- Conversion bottlenecks: a clunky booking flow caused high drop-off rates from mobile users, their most important discovery environment.
- Invisible for non-branded search: they were ranking for their own names but missing thousands of searches for “quirky bars Soho” or “best house party London”.
Strategy & execution
We built a digital neighbourhood strategy, highlighting core features of the concept: fun, functional and impossible to leave. Each Door was kept distinct, but all were connected, with shared SEO authority and the house-party tone of voice throughout.
Redesigned hub & spoke architecture
We rebuilt the site to seamlessly guide users from the master brand to their nearest Door, using geolocation to suggest the perfect venue.
Implemented vibe-based SEO
We targeted high-intent experience keywords like “bottomless brunch Clapham” and “late night house party Soho”, capturing users searching for a vibrant social occasion, not just a bar.
Streamlined the booking UX
We reduced clicks-to-book by 40% and integrated sticky mobile headers for impulse reservations, eliminating drop-offs on the group’s biggest traffic source.
Unlocked the group effect
The venues were connected under one cohesive ecosystem. Users booking at one Door became 3× more likely to book at another location within the same month. We added prominent links to every Door in the navigation menu across the group’s websites, making it easy for guests to discover and explore other venues from any location page.
Results
- +150% direct bookings in a six-month period, dramatically reducing reliance on third-party platforms and commission fees.
- £240k saved annually, recapturing margin previously lost to booking platform commissions.
- Group loyalty unlocked: users visiting one venue were 3x more likely to book a second location within the first month.
Key takeaway
A hospitality group’s biggest untapped growth lever often sits in the relationship between its venues. When the digital experience carries the same personality as the physical one, when the booking journey removes friction instead of adding it, and when every Door actively feeds the others, growth stops depending on more traffic. It starts coming from the demand you already have.