Web Design

Cairn Group

ClientCairn Group

Project Overview

With a legacy spanning over 60 years, Cairn Group is one of the country’s leading hospitality groups. Their diverse portfolio includes 28 hotels featuring spas, bars, restaurants, conferences, meetings and event spaces; as well as 6 stand-alone bars and restaurants - each with its own distinctive character and offerings. These venues operate autonomously or as esteemed brand franchises such as Hotel Indigo, Courtyard by Marriott, DoubleTree by Hilton, and Holiday Inn. Growing and managing this extensive portfolio doesn’t come without its challenges. That’s where we come in. In 2022, we started working with Cairn Group to identify and resolve their current issues and implement the fundamentals so they can take their digital growth to the next level.

The JourneyTo Success

Establishing Issues In A Complex Infrastructure

Managing such a large and diverse portfolio is a complex task. As Cairn Group grew, their digital infrastructure became more multi-layered and challenging to maintain and manage effectively. Over time, this structure evolved to become fragmented and difficult to operate or develop. It was clear as we started collaborating with Cairn Group that our priority was going to be reforming their digital operations to allow the teams from the venues and the central support office to run efficiently.

In the initial stages of working together, the Cairn team expressed their concerns over platform stability, consistency, and security issues across their portfolio of websites. So our main priority was to conduct a full audit of their functionalities, SEO, security gaps and key optimisations of all the sites.

Collaborating with the Cairn Group meant it was paramount that our goals and objectives were aligned. In the initial stages, we agreed that it was crucial to get the foundational issues resolved and have the fundamentals in place in order to take the websites to the next level as well as develop a digital roadmap in order to continuously evolve the guest experience.

After identifying and consolidating the key issues with the Cairn Group team, we created a systematic approach to resolving them. It was paramount that we not only resolved the current issues, but also got the websites to a stable point where each guest has a smooth online experience.

Applying The Fundamentals

The core aim for Cairn Group’s websites was to ensure the fundamentals were firmly applied before we could look at enhancing the sites further. This means that whilst a site might look appealing, it’s lacking the basic tools that users are looking for to be able to easily find and navigate to what they want and make a booking. So we looked at the core website elements to identify any barriers that might be stopping people from booking a room before considering further enhancements.

It was also crucial to have the analytics and correct tracking set up so that we had access to all the data we were tracking and gathering from the sites to understand what was working, what needed improving and what was bringing the results for the businesses. This tracking led us to unearth serious issues with the booking engine that was costing the businesses bookings and potential customers. Also, given that room bookings were not the only conversion on the site, we secured enhanced event tracking so that success could be better measured across all touch-points such as restaurant reservations, customer enquiry submissions and brochure downloads.

Taking the Sites from Functional to Successful

Managing 58 hotels, restaurants and bars across the country can be complex, meaning an efficient system is crucial for keeping all of these businesses and websites running smoothly. That’s why we embarked on migrating all the sites to a consistent theme and template and implementing more modern solutions and content components. This not only made it easier for the Cairn team to align all of their businesses, but also benefited the managers of each of the businesses to help make their day-to-day processes more efficient.
The access to the data not only allowed Cairn Group to resolve a lot of underlying issues, but it also helped them to understand their full customer funnel in more granular detail. Coupled with the more efficient infrastructure, this meant that managers of the various hospitality venues could access their data and make more informed decisions on future changes. This led to more empowered teams and clearer, more productive communications across the business, as well as more transparency of wider business objectives.

Now that the fundamentals have been implemented, Cairn Group can now take a more holistic approach to their sites to see what needs improving. This means they can finally sink their teeth into exciting content, rich ad copy and enhancing and personalising the customer’s online experience as soon as they arrive on the site. Also, since they have access to their data, they can conduct A/B testing and monitor results to make data-driven decisions.

Feeling Like An Extension Of The Business

Cairn Group explains how working with the Discovery Design team feels like they’re working with an extension of the business. It was crucial that both teams understood and were aligned on their goals and objectives, especially when you’re working with such a complex infrastructure.

Now Cairn Group can start working on the exciting elements of the sites, such as introducing more User Generated Content, more seamless integrations with 3rd party connected services, and interacting with guests in a more organic and engaging way.

Cairn GroupTestimonial

Have thoroughly enjoyed working with James and the team at Discovery. They were quick to identify our digital gaps and opportunities and have been a great partner in developing and optimising our websites to create a smooth and engaging customer experience. Discovery prioritise client relationships and straightforwardness, and this is what makes them feel like an organic extension of the Cairn Group team.