Hotel San Desiderio boosts bookings by 25%, centralises operations, and strengthens commercial strategy with Little Hotelier

Tucked into the heart of Rapallo, on Liguria’s stunning Golfo del Tigullio just a stone’s throw from Portofino, Santa Margherita and Camogli, Hotel San Desiderio is the kind of place that doesn’t try to be everything to everyone.

There’s no white-gloved concierge, no spa, no Michelin-starred chef. Instead, there’s a family-run, unapologetically pet-friendly home away from home, complete with two basset hound mascots, Poldo and Zoe; a generous breakfast buffet featuring Genoese focaccia, and the kind of authentic local advice you only get from people who genuinely love their guests.

“Our motto is simple: don’t take yourself too seriously. You’re on holiday, not at Buckingham Palace,” the team says.

Behind that easy-going attitude, however, is a serious commitment to running the hotel well and making sure every booking opportunity counts. That’s where Little Hotelier comes in.

A property faced with fragmented tools, too much manual work, and not enough control

Like many independent properties, Hotel San Desiderio was juggling its booking, marketing and administration activities across several siloed tools. The result was a daily routine that was clunky, repetitive and time-consuming.

The team needed a single, reliable system that could centralise availability, reservations and channel updates. Little Hotelier does all this and also frees up valuable time to focus on the guest experience.

“The biggest difference [since using Little Hotelier] has been in our operational management. Before, we had a more scattered situation, with different tools and a lot of manual tasks to check every day,” explains Marco Samson, Owner of Hotel San Desiderio.

A perfectly sized property management system built for independent hoteliers

Little Hotelier gave the team exactly the kind of unified, easy-to-use environment they were looking for: a centralised system where availability, bookings, and rates are automatically synchronised across the hotel’s website and connected online travel agents (OTAs), with integrated payments handled in the background.

“Today we have everything we need in one place. That gives us much more peace of mind and lets us work in a more orderly and precise way,” says Marco.

“Another key aspect is time. We’ve significantly reduced repetitive tasks and we can focus more on service quality and guest experience. In short, the way we work has changed: less manual operations and much more control.”

A 25% total bookings boost and a stronger, more independent commercial strategy

The impact of Little Hotelier on Hotel San Desiderio’s commercial performance has been clear, measurable and consistent across every key channel.

More direct bookings, with payment secured upfront

By increasing its website conversion rate and handling payments directly through Little Hotelier, Hotel San Desiderio recorded a +15% increase in direct bookings with immediate payment compared to the same period the previous year, when direct reservations were captured via “contact us” requests on the site.

“Direct bookings have been one of the most evident results. For us this is strategic, because direct bookings not only improve our margins, they also let us build a more direct relationship with the guest from the very first contact,” says Marco. 

“Today we feel we have much more control over our sales and less dependence on external channels – while still using them intelligently.”

Stronger visibility on the right OTAs

Automated inventory management on key OTAs translated visibility into real demand:

• +8% bookings via Expedia (mapped, Expedia Collect non-refundable) vs. previous OTA volume
• +2% bookings via Hostelworld (mapped)

A ~25% lift in total booking flow

Taken together, these gains have produced the headline result Marco is most proud of:

“In the past six months, we’ve recorded roughly a +25% increase in total booking flow compared to the same period the previous year.”

“So it’s not just about being more visible,  it’s about turning that visibility into real bookings. For us, that has been the real step up in quality.”

Reliable payments and smoother admin

On the operational side, Little Hotelier has also brought welcome consistency to cash flow: guest payments are now received faster after the booking is made, making reconciliation simpler and more predictable.

“I’d recommend it without hesitation”

For Marco, the value of Little Hotelier is exactly what an independent hotelier needs: simpler daily work and a tangible uplift in results.

“I’d recommend it to all those properties that want to take a step forward in their management and, above all, in their online sales – especially independent hotels, B&Bs and small properties that today might still have a fairly manual or poorly integrated setup,” he says.

“For me, the greatest value is precisely this: it lets you simplify your daily work and, at the same time, concretely improve your visibility and bookings. We’ve experienced it first-hand: more control, more efficiency and real growth in bookings. So yes, I’d recommend it without hesitation to anyone who wants to grow their accommodation business.”

Thank you, Marco, for sharing such honest and detailed feedback. It’s a pleasure for Little Hotelier to support Hotel San Desiderio’s continued growth. We wish you, Filippo, Poldo and Zoe many more full houses on the Tigullio.