Reaching 4yr Reservations High in Peak Season for Cuyama Buckhorn

Paid Advertising

Nov 21

Written By Ian Rosenwach, Jacob Kent, and Jason Katz

Increase in Website Visitors

Reservations High in Peak Season

Increase in Restaurant ROAS

Background

Cuyama Buckhorn is an independent boutique hotel retreat and farm-to-table restaurant located in California’s high desert, just beyond Los Padres National Forest. Originally established in 1952 as a gathering place for travelers and locals, it has been reimagined into a modern yet nostalgic destination that blends rustic charm with refined comfort. Nestled in the Hidden Valley of Enchantment, it offers thoughtfully crafted meals, revitalized rooms, and some of California’s best stargazing. Today, Cuyama Buckhorn celebrates the bounty of Central California through its food, design, and community-driven spirit.

Challenge

Cuyama Buckhorn aimed to increase revenue and occupancy across both its hotel and restaurant by reaching new prospective customers beyond those that had already stayed there or knew someone who had. Its advertising had primarily focused on branded Google searches by people that already knew about the Cuyama Buckhorn, capturing existing demand rather than creating it.

The challenge was to use data-driven advertising to attract new guests and drive more direct bookings and reservations year-round.

Solution & Results

Building a Connected Advertising Engine

GMA built an integrated performance marketing system connecting Cuyama Buckhorn’s hotel and restaurant data across Google, Meta, the website, and booking systems. This unified every guest touchpoint—from first click to confirmed stay or reservation—giving the team real-time visibility into what truly drove revenue.

Using a custom integration between tag management, content, and reservation systems, GMA enabled full-funnel tracking with key behavioral signals across the guest journey. The framework revealed where visitors engaged, hesitated, or booked—turning those insights into targeted optimizations that lifted conversion performance.

Campaigns That Elevated Awareness and Bookings

We developed coordinated campaigns to inspire more hotel stays, longer stays, and increased restaurant dining. Using a blend of lifestyle, culinary, property, and destination storytelling, the campaigns showcased the full experience of Cuyama Buckhorn to both local and visiting audiences. The approach helped fill more rooms—faster and on a larger scale—while sustaining engagement across seasons.

Continuous Optimization & Collaboration

Real-time conversion data flowed back into ad platforms for ongoing optimization. Weekly collaboration between GMA and the property team ensured that strategy, content, and operations worked in lockstep to sustain bookings and reservations throughout the year.

Results

4× increase in website visitors through full-funnel, multi-channel advertising
Record occupancy in peak season 2025, surpassing the prior three years
2× increase in restaurant ROAS, supported by improved targeting and coordination
Higher direct booking share and reduced OTA reliance
Unified visibility across all campaigns and guest touchpoints

Quote

“Partnering with GMA Growth Engines enhanced how we approach marketing. Their data-driven strategy and partnership helped us elevate awareness, attract new guests, and meaningfully improve performance across both our hotel and restaurant.”

— Ferial Sadeghian, Proprietor, Cuyama Buckhorn