Spark.OS
Client case · Florianópolis, Brazil

She lived in Munich. Her houses were in Florianópolis.

Ádila Melper's beach houses on Santa Catarina island offered ocean views and genuine Brazilian hospitality — but nearly every booking arrived through an OTA taking 18–22%. In four months, she grew direct bookings 220% and took back 14 hours of her week.

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220%
Increase in direct bookings

in four months

67%
Of reservations now direct

down from 90% arriving via OTAs

1.1M
Organic social reach

up from 120K before

$800+
Monthly OTA fees saved

a 30% cut in commission costs

“I loved my properties but hated watching profits disappear to platform fees. I needed a way to connect directly with guests while maintaining my life in Germany.”

— Ádila Melper, Florianópolis property host

The context

Ádila's beach houses in Florianópolis had everything going for them: ocean views, nature on the doorstep, and the kind of hospitality guests remember. What they didn't have was a way to reach travellers directly.

Running the operation from her home in Munich made three problems compound each other. Around 90% of bookings came through platforms charging 18–22% commission. Her posts about Floripa's quieter beaches weren't reaching the travellers who would have loved them. And every guest enquiry landed in the middle of a German working day.

The properties weren't the problem. The distance between her and the guest was.

What she changed

Two things, working together.

  1. 1

    Content in both languages, about the actual place.

    Instead of generic listing photos, she published Portuguese and English content about what makes the island worth the trip: the surf culture, the nature trails, the beaches most visitors never find.

  2. 2

    Tags that reach people already planning the trip.

    Targeted Santa Catarina travel tags put that content in front of travellers actively searching for the region, rather than a general audience that would never book.

Where the reach came from

Content

  • Portuguese and English posts for a mixed audience
  • Florianópolis surf culture and nature trails as the subject
  • Santa Catarina travel tags for discoverability
  • Her "Morning at Praia Mole" post became her most engaged content ever

Reach and bookings

  • 1.1M organic reach across social platforms, up from 120K
  • 67% of reservations now booked direct
  • 220% growth in direct bookings over four months
  • $800+ a month no longer paid in OTA commission

The result

Within four months:

  • 220% more direct bookings with 67% of all reservations now coming through her own channels
  • 1.1M organic reach across social platforms, against 120K before she started
  • $800+ per month kept instead of paid out in OTA commission — roughly a 30% reduction
  • From 21 hours to 7 spent each week managing content and guest communication

Ádila Melper's results over a four-month period. She joined as a beta tester in 2023, when the product was called SparkHost — the name she uses in her own words above. Results vary with market, property type, and how much of the base is already engaged.

“SparkHost helped me showcase what makes Florianópolis special. Their strategies helped me build real connections with guests who appreciate authentic Brazilian experiences.”

— Ádila Melper

Your properties already have a story. Tell it.

Guests don't book a listing, they book a place. If what makes yours worth the trip isn't reaching anyone, the OTA keeps being the only way in.

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