Case Study
Montana Home Vacations
Bookings, brand, and a clean acquisition path for a 24-property portfolio
A premium rental operator in Montana’s Flathead Valley needed brand clarity, faster discovery, and bookings tied to attributable spend. We rebuilt the site, scaled organic and paid acquisition, doubled Instagram, and wired lead capture into CRM. Eight months in, the program supported a strategic acquisition by Stay Montana.
Proof at a glance
The numbers and signals that mattered
- ~$254Kattributable bookings8 mo. platform export
- 39new clientsindividuals and booking partners
- 1,164 → 2,399Instagram followersacross 96 posts
- ~38%site engagement growth
- ~42%organic traffic growth
Client context
Who they are and why the work mattered
Montana Home Vacations is a family-owned operator in Montana’s Flathead Valley managing 24 premium rental properties. In 2024 they partnered with Busic Digital to strengthen marketing, increase bookings, and build a durable digital footprint in a competitive vacation rental market. The work supported a strategic acquisition by Stay Montana; the 24 properties continue as the Montana Home Vacations Collection.
The challenge
What was holding growth back
The specific frictions a future client should recognize.
Underbuilt digital presence
Site and social channels did not match the quality of the inventory or reliably generate qualified demand.
Competitive destination market
Flathead Valley tourism meant the brand had to earn attention from discerning travelers.
Stagnant social signal
About 1,164 IG followers with limited engagement made paid social less efficient.
Forecasting was fuzzy
Channel clarity and attribution gaps made planning and optimization harder.
The strategy
Three pillars behind the work
What we focused on, and why it mattered for this client.
Brand clarity, then build
What we focused onGuest-centered copy and imagery across site, ads, and social.
Why it matteredPremium travelers decide on trust and quality cues before they ever book.
Discovery that converts
What we focused onSite rebuild plus intent-rich SEO and paid search.
Why it matteredMost sessions came from phones, so mobile-first was not optional.
Systems behind the bookings
What we focused onCRM, analytics, and lead routing.
Why it matteredIf inquiries do not reach the booking team fast, the funnel leaks.
What we changed
The specific improvements behind the result
Each card pairs the change we made with why it mattered.
Site redesign
Rebuilt montanahomevacations.com around strong property photography, clearer navigation, and obvious booking paths. Premium guests need fewer clicks to confidence.
Intent-rich SEO
Targeted phrases like Flathead Valley rentals, Montana vacation homes, and Glacier National Park area stays. Ranking for the words guests actually search for.
Mobile-first execution
Optimized for phone sessions, where most discovery happens. A premium brand on a slow phone is no longer premium.
Google Ads + remarketing
High-intent queries, premium positioning, and bookings tied to attributable spend. Remarketing improved efficiency on returning interest.
Instagram cadence
Steady content cadence including Stories and Reels. Affluent travelers research on Instagram before booking.
CRM and analytics
Connected lead capture to follow-up workflows; improved lead-source visibility. Manual overhead becomes a leak when inquiry volume grows.
Cloud organization
Cloud-based organization for inquiries and client communication. Faster handoffs and fewer dropped threads.
Comparison
Before and after
The shifts that show up in the work itself.
1,164 Instagram followers, low engagement
2,399 followers, higher engagement across 96 posts
Manual lead handoff
CRM-routed lead capture with analytics
Generic listings on premium inventory
Guest-centered photography and copy across the site
Outcomes
Outcomes after launch
Headline metrics from the eight-month program. Organic traffic grew about 42% in the same window, and the work supported a strategic acquisition by Stay Montana while the 24-property portfolio continued as the Montana Home Vacations Collection.
- ~$254Kattributable bookings8 mo. platform export
- 39new clients
- 1,164 → 2,399Instagram followersacross 96 posts
- ~38%site engagement growth
Proof note
Eight months of attributable bookings tied to ads and organic, 39 new clients across individuals and booking partners, and a doubling of Instagram. The work supported a strategic acquisition by Stay Montana while the 24-property portfolio continues as the Montana Home Vacations Collection.
Takeaways
What this project shows
Premium needs proof
Photography, language, and pace of reply all reinforce the price point. One weak link breaks the read.
Integrated beats one-off
Brand, site, systems, and paid media outperform single tactics in hospitality.
Marketing strengthens enterprise value
Operations and acquisition together can support a strategic outcome, not just short-term leads.
Want to find the same kinds of gaps in your website?
We’ll review your homepage, visitor path, and lead flow, then send a short video with practical fixes you can use.