Bookings boost digital marketing agency 80 Days

An Edinburgh-based digital marketing agency has grown to a team of about 50 with offices in London, Dubai and Marbella – by helping upmarket hotels secure direct bookings.

From left: 80 Days founder Mark Forrester, managing partner David Gardner and managing partner Chris McGuire.

80 Days founder Mark Forrester explained that when hotels take a booking from certain sites, 20 per cent of their income is lost. His agency creates online marketing campaigns to influence consumers to book direct, and “our success in achieving this goal has led to our growth worldwide and higher profits for the hotels we represent,” focused on world-of-mouth growth.

Forrester added that nearly 60 per cent of its revenue comes from overseas. Additionally, the firm – which has been awarded a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade – said export sales have grown for each of the last six years.

It works with more than 450 hotels and travel businesses globally, and has native speakers in eight languages including Arabic.