Direct Bookings for Hotels
BEFORE YOU READ MY FULL STORY
My story is about becoming visible in a life spent in hospitality and travel. That’s why I now help hotels tell their story too, so guests find them, book them, and enjoy them.
How I did it
This was the start of my journey into business and leadership. Growing up in my family’s hotel, I developed a deep appreciation for entrepreneurship, discipline, and a strong money mindset. Inspired by my parents’ hard work and my own determination, I sought every opportunity to learn, work, and grow. Whether saving every cent, taking on extra shifts, or eagerly absorbing new knowledge, I was driven by a clear vision: to become a leader. In 2008, after completing my mandatory service in the Austrian army, I took the next step—moving to Vienna.
I grew up in a small village in Austria, where my dad owned a small family hotel, and my mom supported him in running it. I loved watching them manage the business and became incredibly excited about the idea of doing it myself one day. I vividly remember swinging outside when a clear thought came to me: “I want to become a manager.”
I’m deeply grateful for my mother. When I excitedly told her about my dream, she fully believed in me. She always encouraged me to become the best version of myself. At times, her support felt strict, but looking back, I appreciate it immensely. Thanks to her, I always aim high and have the discipline to follow through until I reach my goals. In a funny way, she also instilled in me a strong money mindset. She secretly added money to my savings, which made me feel proud and optimistic about earning and managing money. While other kids spent their money on candy, I saved mine—and I was always looking for ways to earn more. I took on small jobs at the hotel, and when I turned 15, I started working summers at a local door factory, never shying away from extra hours.
My dad was another great inspiration. On one hand, I admired how he managed the hotel and was always looking for new opportunities. On the other, he never stopped learning. To me, he knew just about everything, which made me eager to learn as much as I could and put that knowledge to use.
In 2008, I finished school and completed my mandatory six months in the Austrian army, preparing for my next big step: moving to Vienna.
In 2009, I began studying at the University of Business and Economics in Vienna, where I discovered my passion for entrepreneurship, innovation, and marketing. I loved creating solutions that drive growth and inspire people to learn and improve. A semester abroad in Lisbon deepened my appreciation for different cultures and personal growth. Alongside my studies, I worked various jobs—from event staff to bike courier—developing resilience and adaptability. Overcoming my shyness became a defining challenge, transforming communication into one of my strengths. In 2017, after my mother’s passing, I made a promise—to become the leader I had always aspired to be.
In March 2009, I began my studies at the University of Business and Economics in Vienna, where I explored various aspects of running a business. What excited me most were my courses on entrepreneurship and innovation. I love the idea of creating something that solves real problems for people and the entire process behind it. This passion has stayed with me throughout my career—I thrive in innovative, fast-growing environments where people continuously learn, grow, and improve themselves, the company, and the product.
I was also eager to learn about marketing for a simple reason: when you create something amazing, you want people to know about it. I love the countless ways you can communicate with customers, and how every product and every stage of a company requires a different approach—but more on that later.
A particularly special experience during my studies was my semester abroad at Universidad Nova de Lisboa. At times, it was exciting; at others, it felt lonely. Learning Portuguese became my top priority, and I was incredibly proud when I had my first conversation in Portuguese with a waiter at a coffeehouse. More than that, experiencing different cultures, habits, and approaches to life was deeply fulfilling. That’s why I cherish my time in Lisbon.
Throughout my studies, I took on various jobs to support myself, including:
My first fixed employment came as a front desk agent at the hotel Hapimag in Vienna, where I worked 20 hours a week. There, I gained valuable experience in multilingual communication—working in English, French, and Italian—and honed my presentation skills by volunteering to host guest information events once or twice a week. This role led me to one of my biggest personal challenges at the time.
When I moved to Vienna, I was extremely shy. I avoided speaking in class, skipped lectures that required presentations, and was terrified of job interviews. At some point, I realized this was holding me back, so I embarked on a long journey to overcome my shyness—one that required daily effort. I worked on my confidence, constantly pushed my comfort zone, and relentlessly practiced communication. Today, I consider communication one of my greatest strengths—something I’m deeply proud of because I built it from the ground up.
In 2017, a chapter of preparation and self-discovery came to an end. After a long battle with thyroid cancer and then lung cancer, my mother passed away in November 2017. She had always pushed me to become the best version of myself so I could live the life I dreamed of—being a leader in a great company that shapes the world. In her memory, I made a promise to her and to myself: I would put all my energy into making this a reality. I felt reborn.
In 2017, I joined a startup in Cologne, thriving in its collaborative energy, but soon realized I craved a more relentless growth mindset. This led me back to Vienna, where I joined CheckYeti—a fast-paced, high-growth environment. I immersed myself in scaling the company, taking on leadership responsibilities and learning relentlessly. In 2020, I became Head of SEO, driving a 10x growth in traffic and revenue. As part of top management, I spearheaded AI integration, expanded global offerings, and built scalable marketing strategies. Beyond SEO, I mastered growth across channels, from social media to paid ads. My journey is far from over.
In 2017, I joined a start-up in Cologne, Germany, and I loved it. I thrived in a team that was passionate about building something together. Working closely with the founder, I was given my own responsibility: expanding the market in Berlin and Vienna. The challenge was exciting, and it worked well—but something was missing. The realization hit me one evening at 5:30 pm when I found myself alone in the office. I craved a team with the relentless mindset to do whatever it takes to grow a company. That’s when I decided to return to Vienna.
In November 2017, I started working at CheckYeti, a company in its early growth phase. The atmosphere was electric—we were 10 to 15 people in an apartment-turned-office, with a dashboard on the wall tracking daily bookings. The two founders had an unshakable determination to succeed, and that energy spread across the entire team. I gave it my all—working long hours, constantly improving my approach, and learning every day. Weekends were spent finishing my master’s thesis.
Then, in March 2018, two pivotal things happened:
I had a clear vision of the leader I wanted to be—inspiring, visionary, ambitious, innovative, and hands-on. But more than that, I wanted to create an environment where people felt valued, learned continuously, and genuinely enjoyed working. I knew I had a lot to learn, so I absorbed every piece of advice, read books on leadership and successful founders, and actively sought feedback.
What helped me most was my analytical mind and ability to provide structure, while at the same time leading with intuition and empathy. This combination shaped my leadership style—maybe not unique, but incredibly effective. It led to many success stories.
In 2020, COVID-19 hit, presenting an enormous challenge for a company focused on outdoor group activities. Bookings plummeted, and for the first time, I had to make difficult decisions about letting people go. But this crisis also sparked something new.
Over the years, I had developed a strong interest in SEO, recognizing its critical role in CheckYeti’s future. At the start of 2020, the founders arranged a workshop with an SEO expert who had helped numerous companies master search. I convinced them that I needed to be part of it. Around the same time, CheckYeti underwent a major restructuring, creating new opportunities for me:
If I had learned a lot before 2020, I doubled down after that. I became obsessed with understanding what drives successful SEO. I absorbed every lesson from our SEO expert, studied Google’s material, and meticulously tracked KPIs to gain insights.
One of my best decisions was partnering with Vlad, a talented developer, who worked with me to optimize our SEO workstream. Our strategy paid off—within three years, we increased SEO-driven clicks and revenue 10x, making it the company’s biggest revenue-generating channel by far.
As part of the top management team, I played a key role in scaling CheckYeti from a 10-person start-up to a global leader in outdoor activity bookings with over 100 employees. Working alongside the Business Development Team, we:
In the past year, I broadened my expertise beyond SEO, diving deep into growth and search:
Today, I use everything I have learned from leadership, SEO, content, AI, and years of working close to the travel industry to help hotels win online. I grew up around hotels, worked in hotels, and later spent more than eight years building organic growth for an online travel platform with over 16,000 offers. That mix gave me a simple but powerful perspective: hotel websites do not just need more traffic. They need to be found, understood, trusted, and booked.
That is why I now analyze hotel websites in depth to identify what actually makes guests choose one hotel over another. From Google visibility and AI search readiness to room pages, breakfast pages, booking funnels, and trust signals, I look for the details that turn a website from a digital brochure into a real direct booking channel.
My goal is to help independent hotels communicate their value clearly, reduce dependency on platforms, and build a website that works harder for the business every single day. If you want to explore the ideas behind this work, you can start with my hotel content hub. And if you want hands-on support, you can learn more about my hotel website consulting.
Click here to explore practical guides, frameworks, and examples to help hotel websites get found, trusted, and booked directly.
Click here to get hands-on support to improve your hotel website’s visibility, content, booking journey, and direct booking performance.
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I’m based in Vienna, Austria. You can connect with me on LinkedIn or send a message through the contact section.
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