Makanas Beach Bungalows

Summary

• The product and the reviews are strong: TripAdvisor 4.8, Booking.com 9.4, Airbnb 4.8–4.93, Kayak 9.3.
• Most of the gains are in the systems around the stay: how guests book, how they get answers, what they receive before and after, and how reviews and repeat stays are handled.
• Direct booking is already cheaper than Booking.com, but the website hides it. Fixing that is the biggest single lever.
• AI fits in four places: a 24/7 guest assistant, the automated guest messages, review replies, and the reporting.
• Everything below comes from public pages and a test search we walked through on the site (no booking made). Points marked to confirm need your data.

1. Booking path on the website

Test: Feb 13–20 2027, 2 adults + 2 kids. Direct Family Studio = US$1,558 (tax in). Same 2-person bungalow: direct $1,467 vs Booking.com $1,920. The direct path took 8 steps and about 16 clicks.

• Add a "Book" button to the header of every page. Today the home page has none; the path is Menu → Reservations.
• Show prices on the search results. Today the results list units with no price.
• Show the direct-booking benefit before checkout: "Book direct and save". Today the 5% discount appears only on the last step.
• Keep checkout in the same tab, and make it look like the same site. Today it opens booksafely.com in a new tab.
• Retire or redirect the makanas.booksafely.com address. It showed "problem loading this website" during our test. The working one is reservationsmakanas.booksafely.com.
• Check why the Loft and the Double Queen did not appear for those dates. Availability rules or a sync issue? to confirm
• Mobile: enlarge the calendar cells (34 px) and carousel dots (18 px). Aim for 44 px tap targets.
• Use one WhatsApp number everywhere. The site and checkout show two different numbers.
• Fix the home page listing "Deluxe King" twice. Make the unit count match everywhere (site 7, OTAs 6).
• Option: a new fast site with the booking engine embedded properly, if the current theme makes the above hard.

2. Channel listings (Booking.com, Airbnb, Expedia)

• Booking.com does not offer a family unit. A family of 4 sees only a 2-room bundle at US$3,840. List the Family Studio and the Loft as 4–6 guest units.
• Check each OTA's occupancy settings against the real unit sizes.
• Keep one source of truth for rates and availability (the channel manager), so the OTAs never undercut direct by mistake.
• Reword listings that set the wrong expectation, for example units where the kitchen and dining are outdoors (raised in a Jul 2024 review).

3. AI guest assistant (WhatsApp + website chat)

• One assistant on WhatsApp and on the site chat, in English and Spanish, answering 24/7.
• It answers the common questions: availability and price (read live from the booking system), which unit fits a family, directions, the 4x4 road, taxis and shuttles, the beach, food nearby.
• It sends the guest a direct booking link with the dates already filled in.
• It hands off to you or the staff for anything unusual, with the conversation summary.
• It logs every inquiry, so you can see how many people asked and how many booked.
• Measure today's reply time first. We sent one test inquiry by email on Nov 13. to confirm

4. Automated guest messages (before, during, after)

• At booking: a confirmation on WhatsApp as well as email. Today the self check-in details go to the booker's email only, so others in the party may never see them.
• 7 days out: 4x4 advice, the route with a map pin (the directions still say "200 m north of Florblanca", which closed in Oct 2026), shuttle and taxi options, grocery tips.
• Day before: self check-in instructions on WhatsApp and email, plus a "reply if you need help" line.
• Day 2 of the stay: "Is everything OK?" Catch problems (noise, a broken item) before they become a review.
• Check-out day: thank you + a review request with the right link per channel.
• 6 and 11 months later: a return-stay offer for direct booking only.
• All messages are drafted once, then sent automatically. AI personalises the name, dates, unit and party size.

5. Reviews and reputation

• Claim the TripAdvisor listing (it shows as unclaimed). No owner replies appear there since 2016.
• An old 2016 review, "Book at your own risk", from the previous management still shows in search. A management reply now would put it in context.
• AI drafts a reply to every new review on Google, TripAdvisor, Booking.com and Airbnb. You approve with one tap.
• A weekly summary: new reviews, average score per channel, recurring themes (noise, the road, cleaning time).

6. Guest list and repeat business

• Build one guest list from direct bookings and the OTAs (where they allow it). to confirm what exists
• Add an email signup to the site. Example: a free "Santa Teresa family guide" PDF. Today there is no signup anywhere.
• Tag guests by type: family, couple, surfer, long stay. Send each group the offer that fits.
• Green-season campaign to past guests and signups: a direct-only offer for 4+ nights, May–Nov.

7. Payments and cancellations

• Today: full payment on check-in day, and "no refund" inside 14 days, but no card or deposit is held.
• Take a deposit (for example 30%) by payment link at booking. Keep the same refund ladder.
• Automated reminders for the balance, and a receipt on WhatsApp.
• Track late cancels and no-shows per season. to confirm numbers

8. Add-ons and partner income

• The site already sends guests to shuttle, taxi, ATV and UTV firms, with no booking or tracking.
• Offer these as add-ons at booking and in the pre-arrival message: airport shuttle, ATV/UTV, surf lessons, tours, groceries on arrival.
• Agree a referral fee with each partner, and track it.
• Bundle into packages: family week, surf week, green-season long stay.

9. Search and AI visibility

• Makanas ranks for "Santa Teresa beach bungalows". It does not show on page 1 for "Santa Teresa family hotel", "boutique hotel Santa Teresa" or "hotels near the beach".
• Add pages for those searches: families, boutique stays, long stays.
• Update every "near Florblanca" direction (site, Google, OTAs). Florblanca closed in Oct 2026.
• Complete the Google Business Profile: photos, attributes, Q&A, posts. needs manager access
• Get into the local "where to stay" guides: malpais.net, puravidamoms.com, vacationscostarica.com, ondateresa.com.
• Make the site easy for AI assistants (ChatGPT, Google AI answers) to read and quote: clear facts page, unit sizes, rates guidance, FAQs.
• The technical basics are already good: SEO score 100, structured data in place.

10. Tracking and reporting

• GA4 and Google Tag Manager are installed. A Google Ads conversion fires, so an Ads account likely exists. to confirm
• No Meta pixel was found. Add it if you plan to run Facebook/Instagram ads.
• Track the booking across the jump to booksafely.com, so you see which pages and ads produce bookings.
• One monthly dashboard: occupancy, direct vs OTA share, commission paid, reviews, inquiries and reply time.

11. Operations clean-up

• Housekeeping and maintenance log on a phone: issues get a photo, an owner and a done date (example from reviews: broken sunbeds).
• Cleaning schedule shared with guests in the day-2 message, so "cleaning after 3 pm" is expected, not a surprise.
• One shared inbox for WhatsApp, chat and email, so nothing is missed between staff.
• Standard replies (with AI help) for the top 20 questions.

12. Suggested order

1. Now: Book button, prices on results, direct-benefit banner, one phone number, Florblanca directions, claim TripAdvisor.
2. Next: pre-arrival and review messages, AI review replies, Booking.com family units, deposit link.
3. Then: AI guest assistant, guest list and email signup, add-ons, search pages, dashboard.

Questions for you

1. What is the one result you want most this year?
2. Occupancy by month, and your best and worst months?
3. Bookings split: direct vs Booking.com vs Airbnb vs Expedia?
4. Roughly how much commission do you pay per year?
5. Is keeping family units off Booking.com on purpose?
6. Who answers WhatsApp, chat and email today, and how fast?
7. Are Google Ads running? Any agency involved?
8. Do you have past guests' emails or WhatsApp numbers?
9. Late cancels and no-shows per season?
10. Could we get access to: Google Business Profile, Tokeet, Booking.com extranet, Google Tag Manager?