About the Hotels
Lotus Desaru Beach Resort & Spa sets along 26 kilometers of coastline in Johor, Malaysia. Known as “The Resort for All Reasons,” it spans 25 acres and offers 793 family-friendly apartments, suites, and penthouses making it the largest beach resort in the country. Lotus Desaru is a full-scale leisure destination with its own water park, golf course, meeting facilities, team-building venues, and nature-inspired attractions.
Lotus Seaview Beach Resort, part of the same group, is a 184-room retreat overlooking the South China Sea. It features modern sea and garden view villas, a saltwater pool, a fully equipped gym, and the renowned 1881 Seafood Restaurant — a venue popular for weddings and private events.
Goals
- Improve operational efficiency across all channels
- Respond to market changes faster
- Reduce booking acquisition costs
- Monetize facilities and services
Before switching to Exely, the Lotus Resorts managed each OTA manually through separate extranets. Any price change or availability update had to be entered one by one across more than a dozen systems, slowing operations, increasing the risk of errors, and limiting the ability to react quickly to market shifts.
With updates to their own websites always last in line, direct sales lagged behind. The team needed a centralized solution that could speed up distribution, improve control over pricing and availability, and open new revenue streams.
Before Exely, we had to manage every OTA separately — it was time-consuming and prone to errors. Now, with everything centralized, our operations are faster and more accurate.
Mr. Firdaus
Reservation Department at Lotus Hotels
Solution
Streamlining Distribution Across All Channels
Booking Engine & Channel Manager in a single account. Both resorts now update availability and pricing for all OTAs and their own websites in one place. This setup not only speeds up operations and reduces errors but also ensures every channel, including the website, always shows accurate, up-to-date availability. As a result, the website can fairly compete for bookings alongside OTAs, helping direct sales grow.
Growing Income and Guest Relationships
Services Booking Engine. While Exely Booking Engine offers room upgrades and upsells services to guests during online booking, the Lotus hotels were looking for ways to sell extra services, day passes, golf course access, and rent out facilities to locals, corporate clients, and non-staying guests. A separate tab with Services Booking Engine allows these types of clients to select a service, a suitable date, book and get a confirmation just like for the rooms.
Loyalty Program. To drive repeat bookings across both the properties, the resorts activated the automated online Loyalty Program built into Exely Booking Engine. During their first booking, guests are prompted to log in to access exclusive loyalty discounts. After logging in, they are automatically enrolled and can unlock benefits on future stays simply by signing in with the same account or social media profile.
With Exely, we feel like partners. We can talk to your team, share ideas, and grow together — unlike other providers where communication was one-sided.
Ms. Indra
Group Operations Director at Lotus Desaru Beach Resort & Lotus Desaru Beach Resort
Result
Operational complexity resolved and direct bookings increased to 20–30% of total reservations. By managing availability and pricing for both OTAs and websites in one Extranet, the team eliminated manual work and gained the flexibility to respond to market shifts faster. With up-to-date availability, a user-friendly website, and built-in booking tools, direct sales quickly increased.
12,000+ guests enrolled in the website loyalty program, making future direct bookings more likely. Many returning guests previously booked via OTAs to access loyalty rewards. With Exely Loyalty Program now active on the websites, these same guests are incentivized to book directly, helping reduce acquisition costs and increase revenue per booking, while strengthening long-term customer relationships.
New revenue streams unlocked through Services Booking Engine. With standalone booking for day passes, golf access, and event packages, the hotels began monetizing facilities year-round. These services are now available to walk-ins, corporate clients, and local visitors, expanding the resorts’ customer base beyond traditional room guests.
Before
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Manual OTA management with high risk of errors -
Facilities and services not available for online booking
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Repeat guests booking via OTAs at high acquisition cost
After
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Centralized control via Exely Extranet with synced pricing and availability across all channels -
Services Booking Engine enables direct sales of day passes, golf access, event packages, etc.
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12,000+ guests enrolled in website loyalty program, driving more repeat direct bookings and reducing acquisition costs
