Guest experience · Marketing · Paid media

Bring people in. Give them a reason to stay.

I help hotels in Kampala and across East Africa turn the December homecoming season into a packaged guest experience, and I run paid social and search campaigns for growing businesses with a small team of vetted specialist media buyers.

Featured case study · Serena Homecoming

A December package for Uganda's returning diaspora

Lagos built a tourism economy around Detty December. Kampala has the same homecoming wave, but no hotel had packaged for it. Returning Ugandans were scattered across Airbnbs and competitor hotels, with no service, security or plan for their nights out. I built a strategy for Serena Hotel Kampala to own that guest.

$71.6M
Lagos December revenue, 2024 season
$44M
Of that, earned by hotels
1.2M
Visitors in Lagos for the season
July
When December bookings start

The Nigerian blueprint, from my research on how Lagos hotels position for the season. Uganda's diaspora sends home more than $1.5 billion a year.

The insight

The hotels that won in Lagos stopped selling rooms and started selling experiences. Diaspora guests want to celebrate and rest without compromise, and they expect international standards of service and safety.

Where it went

  • Shared the strategy directly with Serena Hotels' CEO, who referred it to the Kampala General Manager.
  • Invited to present to the GM. The meeting did not go ahead after the hotel's sales team went quiet the week before.
  • Proposed a diaspora travel concept to Marriott International. Their Corporate Office of Consumer Affairs described the ideas as compelling and directed it to Marriott's formal partnership process, where it was submitted in December 2025.

What the package offers

Airport pickup
A stress-free arrival
Nightly shuttles, twice a night
Safe rides to dinner and clubs, and home again
Curated party itinerary
Guests know where to go every night
Venue partnerships
VIP entry at five top Kampala venues
Recovery breakfast
Detox and hangover remedies the next morning
A host on the ground
Morale, safety and problem-solving all season
Phase 1 · July to October

Pre-season

Diaspora ads in Facebook groups, WhatsApp and Instagram, early-bird rates, venue deals, staff briefings and a short video ad.

Phase 2 · November to January

The season

Launch the package, host on site every night, repost guest content and adjust shuttles and menus daily.

Phase 3 · January to March

Post-season

Report occupancy, F&B revenue and satisfaction, gather testimonials and build an email list for next year.

Services

Strategy, experiences and campaigns

Hospitality market strategy

Size the homecoming opportunity for your property, benchmark against regional leaders, and build the case your leadership can approve.

Guest experience and package design

Arrival, transport, nightlife partners and food, designed so returning guests feel understood.

Paid social and search campaigns

Meta, Instagram, TikTok and Google ads for growing businesses. I scope goals and budget with you, a vetted specialist media buyer builds and runs the campaigns, and I manage the work and report back in plain language.

Events and program delivery

Vendor and venue coordination, guest communication and a host on the ground, backed by 50+ programs delivered across four countries.

Ways to work together

Three engagement models

Pick the level of involvement that fits your team. Each starts with a one-page agreement.

Hospitality strategy

$4,000 flat

Full plan, marketing assets, venue partnerships and a post-season report.

Campaign management

Quoted monthly

Paid social or search for your business: a scoped plan, a vetted media buyer running the ads, and a plain-language report every month.

Performance-based

5–10% of uplift

Full execution, paid as a capped share of incremental package revenue.

About

I build experiences for people far from home

At Remote Year I was promoted from intern to Community Experience Manager, delivering 50+ programs and events across four countries for cohorts of 40+ remote professionals. Today I run workplace operations at a 50+ person marketing agency in Kentucky. I have spent summers volunteering in Kampala and know the homecoming season from the guest’s side.

News

Latest updates

Contact

Let's work together

Hotels planning for December, businesses that need paid campaigns run well, and media buyers interested in joining my specialist roster: tell me what you need and I will reply within two business days.

hillaryrogers.ug@gmail.com