A boutique hotel that feels like the light it is named after
Naming, identity and a booking-first website for a twelve-room hotel in a restored 18th-century townhouse in Lisbon's Príncipe Real.
- Client
- Casa Lumen
- Industry
- Hospitality
- Year
- 2024
- Timeline
- 20 weeks
The challenge
The owners had restored a townhouse room by room over four years. They had the building, the staff and an opening date, but no name, no brand and a launch window that landed right in peak booking season. They also wanted to avoid becoming another hotel that looks beautiful on Instagram yet sells most of its rooms through booking platforms that take a fifth of every stay.
Our approach
We started with the building itself, studying how light moves through its tall windows over the course of a day. The name Casa Lumen came out of those walks, and the identity followed: a sun-warmed palette, a serif inspired by 18th-century Portuguese tile lettering and photography art-directed only in natural light. The website was designed around direct booking. Every room has its own page, availability sits above the fold and the booking flow takes three steps instead of nine.
Visual system
The palette.
The core colours of the identity, carried across every touchpoint from the first sketch to the final launch.
- 01 Primary#F2E6D3
- 02 Secondary#B5653B
- 03 Accent#3B4A3F
Results
What changed.
- of stays now booked direct
- 62%
- fully booked from opening day
- 8 weeks
- from room page to confirmed booking
- 3 steps
The outcome
Casa Lumen opened fully booked for its first eight weeks. Most stays are now booked directly, saving the owners a significant share of every booking in platform fees, and the hotel was shortlisted for a national design award in its first year.
In their words
Guests tell us the hotel feels exactly like the website promised. That is the highest compliment I can imagine for a brand.
