When Expensive Agencies Can't Keep Up
Situation
Mandarin Oriental had spent years with Deloitte strategizing their digital transformation. When it came time to build, they hired premium agencies for the new website and booking engine. It worked, but then reality hit: every new feature request came with 6-figure quotes and 6-month timelines. 35 hotels globally needed constant digital innovation, but the organization was trapped by agency economics.
Task
Deliver continuous digital products for global luxury brand while:
Managing demands from marketing, revenue, IT, and brand teams
Working within luxury standards across 13 languages
Dealing with agencies too expensive and slow for iterative needs
Proving we could build faster and better internally
Shipping what properties actually needed vs. what HQ imagined
Action
From Agency Dependence to Internal Velocity: After watching agencies charge $200K for features we could build in weeks, I founded League. Not to replace the core platform, but to deliver the constant stream of products hotels actually needed.
Built and Tested Obsessively:
Created in-house product team of 39 specialists
Delivered 6 major products beyond core website
Data-driven loyalty program tested across properties
Mobile-first features based on actual guest behavior
13-language support with cultural nuances
Rigorous A/B testing on everything
United Warring Departments:
Marketing wanted brand beauty
Revenue wanted conversion optimization
IT wanted system stability
Brand wanted standard compliance
Properties wanted local flexibility
Built products that satisfied all of them through rapid iteration.
Result
Proved internal team could outpace expensive agencies:
40% increase in booking value through optimization
18% boost in non-English markets via proper localization
Delivered 12 products in 18 months (vs. 2-3 agency would manage)
Scaled to support 50+ countries
$2.8M in value delivered with team of 39 vs. millions in agency fees
The real victory: Showed organization they didn't need 6-month agency cycles for every digital need.
Key Insight
The expensive build partners delivered the foundation, but couldn't keep pace with luxury hospitality's evolution. Every property needed something slightly different. Every campaign required new features. Every competitor move demanded response.
Agencies would quote $200K and 6 months. We'd build, test, and ship in 6 weeks for fraction of cost. Not because we were cheaper developers - because we understood the domain and could move fast.
The Pattern
This is where I learned: After consultants strategize and agencies build foundations, organizations need internal product velocity. The ability to ship constantly based on real user needs. Same pattern later at Jitjatjo and CCAoA - taking organizations from vendor dependence to internal capability.
Digital Products Shipped: Website optimization | Booking engine enhancements | Loyalty program | Mobile features | Campaign tools | Property dashboards
Speed: 6 weeks vs. 6 months agency time | 12 products in 18 months
Testing Culture: A/B tested everything | Data-driven decisions | Rapid iteration based on results
