How To Master Hotel Upselling and Boost Ancillary Revenue — Part 1

How do you take hotel upselling to the next level?

A lot of times, a question like this is asked and generally is greeted with multiple answers based on either observations or experiences. Of course, it depends on the type of property and the guests we want to attract.

Many hotel businesses restrict upselling only till the front desk. Unfortunately, that doesn’t do much at all. During the guests’ check-in, the receptionist can’t sell too many offers at once. To sum things up, this leaves ancillary sales at the desk with you not being able to boost any revenue.

But, when the approach is right, upselling can immensely boost both guest satisfaction and the hotel’s overall business value. The key? Offering the right offers to the right guests and at the right time! Let’s take a look on how to go about upselling the correct way!

THE RIGHT APPROACH

A unique approach is required depending on the property and the type of guest you are attracting. A luxury resort that caters to happy enthusiastic guests will automatically drive sales in a different way. Here are some ways to do that.

Many booking engines don’t give you access to a customer’s email address, so you can’t manually sell them before they arrive. Fortunately, there are two ways around this problem: use an upselling platform that can reach OTA customers and drive more direct bookings through your hotel website.

There are some interesting ways to increase direct bookings as well. They are

1. Delivering rich engaging content to attract the audience — This includes targeted social media content that highlights the perks of your property, as well as blogs or videos that promote your destination and offer travel tips that your ideal guests.
2. Invest in a booking platform — It’s simple. The easier it is to book directly with you, the more people will do it. A fast, secure and easy booking engine for your website will surely benefit your business.
3. Invest in your website, data and marketing — Once people are on your website, it is as easy as possible for them to find the information. The only way to beat the industry average conversion rate of less than 2% and also, book directly.

Of course, for a great website to get results, you’ll need to spread the word via social media, advertising, or other methods. Test various ways, analyze the results, and go ahead with what worked best for you.

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THE WINDOW BETWEEN BOOKING AND ARRIVAL

Now, during this period, there isn’t much to be worried about. The bookings have been made and most of the research is already done. The guests are enthusiastic and are eager and anticipating a brilliant experience in the hotel. Here’s how you can make the pre-arrival period even more exciting for the guests.
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1. Personally message your guests — Email your guest a few days before arrival and include offers for additional services or paid upgrades. It can increase your ancillary income, but takes a lot of your team’s time as well!
2. Automate using PMS and Upselling Platforms — This allows you to increase upselling and your ancillary income without creating additional work for your front office team. A smart hotel cloud software Cloudbeds can automate upselling emails before arrival, or you can integrate it with specialist upselling tools like Oaky that use smart learning to optimize upselling and maximize profits. . If you want to go further, you can even use such a platform to promote deals to internal guests.

Well that’s all for part 1 of How To Master Hotel Upselling and Boost Ancillary Revenue. Check out the second part of this blog soon! Hope these pointers help you out in some way!

Also, to know more on ancillary services, revenue acceleration, etc. book a demo with Quoality today or visit our site for more information.

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