Upselling your hotel is crucial if you want to pad your profits and boost your bottom line. Upselling add-ons like room upgrades, gym access, or additional extras like hampers will generate plenty of revenue for your hotel and typically require minimal costs.
Convincing customers to upgrade their stay can improve your brand image, too. Folks are far more likely to have a stay that they’ll remember fondly if they’ve also paid for a spa treatment, fresh fruit deliveries, or a room upgrade. This will lead to repeat bookings and boost your long-term profits.
However, upselling and cross-selling can be tricky. You don’t want to hard-sell to customers who have already paid to stay in your hotel and should ensure that your base service is good enough on its own. This is why personalization is so important. Personalizing your pitch helps folks feel valued and increases your chances of a successful upsell.
Personalization
Most hotels reserve personalization for repeat customers. This makes sense, as front desk clerks are far more likely to remember the name and identity of anyone who makes repeated visits to the hotel. However, in the digital era, offering personalization for brand-new customers is possible.
Get your personalization efforts off to a great start by asking more optional questions when folks book a room. This can help you upsell and cross-sell, as you’ll know more about the guests when they arrive at your premises. You can train front desk clerks to use your CRM and ask them to pay additional attention to key data points like:
- Where the guest has traveled from
- The reason for their stay
- Any of their potential interests
- Who they are traveling/staying with
- How long they’re staying for
These details give clerks a basis for a personalized script when customers check-in. For example, a clerk who knows that a guest is staying for a week-long business conference might be able to offer an upsell like additional coffee, fruits, and snacks to be sent to the guest’s room before they leave in the morning. This kind of upsell keeps the guest’s preferences in mind and boosts ancillary revenue.
This strategy can help you create clear customer segments, too. Segmenting your customer base is key, as you’re likely to see distinct “groups” of customers who will appreciate different packages based on their needs. This streamlines your clerks’ pitches and helps you understand the motivations behind your guest’s choices.
Upselling
Upselling to folks who have already arrived at your hotel can feel like an uphill battle. After all, they’ve likely seen many of your premium packages already and decided to stick with a base option. However, personalization can convince folks to reconsider their choices and opt for options that make sense for them.
For example, if you’ve gathered data that suggests your guest is traveling from overseas to stay with you, you may be able to upsell if you believe it will authentically improve their vacation. This is particularly prudent if your premium rooms come with perks like great views of the surrounding cityscape.
When upselling, train your clerks to soft-sell and pitch the sale as a consideration rather than a request to upgrade. This should draw from the data you’ve collected on guests and should ensure that folks feel that they can say “no” without causing a conflict with your clerk.
Cross-selling
Cross-selling should be at the core of your revenue-boosting schemes. Put simply, cross-selling occurs when providing add-ons and additional extras for guests. For example, if someone checks in with a basic room package, you may attempt to cross-sell by offering additional extras like pool access, room service packages, or dinner reservations.
You can also offer subscription packages for repeat guests who want to buy a “premium” experience for your hotel. Subscription packages generate reliable revenue for your business and may help people better manage their finances. Subscription packages are popular because they are customizable, convenient, and allow folks to bundle their most cherished add-ons together.
Cross-selling subscription packages can personalize your offering and aid your data collection efforts, too. This is because the folks who sign up for subscriptions will have to complete surveys and quizzes in order to receive their subscription. This bolsters your understanding of your guests and helps you make better-informed decisions when partnering with external stakeholders.
Partnerships
Modern hotels partner with local vendors and service providers to offer a better experience for folks who stay in the area. Tactful partnerships can be particularly profitable for your hotel, too, as you’ll be able to claim a portion of the revenue generated by selling sightseeing trips or guided tours.
If you’re new to the idea of partnerships, consider partnering with an outdoor activity provider based on the personalized data you collect. For example, if you discover that many of your guests enjoy hiking and horse riding, you may want to develop a partnership with an adventure-oriented business. This boosts your bottom line, as the outdoor activity industry is booming currently while folks are looking for experiences like:
- Hiking tours
- Helicopter sight-seeing
- Snorkeling experiences
- Horse riding
Partnering with a reliable business that offers these attractions can draw folks to your hotel and help you generate some much-needed revenue. You’ll need to negotiate a share of the income from referrals but will find that these types of partnerships are mutually beneficial for you and your partners.
Conclusion
Personalized upselling can increase your profits and help you get more from your ancillary services. A personalized approach may lead to repeat sales and an improved brand reputation, too. Just be sure to train agents to use sensitive data properly and encourage them to use data to soft-sell to folks who just arrived at your hotel.
