Which upselling offers work best? And how much ancillary revenue can I expect to make with upselling at my hotel?
If you’ve ever asked yourself these questions, this article will provide the clarity you seek.
Below, you’ll find data on the most popular upselling deals across six hospitality markets around the world. On top of that, you’ll learn how much revenue these offers generated for individual hotels.
Finally, a summary of the main upselling trends for 2022 will help you plan your most effective campaign yet.
Let’s dive in, so you can start maximising your ancillary revenue ASAP!
Top three hospitality industry trends to adapt to in 2022
While things have begun looking up in most hospitality markets around the world, PwC still expects uneven recovery across the United States in 2022. And Skift doesn’t foresee a full return of business travel in Europe before 2025.
Still, there’s reason to be optimistic. High levels of demand are once again becoming the norm in many markets. Reportlinker even goes as far as forecasting 15% growth for the hospitality industry from 2021 to 2022.
The best way to take advantage of these developments is to stay on top of the latest trends and adapt your service offering accordingly. Here are three key industry trends to keep in mind for a successful year 2022.
1. Shift towards a digital guest experience
Modern travellers want tailored services and smooth communication. Innovative hotel technology, and automation in particular, is the easiest way to offer this. Think of upselling for example. A platform that automatically sends a customised selection of deals to each guest helps you in two ways. First, it will boost your conversion rates and ancillary revenue because you reach more travellers with relevant offers. Second, your guests will have a more memorable and streamlined experience. As a bonus, this approach saves your team time and frees them up for more meaningful guest interactions at other moments during the customer journey.
2. Focus on personalisation
Today, people don’t want cookie-cutter hotel stays and service offers anymore. Instead, personalise your content and deal suggestions, so travellers are more interested in exploring them. Look at various elements of their stay (e.g. day of arrival, length of stay, booking channel, etc.) to get clues about which add-ons could be most attractive to them.
3. Make sustainability a standard
COP26 and other recent events have brought sustainability to the front of many travellers’ minds. Show that you’re doing your part and empower guests to make their trips greener. Opt-out housekeeping has proven to be a very popular option in this regard. This and other sustainability-focused offers work for you in serval ways. They attract and delight your eco-conscious guests, help you reduce costs, and build your reputation as an environmentally conscious hotel.
Now that you have an idea of the top trends to watch in 2022, have a look at the top upselling deals to get inspiration for your hotel.
High-performing upselling offers by region
The following sections highlight upselling results by region. For this, three main metrics are interesting to look at:
- Which deals generated the most revenue
- The average revenue the region’s top-performing hotel earned per pre-arrival email
- Total upselling revenue earned at the region’s leading hotel
Together, these points show how effective pre-arrival upselling can be for hotels. However, keep in mind that a property’s upselling potential depends on several factors. Among others, they include overall inventory, target audience, star rating, and the hotel’s location.
Top hotel upselling results in the United Kingdom
- A property in downtown London earned £20.4 per upselling email and brought in a total of £350K in ancillary revenue in 2021.
- A hotel in Edinburgh saw the average spend per email reach £9.28. In total, they generated £52.1K from upselling in 2021.
Top five hottest upselling deals in the United Kingdom
- Breakfast throughout the stay
- Late check-out
- English breakfast
- Becoming a loyalty member and getting a 15% discount
- Early check-in
Top five most popular upgrades in the United Kingdom
- Suite on the top floor
- Suite upgrade
- Garden or river view
- Deluxe double room
- Room with a view of the London Eye or cathedral
Top hotel upselling results in the Nordics
The Nordic hospitality market includes Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland.
- A property on the Stockholm waterfront came out ahead with €92.2K in upselling revenue in 2021 and an average of €5.65 per email sent.
- With an average of €11.68 per email sent, a hotel in Copenhagen wins the race in that category. The same property generated a total of €19.8K in ancillary revenue in 2021.
Top five hottest upselling deals in the Nordics
- Discounted breakfast
- Secure parking
- Restaurant reservation
- Opt-out housekeeping
- Champagne in the room upon arrival
Top five most popular upgrades in the Nordics
- Superior room
- Junior suite
- Panoramic view premium room
- Lake view premium room
- High-floor premium room
Top hotel upselling results in the Benelux region
The Benelux region comprises the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium.
- An Amsterdam property tops the leader board in the Benelux region with €71.6K in upselling revenue in 2021 and an average of €13.18 per email sent.
- Another Amsterdam hotel takes second place with €13.13 in revenue per email sent and a total of €26.4K in additional revenue.
Top five hottest upselling deals in the Benelux region
- Breakfast during the stay
- Late check-outs
- Parking
- Bicycle rental
- Romantic package
Top five most popular upgrades in the Benelux region
- Deluxe room
- Deluxe room with a view
- Deluxe room with a bathtub
- Sea view premium room
- Jacuzzi in the room
Top hotel upselling results in the DACH region
The DACH region encompasses Austria, Switzerland, and Germany.
- A property in the small town of Reussen, Germany wins the race with total upselling for 2021 totalling €194.1K. Their average revenue per email reached €26.97.
- Another property in the DACH region beat the above hotel in terms of income generated per email. They topped out at €29.81 per message and €49.7K in total incremental revenue.
Top five hottest upselling deals in the DACH market
- Breakfast add-on
- Early check-ins
- Late check-out
- Discounted breakfast
- Secure car parking
Top five most popular upgrades in the DACH market
- Superior room
- Business room
- Business room with executive lounge access,
- Mountain view room
- Deluxe room
Top hotel upselling results in Portugal
- A property in the seaside town of Alvor is the country’s top performer with total ancillary earnings of €13.5K and €6.57 of average revenue per email.
- A hotel in the capital city of Lisbon takes second place. They generated €5.74 per upselling email and earned a total of €1.9K from upselling in 2021.
Top five hottest upselling deals in Portugal
- Half board supplement for dinner throughout the stay
- Safe taxi transfers
- Romantic surprises
- Late check-out
- Early check-in
Top five most popular upgrades in Portugal
- Sea view suite
- Pool view room
- Garden view room
- Junior suite
- Regular suite
Top hotel upselling results in the Asia-Pacific region
- In terms of revenue, a property in Singapore leads the list with ancillary income totalling $340.3K in 2021. On average, their upselling emails earned them $14.77.
- When looking at revenue generated per upselling email, a luxury resort wins by a massive margin. They earned $221.66 per message sent. In total, this resort saw $20.5K in upselling revenue in 2021.
Top five hottest upselling deals in the APAC region
- Food and beverage credit
- Secure parking
- Playground access
- Breakfast add-on
- Late check-outs
Reading about the top trends in hospitality and the best-performing upselling deals should give you enough inspiration to begin optimising your offering.
If you want more in-depth insights, check out the Hospitality Market Report. Inside you’ll find even more data and actionable insights that will give you new ideas for how to delight your guests and boost your property’s top line.
Written by Saahil Karkera.
