Room upgrades have always been a key element of upselling strategies. Now you can slash the time you dedicate to manually changing your supplement rates and focus on optimizing your room upgrade conversions!
Read on for 5 ways to get the most out of your room upgrades in general, including with an exciting new Oaky feature.
1. Dynamic pricing for room upgrades
Dynamic pricing for rooms is a well-established practice. Now it’s time to apply dynamic rates to upselling higher room categories. The best thing is, that it doesn’t require additional manual work!
The Park Plaza Westminster Bridge tested this new feature and experienced a 17% increase in spend per upgraded night and a 20% boost in total upsell revenue. Just think about what that likely did for their ADR (average daily rate) and RevPAR (revenue per available room)!
2. Offer creative room categories you can upsell
If your hotel uses common categories such as ‘standard’, ‘deluxe’, ‘junior suite’ etc. it could be time to enrich your selectiont. Give yourself more chances to upsell with creative room categories.
You can do this without huge renovations or capital investment but by adding a few extra perks and amenities to existing room categories.
Here are some ideas for you:
- The ‘Work Remotely Room’ – a room or suite with a comfortable workspace, on-demand coffee and tea refills for the in-room machine and a healthy snack served daily.
- The ‘Home Cinema Room’ – a room with a projector and a big screen. Here guests can watch the latest blockbusters in their hotel room. Popcorn, nachos or other movie treats can be included too.
- The ‘Spa Room’ – a room stocked with your spa’s top products instead of the standard amenities, a healthy snack and an in-room treatment.
3. Differentiate rooms depending on their features
Address your guests’ differing needs and desires with your upsells. If some of your rooms are in the same category but still have slightly different features, you can use this as an upsell option.
See your rooms through the eyes of various guest profiles. You probably address their needs already. If you highlight this, it can make the difference between opting in or out.
Examples of features you can upsell:
- High/low floor rooms
- Different views (city, ocean, mountains…)
- Connecting vs. not connecting rooms
The Park Regis Business Bay Hotel Dubai does this very well. They offer three upgrade options for their deluxe rooms, each with its own attributes and price supplement.
Guests have new priorities post-lockdown.
Going on a business trip or a holiday is a welcome break from lockdown drudgery or the work from home life many of your guests experienced in 2020. This has also led to them appreciating certain parts of hotel rooms more than before.
Leverage these new trends and upsell rooms with:
- Outside space like a balcony or terrace
- Extra space to work
- Space for children to play
4. Make your offer impossible to refuse
Even the best upgrade won’t sell itself. The four points below will help you ensure your offers captivate and convince your guests.
- Emphasize the upgrade’s specific advantages and highlight the room’s key attributes.
- Explain how the upgrade adds value and why it’s such a good deal.
- Take the guest on an emotional journey. Evoke idyllic situations, build excitement, and trigger their imagination.
- Show how you solve a problem right in the title. For example: “Need more space? Upgrade to our executive room!”
Here are some copy samples that can help you sell some of your more high-end rooms:
- “Bask in the breath-taking and unbeatable panoramic view.” This statement evokes emotion and triggers the guest’s visual imagination. It highlights that this room or suite is the top choice at your property.
- “An ideal upgrade for guests who value space and sophistication, yet want a warm and relaxing place to unwind in.” This reminds guests of how staying at an exclusive hotel should feel.
- “The room also boasts a whirlpool bath in a spacious bathroom among other amenities that will help you to relax.” Mentioning amenities as well as when and how guests can use them helps people picture themselves doing just that.
- “Tip: Order a bottle of bubbles and flowers in the room to make your stay extra romantic.” This upsell of the upsell adds a charged finish to the emotional journey.
A real-life example
The Ramada Jumeirah Hotel in Dubai promotes the upgrade to the deluxe suite with the text below.
“The Deluxe Suite is perfect for the discerning traveller who is looking for an extravagance of space for their friends or family. The 65 m² room offers you a guest room with its own bathroom that spoils you with a bathtub and a rain shower and all other modern amenities that you will need to have a peaceful and relaxing stay in Dubai. Tip: Most guests also opt for the Dinner or Spa package along with this upgrade.”
What this text does well:
- It shows precisely who this upgrade is for (the discerning traveller)
- The details shine a light on the key benefit (extra space)
- The final tip uses nudge theory by emphasizing social norms. It makes guests more likely to opt in if they know others in a similar situation have too.
5. Showcase your rooms from all angles
Increase your opportunities for upselling and “let’s-book-it” moments by using fitting images in your upgrade offers. Displaying multiple photos of your rooms in your upselling messages makes them more trustworthy and believable. After all, now guests can see what they would get if they opted in to your offer.
Especially if you’re using attribute-based selling, high-quality pictures are the best way to showcase your room’s strong points.
- Research shows that you should prominently feature beautiful, emotion-provoking room views. Simple, uncluttered pictures of the room should follow.
- Further studies found that a minimum of four photos of the room and one bathroom image are ideal to convince a guest to book or upgrade a room.
- Room presentation and professional lighting are the key. Follow the tips in this Image Gallery Checklist for the best results.
Now that you have so many new ideas for boosting your upselling game, it’s time to put them into practice!
