With an increasing reliance on online travel agents (OTAs), the emergence of strong competition, and higher expectations from guests, a huge challenge for hotels is maintaining their profitability.
One of the best ways to boost revenue and get more value for the business out of each customer is by employing upselling, and cross-selling, strategies.
Upselling is the process of selling a more expensive version of the service or product your customer is buying, while cross-selling is the process of selling an additional, supplementary product or service to complement the product or service your customer is buying.
It will allow you to make better use of your hotel’s amenities and products, and increase the level of personalisation your hotel extends to guests.
However there are other reasons to upsell and many ways you can do it.
What’s the primary goal of upselling?
If you answered ‘to make more money for my hotel’ you’ve started off on the wrong track. Any action you take at your hotel should benefit the guest first and foremost. If you can increase guest satisfaction, positive reviews and build closer relationships, more revenue will naturally follow.
You need to think about the long-term benefits upselling will have on your business. Taking a customer-first approach will serve to enhance your brand reputation, persuading guests to be more loyal as they grow to trust you have more than your bottom line in mind.
How should you communicate your upselling offers?
The methods you use to upsell need to be handled with a degree of delicacy. The timing, tone, and regularity with which you upsell is vital to the success of your efforts.
You don’t want to seem pushy so treat it as an exercise in awareness rather than a sales pitch. Make sure guests know what options are available to them but let them initiate any further interest.
