Leveraging personalized upsells can help you unlock direct revenue.
NB: This is an article from Revinate
Upsells are powerful. Many hoteliers view upsells as a means to drive quick and easy ancillary revenue, which can be effective, but only when done right. To convince guests to purchase offers that will enhance their experience, your upsells have to be tailored to their preferences.
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Using targeted upsells drives personalization in hotels, which strengthens relationships with guests. Guests want to be heard, taken care of, and catered to. Leveraging upsells helps you do that as you anticipate your guests’ desires.
Let’s find out how.
Upsells and the guest experience
Guests are expecting to be wowed. This means that after their stay, guests should come away feeling satisfied and impressed by their experience at your property. But don’t you want to find out exactly what’s going to wow each and every one of your guests?
The key is to design and present an upsell that would fulfill guests’ expectations. So, think creatively about your upsells. Try designing a package around a birthday or Valentine’s Day. Or, could you extend a special food and beverage offer? The goal is to make the upsell as specific to your guest as possible using the data about them you already have.
You’ll need a robust guest database to do this. For example, Revinate’s Guest Data Platform centralizes guest preferences, allowing you to identify data points swiftly and accurately. From there, you can select which upsells are best for a particular guest based on criteria such as past interests or travel motivations.
The more you tailor your upsells to your guests, the more unique their experience becomes. Believe it or not, 86% of buyers will pay more for a great customer experience.
So, do the research to find out what guests might enjoy during their stays. Not only will this increase the chance that guests will take advantage of your upsells, but it will also lead to greater guest satisfaction and repeat stays.
Upsells and the guest journey
The timing of your upsells is significant. Upsells drive personalization in hotels when they are presented to guests at every stage in their journeys.
THE BOOKING STAGE
Upselling doesn’t start when a guest sets foot on your property. It starts at the booking stage. Once guests have selected their dates and accommodations, try including offers they can add to their package. This is a great time to make bookers feel like they’re getting the best deal possible — and it ensures they can look forward to a remarkable stay.
PRE-ARRIVAL
Try emailing upsells to your guests before they arrive. After completing their bookings, guests are more likely thinking about how they would like their trip to unfold. To capitalize on that top-of-mind awareness, start anticipating those expectations so that their experience is ready to go when they check in.
137 Pillars Hotels and Resorts did just that. They used segmentation and personalization in their email campaigns to upsell guests before they even arrived on the property. And their marketing efforts ended up driving more than ฿ 28,000,000 in revenue. By focusing on luxury, seasonal, and local offers, 137 Pillars Hotels and Resorts was able to target guests who would be especially interested in those deals.
You can also connect your front desk staff to your marketing team to include those popular upsells in pre-arrival emails to save time during check-in. We know that guests are more likely to spend more before arrival, which increases ADR and could lead to higher occupancy.
ARRIVAL
Upselling by front desk staff is one of the most effective ways to ensure personalization in hotels. Think of it this way: Your front desk is the front line. They’re getting to know guests beyond digital communications, and they may pick up on additional preferences and expectations.
So, urge front desk staff to be proactive and encourage guests to add features to their stay. Offers for food and beverage, room upgrades, and late check-out tend to perform well at this point in the guest journey. If you use a marketing solution like the one from Revinate, you can even use arrival reports to identify guests who’ve booked upsells.
POST STAY
Just because the stay is over doesn’t mean it’s time to stop personalizing with upsells. Post-stay surveys are a great way to ask guests if your upsells elevated their stay or could use improvement.
Be sure to ask what guests want to see next time as well. Don’t dismiss the feedback from these guests, because they have the potential to become repeat guests. Best of all, there’s no need to create a separate survey if you’re already using a robust guest feedback solution.
Upsells and your guest relationships
You have the power to drive personalization in hotels with upsells. Don’t neglect it — that personalization is the key to deepening relationships with your guests and ultimately fostering loyalty. Guests will remember hotels that deliberately craft unique experiences that align with their visions. That may just be what convinces them to re-book at your property at a later date.
