You’ve heard it before: upselling is a great way to increase your revenue and improve the guest experience. But this statement doesn’t do justice to the true importance of upselling in hotels.
NB: This is an article from Oaky
Think of all the money and effort you put into getting guests through the door. You have a website, use tech tools to distribute your inventory, pay OTA commissions and maybe even run ads. Yes, investing in winning new guests is essential. But taking care of those who have already trusted you and made a reservation is a way to increase profits.
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Recent data proves this point. It shows that nurturing your existing guests is five times more cost-effective than winning over new ones.
Upselling and cross-selling are fantastic ways to do that. They put guests in charge of decking out their stay with upgrades and add-ons they value. That allows you to create perfectly tailored experiences that will leave your guests raving about your hotel. And the cherry on top is that you’ll drive additional revenue from existing guests with little effort.
Upselling vs Cross-selling vs Suggestive selling
Before we move on, let’s look at the different forms of upselling. Often the term ‘upselling’ serves as an umbrella term that also includes cross-selling and suggestive selling.
For hotels, upselling in its purest form means suggesting a paid upgrade to a fancier room type or promoting more expensive versions of services a guest has already booked.
Cross-selling is when you offer a product or service that’s different but complementary to something your guest already has. An example of this is a waiter who suggests a bottle of wine with dinner or a receptionist who proposes booking a spa treatment.
Suggestive selling is about planting a seed in the traveller’s mind and encouraging guests to take action. You can do this by telling them about the next higher room category’s incredible benefits or by providing attractive information about your services. The goal is to entice guests to do something they enjoy but weren’t planning on when they booked their stay.
For simplicity, we’ll use ‘upselling’ to refer to all three types in the rest of this guide.
Why upselling is important for hotels: 6 benefits not to overlook
Now that we’ve examined the basics of upselling, it’s time to go over the 6 key benefits it can have for your property
1. An elevated guest experience
Generic deals won’t cut it anymore. Today, people are used to customised experiences from online shopping, social media and data-driven advertising. They expect the same level of personalisation from hotels. That means you must sell upgrades or add-ons that match their needs and desires.
Create hyper-personalised deal selections with the help of segmentation. This way, guests have an easier time discovering the offers they want and creating the stay that suits their needs.
2. A deeper knowledge of your ideal guest
Upselling helps build a connection with your guests. Analyse the most appealing deals to explore their interests, learn more about the experiences they seek and are willing to pay extra for. This can give you ideas for additional services that will enhance their stay and new revenue streams to tap.
You’ll also discover what’s less popular among travellers. That allows you to revamp offers and make them more attractive or shelve them.
