Airlines promote seat upgrades to enhance a flight experience, and McDonald’s has been upselling its customers for years simply by asking, “Do you want fries with that?” In hospitality, upsells enhance the guest experience while generating more ancillary revenue for hotels. The best upsell strategies to consider are segmentation, timing, and email design. Keep reading to learn how you can build an upsell strategy that gets results.
Segmentation for personalized upsells
The key to maximizing ancillary revenue via amenity upsells and room upgrades is personalization. By tapping into your database and leveraging guest preferences and stay history, you can customize upsell offers that are relevant to individual guests. Below are some effective segments to consider for your upsell strategy.
Reservations with children
It would not make sense for you to receive an upsell email featuring a bottle of champagne, a bouquet of flowers, or a romantic sunset cruise when you’re vacationing with your children. The type of upsells you’re more likely to purchase would be family-oriented, such as kids’ activities or free dessert for children when they dine at your restaurants.
OTA rate bookers
Segment by the channel or market on which your guests have booked. Direct bookers, in contrast to OTA bookers, should be rewarded for booking directly with upsells like free newspapers, discount spa services, dining discounts at your restaurants, etc. This is also an easy way to incentivize guests to keep booking direct.
Loyal guests and VIP
This segment consists of your highest spenders and biggest promoters, so you should definitely personalize upsell offers to this most lucrative group. Offer discounts for services you know these guests have previously enjoyed while on the property.
Optimizing send time
When you optimize your send time, especially with upsells, you’re giving yourself the best chance to generate the most revenue. Check out the best send times for some popular segments.
