How to improve your upselling performances before your guests set foot in your hotel

Making additional sales, or upselling, is a practice that you will without doubt be seeking to implement in your establishment, but it’s not always an easy task.
The first reason for this is because you don’t want to risk potentially tarnishing your guests’ experience by overwhelming them with information, especially if it is not adapted to their needs. And the second is because it can prove difficult to judge precisely when is the right moment to promote these additional sales.

Let’s take a look at how to implement a coherent upselling strategy which will go hand in hand with an optimal guest experience and profitability, because, even before you start thinking about the revenue brought in from these sales, satisfaction has to take priority. A happy guest will be far more inclined to spend more money in your hotel.

Upselling the right product or service at the right time, for the right guest

First of all, you need to list the opportunities available to you. Which services or products can you sell? Room upgrade, dinner in the restaurant, massages in the spa or activities outside the hotel… Upselling can occur at any stage of the guest journey, but we’re going to focus on the pre-stay communication you can implement before your guest arrives, and all the benefits this can offer you. Let’s now take a closer look at the different kinds of offers you could promote in your hotel.

Restaurant

Having trouble filling your restaurant? Have you just updated your menu? Do you organise themed dinners? There are 1,001 different ways to innovate in your restaurant, so it would be a shame not to let your guests know about all the efforts you go to. Adapt your offer to match your guest segment. Try to anticipate what your guests will want. For example, for guests on business, you could send an email prior to their arrival in which you promote your restaurant, showing them the menu and offering the chance to book a table or even order a takeaway “breakfast box” for those who might have to catch a train or plane early in the morning. To encourage sales, why not offer them a free drink at the bar?

Your restaurant is overflowing with opportunities: you just have to look for them! Perhaps your town (or region) is known for certain specialities, for example pastries, and maybe your chef is particularly skilled at making these. Integrate offers into your pre-stay communication allowing your guest to order this kind of product at a discounted rate so they can be ready in their room when they arrive. This could prove particularly attractive to couples or families.

Other ideas are possible according to the services and facilities you have available. Brunch for families, takeaway breakfast for guests on business who have to leave early in the morning… Your pre-stay communication can act like a shop window in which you present your comprehensive package! Not only will this improve the guest experience, it will also increase your profitability.

Accommodation

When thinking about upselling in a hotel, the first thing that comes to mind is, of course, room upgrades. However, you need to be careful to avoid compromising your operations. First, analyse your occupancy rate and available inventory; you can then determine which types of rooms you can promote.

Next, before your guest arrives, offer them an upgrade at a discounted price. The Customer Alliance pre-stay email offers the advantage of allowing you to start a conversation with your guest, but also to offer them something advantageous to them, with the common goal of putting the guest in the best conditions in their stay, A room upgrade is also a great way to sign up new guests to your loyalty programme, in which they can automatically enjoy this kind of benefit for their next stay at your hotel or others in your group.

Activities

The activities available in or outside of your hotel represent a broad topic and a good source of corss-selling. Depending on the services you sell, you can communicate these to your guests. Your spa is a good example; virtually anyone in your clientele could be tempted by a massage. This service may therefore appeal to a couple on a romantic weekend, or a businessman wanting to relax after a long working day. Anticipate these requirements by promoting your facilities and encourage your guests to come and try them out.

As a hotel owner, you are an active player in your town or region’s tourism industry. Perhaps you work closely with other businesses in the area (theatre, theme park, museum…). With the Customer Alliance pre-stay email, you can provide your guests with information about the various activities they can experience during their stay. Grasp this opportunity to show that you are a real expert on your area and want them to have the best possible stay.

To sum up…

All that’s left for you to do now is to implement a strategy to make additional sales. This may seem like a significant amount of work to do considering the difficulties linked to operations, but remember the benefits you will get in the long term.

Customer Alliance help you in the upselling process by making it automatic. The pre-stay email acts as a shop window for your establishment which your guests will look in even before they set foot in your hotel. In addition to pre-stay communication, the Customer Alliance solution also offers the possibility to continue the conversation with your guests during and after their stay, so you can glean quality feedback to optimise your operations and increase your online visibility, and all of this with a view to improving the guest experience.

Become an expert on upselling and the guest experience. Request a demonstration today and benefit from free coaching with advice from our team!