Unlocking Revenue Potential Through Exceptional Guest Experiences

At the heart of your hospitality business are the guests you serve. They arrive at your beautiful property, get a smooth check in, and their holiday kicks off. Room is paid for, so your main source of revenue has been taken care of, but what about the rest? If you’re located in a remote destination, you’ve likely sorted a transfer. Maybe they’re here with their little ones and have requested a crib. Special occasion? You’ve organized a memorable dinner. But there is still so much more that you can do.  

• How do you plan to captivate your guests, leaving them eager to recommend your property to their friends? 
• Is there a personalized touch you’re considering to enhance their stay? 
• Are you thinking about proposing some extra items and services to generate more revenue?
• What is your game plan? 

That’s where upselling comes in – the secret sauce to turning a good stay into an amazing one while boosting your bottom line, and we’re here to help you unlock its full potential. 

Upselling in Hospitality

Strategic upselling goes beyond the basics, encompassing the art of presenting guests with enticing additional products or services that amplify the quality of their stay. Picture room upgrades, seamless transfers, indulgent spa treatments, bookings at top restaurants or immersive local experiences. There’s a plethora of different add-ons that can be offered based on your business’s guest experience and revenue management strategy.  The significance of upselling should not be underestimated — it has the power to elevate a guest’s experience from a good to a great one, as well as contribute to positive reviews and customer loyalty. However, while your guests may appreciate the great room amenities you provide, this is what they expected. To leave a lasting impression, you have to surprise them with something they didn’t expect.   

Certainly, one might argue that it’s easier said than done. Amidst staff shortages and high season frenzy, navigating the core room sales strategy is a challenge in itself, leaving little room for anything else. However, a solution to carve out space and optimize operations while boosting revenue does exist — Technology.  

Technology and Effective Upselling

The hospitality industry has undergone a huge change over the past decade, driven by the rise of the sharing economy, the shift in consumer demands and behaviours, and remarkable technological advancements. However, the anticipated impact of technology within the sector has proven to be less formidable that initially expected. While most hospitality businesses now leverage OTAs and Channel Managers, when it comes to in-house technology the progress appears quite stagnant. Although optimizing the fundamental aspects of the business and upgrading to more modern Property Management Systems for room sales is undoubtedly sensible, staying ahead of the competitive curve necessitates a proactive embrace of technology and immersion in the realm of experiential travel. 

So, how exactly can technology ignite strategic upselling? It can do so in three stages:  

1. Optimization

Automating and streamlining processes, across all necessary stakeholders, such as guests, team members and external partners 

2. Data harmonisation

Solving the problem of scattered information, by using a unique identifier which links and organizes all relevant data in one place, and can connect all the pieces between multiple businesses, stakeholders and even between different software. 

3. Personalization

Harnessing the power of optimization linked with the efficient collection of data, technology gives you the ability to discern your customers’ needs and preferences, and impress them with bespoke services and experiences they didn’t expect 

That’s great, but how do you turn these insights into actionable steps for a successful upselling strategy and revenue boost? We believe that the best way is rooted in a holistic approach, examining customer upselling opportunities across the entire customer journey. Let’s jump right to it! 

1. Automated Pre-Arrival Upselling

One of the ways that you can boost your revenue is by being proactive and reaching out to your guests before they step foot onto your property.  

For example, with Triparound you can send automated pre-arrival emails, encouraging guests to secure add-ons like transfers and experiences ahead of time. When crafting these messages, be mindful to centre the communication around a guest’s profile. For example, if it’s a couple coming to celebrate their honeymoon, highlight the most romantic experiences in the area. Similarly, when catering to a family renting a whole villa, apart from offering kid friendly activities, leverage the understanding that they likely prioritize luxury and comfort, by activating even further upselling opportunities. In parallel, be mindful of seasonality. When you have guests coming during high season, encourage early bookings emphasizing the importance of securing a spot to ensure a seamless experience and to avoid any potential disappointment. 

Apart from bespoke emails, consider the power of your website and execute marketing strategies that will drive traffic towards it. Think about the importance of structuring your website in a way that a guest can easily navigate based on their preferences, as well as in a way that ensures you aren’t selling yourself short by failing to show the breadth of guest services your business offers. To take it a step further than that, embed smart “Book Now” buttons on your website for all your guest services. This will enable your guests to make easy, direct online bookings.  

Another great touchpoint to add for your guests and boost your pre-arrival upselling abilities is a personalized Guest Web App. This is essentially a white-label online environment, accessible through any web browser. You build it as you please and then easily share it with your guest through a personalized link. The Guest Web App environment offers your guests direct access to useful property information and the ability to browse all your guest services and make bookings independently, without getting you involved. From our experience, these Web-based apps work like charms in comparison to traditional hotel mobile apps. They’re extremely user friendly and easy to access, and don’t require the guest to download anything new onto their phones.  

In whatever way or form you choose to do it, leveraging pre-arrival guest communication with the right software and at the right touchpoints, has proven to be a successful marketing strategy and can significantly elevate your upselling game. 

2. Seamless In-Stay Upselling Automation

Once your guests arrive at your property, this is where the potential to reap the biggest benefits begins. Strategically analyse all the guest touchpoints for upselling opportunities – whether it’s offering add-ons at check-in or placing QR codes at the concierge desk with a comprehensive menu of guest services; the possibilities are endless. Streamlining this entire process becomes effortlessly achievable with automation through software, eliminating the need for staff to spend hours on phone calls and emails.  

Enter Triparound: once a booking is made — whether by your team through the back-office dashboard or directly by your guests online via the Guest Web App, QR Codes, or your website — it goes directly into the system, data is tracked, and all the mundane tasks such as sending confirmation emails are handled automatically by the software. Thanks to this improved process, communication with external suppliers is streamlined, significantly boosting efficiency. What is more, armed with the capability to discern customer needs and preferences, Triparound empowers you to craft bespoke proposals. Returning customer? Amazing, go to their profile in Triparound, delve into their history and impress your guests with personalized suggestions to showcase your attentiveness.  

Swiftly, this approach will not only nurture a growing base of loyal customers but also attract new ones through glowing reviews. 

3. Post-Stay Communication & Nurturing Customer Loyalty

Finally, we reach the moment when vacations come to an end and it’s time for your guests to check-out – a crucial touchpoint not to be underestimated. It’s the perfect moment to obtain customer feedback, invite satisfied guests to join your loyalty programme or subscribe to your newsletter, and sensitively address any shortcomings that may have occurred during their stay. The handling of this phase is paramount, given today’s heightened customer expectations, where even a minor hiccup can cast a shadow over the entire experience. 

Let’s assume you handled the check-out process by the book, what’s next? Now is the prime time to activate your post-stay strategy, keeping customers in the loop about what’s going on at your property, interesting future events, as well as exclusive offers. Again, to expedite this process, you can deploy automated emails and personalize them based on customer data, ensuring that your communication resonates with their specific needs and interests. 

As a cherry on top, Triparound offers a functionality that is especially beneficial for large hospitality businesses with a multi-location portfolio. It provides a clear overview of all entities and guest service bookings in one centralized hub, allowing for a cross-organizational analysis of guest preferences and in turn for the tailoring of truly personalized offers. Remember, acquiring new customers is considerably more challenging than nurturing existing ones, underscoring the importance of a meticulously planned upselling strategy that considers the entire customer journey. 

Bringing It All Together: Enhancing Guest Journeys with Technology

In essence, the customer journey encompasses a series of touchpoints, each presenting an opportunity to elevate guest experience and drive revenue. From the anticipation of arrival to the magic of their stay and the bittersweet farewell, strategic upselling is crucial. Yet, achieving this delicate balance requires more than intuition; it demands a technological edge. 

The landscape of hospitality has evolved, with technological advancements promising transformative potential. However, the industry’s progression in guest services technology lags behind, emphasizing the need for a proactive approach to stay ahead in the competitive landscape of experiential travel. One such approach is really working on customer engagement across the entire guest journey – from pre-arrival interactions, seamless in-stay upselling, to post-stay follow-ups. Here, Triparound stands out by offering not just automation but a panoramic overview and nuanced understanding of guest preferences through data-driven insights, facilitating cross-organizational analysis and tailored offers. In conclusion, as we navigate the intricacies of the customer journey one truth remains evident: acquiring new guests is a challenge, while nurturing existing ones through a meticulously planned upselling strategy is the key to sustained success.