Two important techniques hotels use to enhance additional revenues during the booking process are upselling and cross-selling. That is why it is very important to know how and when to sell these type of products.

Cross-selling and Upselling are two important techniques in the hospitality industry in order to enhance additional revenues during the booking process, the stay and the post stay. However the differences between these two processes are sometimes unclear. Upselling is whenever a customer spend more on the same product purchased as buying a room and ending up paying for a better one. On the other hand cross-selling includes every ancillary product or service sold as an extra to the client. The most important thing is to understand how can hotels exploit these techniques to increment their revenues influencing a customer to spend more. Specifically in the cross-selling practice the choice of the proper timing is essential. While it is important to provide options of additional products during the booking process, offering too many options can negatively affect sales.

According to a research conducted by traveltripper.com when presented with too many options only 3% of travelers book add-ons during the booking process online, inducing them to abandon the purchase.

Usually once confirmed their stay, clients are more inclined to purchase extras  to enhance the vacation. Hotels should push more products trough active and direct proposals to clients trough for example, a private email, proposing a special package. In addition, an email or a call to a client helps to know him better, especially his/her posible needs and preferences increasing the possibility of selling more during his/her stay.

Nonetheless the most important moment for selling ancillary products is the stay period. First of all, the hotel should not only provide those products to their clients but deliver to them a place and an atmosphere in which they are comfortable and willing to stay and doubtless to consume. The staff plays a key role to influence this buying process, and all the members should be attentive and understand the client to offer them the right products in the right moment. The so called moment of truth are for sure the check-in when the receptionist should offer an upgrade, the premium service of the hotel or a dinner in the structure and the check-out with proposals of transfers, fidelity programs, and offers for future stays. During the stay the possibilities to sell extras are limitless. The room is the most important locations where to sell and communicate those products. Here the clients should be comfortable and not bombarded by prices and menús. According to this the way to communicate the products is essential. Instead of the traditional menu is better to utilize a look alike magazine, the tv or even social media to incentivize the purchase.

During a benchmark travel and desktop researches, the hotel factory noticed best-in-practice hotels in the “art” of upselling and cross-selling: in Marbella, Spain. These hotels developed websites in which the client, during the reserve process is able to choose between an incredible amount of options without feeling oppressed. Indeed, the client can reserve the room without any adds-on, nonetheless he/she could be able to plan his/her vacation in advance by adding activities (that varies with the season) and products to a special calendar. Once he/she does this, he/she can send an email or directly call the hotel to see the various availabilities or contract something totally personalized.

Finally, these hotels offer all the various services and products a tourist may need or desire, enabling the client to accomplish a perfect vacation without going out of the hotel, resulting in an incredible amount of extras purchased in-house, increasing the hotel’s bottom line. An example is the incredible variety of F&B points, different shops, clubs, bars, tennis fields, a golf court and a riding field, an incredible kids club to pay, and many other options that the professional, attentive and effective guest experience personnel could offer.

Table 1: Opportunities for selling ancillary products and services at each point of contact with the client.

the hotel factory has already accomplished the implementation of projects in order to enhance the upselling and cross-selling processes in hotels and hotel chains, and it is, at the moment, involved in a new one. Thanks to the previous experience and the ongoing on-field and digital researches, the company successfully developed and put in action those projects. For more information and further details you are welcome to directly contact our team which would provide you with all the requirements you are looking for.