Increasing revenue is the primary goal of every business, and accommodations are no exception. But what actions can you take to increase your revenues? In this article we will walk you through 8 of them.
Use Upselling and Cross-Selling
Upselling and cross-selling are two activities that allow you to increase revenue quickly and without any major investment on your part.
Upselling involves offering the customer making a purchase a better version of what they are buying.
In your case, this means proposing the purchase of a higher category room with more amenities.
Cross-selling, on the other hand, means proposing a complementary product or service, such as breakfast in the room, a spa entry, early check-in or late check-out option, etc.
The best time to propose upselling or cross-selling services is when the guest is booking on your website, but you can also do it in person once they arrive.
Train your staff to sell more
To increase revenue at your facility, it is important to train your staff to sell better and more.
Related to the previous point, you can entice your staff to offer upselling or cross-selling services on a regular basis, especially if they are customized for the client.
You can also train them to get more positive responses to their booking proposals, either online (through quotes) or verbally over the phone.
You can, for example, teach them how to write customized quotes, send follow-up messages to potential customers, or tailor offers to callers over the phone.
Use dynamic pricing
Another method to increase your revenue in a short time is to practice revenue management by applying dynamic pricing.
Unlike a fixed price list, dynamic pricing allows you to intercept changes in room demand in real time and maximize your revenue.
Thanks to dynamic pricing, you will be able to increase occupancy rates when there is little demand, while maximizing revenue when you see sudden spikes in demand.
Collaborate with local partners
Businesses and professionals in your local area, as well as individuals, can offer unexpected revenue opportunities, especially during off-season periods.
You can create partnerships with companies and make your rooms available to their clients, or rent your space for business events such as dinners or conferences.
To individuals, on the other hand, you can propose ad hoc offers which do not necessarily include an overnight option, but only the use of services such as the spa or your restaurant.
Make booking through your site easy
Make your accommodation’s website easy to navigate and super intuitive for people who want to book a room.
Also be sure to integrate a good booking engine that can collect reservations and help you disintermediate from OTAs.
The lack of a booking system on the site, combined with difficult and slow navigation, can turn away many potential customers interested in staying with you.
To prevent this from happening and losing bookings down the road, hire a professional or a referenced web agency that can update your site.
Increase positive reviews
Research from Cornell University shows that the more positive reviews you collect, the more you can afford to raise your room rates.
Not only that, in addition to delighting your guests and incentivizing them to leave you a review, it’s important to respond to the ones you receive (both positive and negative).
Other potential customers will see your response towards unsatisfied guests as an indicator of your team’s overall performance and attitude.
Create packages and promotions
Packages and promotions are a classic and effective way to increase your hotel’s revenue.
To make them truly useful to your cause, it’s important that packages and promotions are tailored to your guests’ needs.
Find out what your guests really enjoy and create bundles designed specifically for them.
The more you can offer customized packages and promotions, the more you will increase your chance of selling them.
Offer flexible terms
Travelers love being able to book stays with flexible terms that allow them to cancel their vacation or move dates without hindrance.
This need has become even more pronounced since the outbreak of the Covid pandemic and the resulting restrictions on travel to different countries.
As a result, try to offer your guests flexible conditions for cancellation and changes, striking a balance with your organizational needs.
The more flexibility you can offer, the less risk will fall on customers and the more likely they will be to book from you.
AUTHOR:
This article was created by the team at Smartpricing, the revenue management software that finds the right price at the right time and increases your revenue!
To learn more, visit the Smartpricing website and book a free demo with our consultants.
