Upsell conversion, mobile communication top list of opportunities for hoteliers

A new survey of hoteliers finds the majority are missing the opportunity to generate revenue through upselling.

The survey of 300 hoteliers in the United States, Canada, Western Europe and Southeast Asia by Travel Tripper, StayNTouch and TrustYou reveals that 70% say they “never or only sometimes” promote and convert upsells or upgrades at check-in.

The “2018 Guest Experience Assessment Report” advises hotels to incorporate upselling options into their booking engines and also to offer them to guests at check-in.

By surveying guests before they arrive, hotels can also identify upgrades that meet their needs and expectations.

Mobile technology is also lacking for most hotels. More than two-thirds of respondents (68%) say they need to “establish or improve their use of mobile technology.” And only 35% of hotels offer guests the ability to communicate via text messages.

Hotels should work to offer a variety of electronic communication options for guests, including mobile-optimized websites, direct messaging tools and email, which is guests’ most-used communication channel (69%), according to the report.

Direct messaging tools are particularly useful for receiving and responding to guest requests or issues when they are on property.

But hotels should also ensure staff are visible and available at the property’s front desk, since 75% of guests say they would “like to communicate one-on-one with hotel representatives, on location.”

The survey also finds a significant portion of respondents (41%) do not offer guests a choice of check-in method, such as via kiosks or a smartphone. This is an area hotels should prioritize to meet the needs of guests for a self-directed experience, the report says.

The survey also shows that hotels need to become more effective at using data to understand bookings, revenue, guest information and other insights that can grow their business.

Forty-eight percent of respondents acknowledge that they are not maximizing the use of data to personalize the guest stay, with 20% saying they find collecting and using data a challenge.