Revenue Generation: Getting Current Customers to Spend More

Recently, a VP at Visa, the credit card company, shared a trend regarding consumer spending. Since May 2021, when people started to travel again, consumers have spent more for each meal or hotel stay than in the past. This is an opportunity hotels can capitalize on.

Many years ago, an article called “Think Strawberries, Everybody Sells” still resonates today—it focuses on getting customers to spend more while on-property. It is typically exclusively in the hands of service employees to warmly and graciously share recommendations of where to go eat and things to do that are seen as objective. Handled correctly, with training and employee experiences, this is a unique opportunity for additional revenue for the hotel.

Here are some ideas:

Prior to Arrival

• Send a pre-arrival email highlighting services that can be purchased before arrival, such as a specialty dinner, full-bottle bar package, or extra nights.

Arrival

• Implement an upsell program at the front desk. This can be a simple suggestion of a higher room category or a full-blown incentive program for staff.
• Give the baggage and door staff, concierge/information desk an internal FAM trip to the on-site restaurant(s). Don’t forget about the spa. Include their significant other. This way, they can enjoy the experience as the guests would (and then talk about it to the guests).
• Encourage a friendly room-service experience where the order-taker is patient and offers suggestions such as higher-priced water, dessert, wine, and appetizers.

Departure

• Be sure to say “Thank you for staying.”
• Then ask if there are any plans to come back to the destination. Front desk agents will need to be trained on how to make a guest room reservation versus recommending the guest call the 800 number. Keep them informed of things to do at the destination, especially in the off-season.  

Take time to consider ways to help the guest during their stay. Showing a caring attitude and engaging in conversation with one of the hotel’s most valuable sales teams—the employees—will increase revenue and even guest satisfaction scores.

"Companies get confused thinking their goal is revenue or stock price. You have to focus on the things that lead to those." – Tim Cook, CEO Apple

Take the Next Step Now

Need help finding ways to generate revenue? Contact Jo-Anne at
[email protected].

About Jo-Anne Hill

Jo-Anne is an industry expert who founded JH Hospitality Consulting to help hotels around the world dramatically improve revenue and profitability in creative ways. Her strategic thinking, skill, and practical approach to problem-solving come from hands-on experience at companies such as The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, the Mandarin-Oriental Hotel Group, the Dorchester Collection, and Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts.

Jo-Anne’s recently published book ‘Cultivating Leadership: How great leaders make a difference, one hotel at a time” dives deeper into the equation: happy staff = happy guests = more revenue.