Mobile apps and smart room tablets automate upselling in hotels — driving additional revenue without overwhelming staff
There are many benefits of upselling to the customers who stay at your property. But when a manager thinks of the benefits of upselling in hotels, they might also stumble over the workload increase for their staff. Enter hotel technology. Offerings such as mobile apps and in-room smart tablets automate the upsell process — providing guests with what they want, when they want it, while not overwhelming back-of-house staff.
To get a better idea of how upselling can be automated, we’ve broken down some best practices below.
What are examples of upselling in hotels?
There are many ways to upsell to a customer. Before a customer arrives on your property, emails reminding guests to make on-site dinner reservations or book spa appointments are easy ways to drive extra revenue to your property. Once checked in, in-room dining and hotel-branded merchandise are two simple on-site ways to upsell to hotel guests.
How can hotel technology streamline the upselling process for guests?
Using hotel technology, such as mobile apps and smart room tablets, hoteliers can easily showcase add-ons to guests. Here’s how.
A branded mobile app can do a lot of the heavy lifting for your property — including checking-in and checking-out guests and providing them with keyless entry to their rooms. Additionally, it offers guests a way to review a hotel’s offerings, order room service, and browse gift shop offerings from wherever they are on the property.
Similar to a mobile app, in-room smart tablets offer guests a seamless way to browse up-to-date in-room dining menus and place orders all with the tap of their finger. Smart-room tablets eliminate the need for guests to pick up a phone and wait on hold to place their order. Shopping from a hotel’s gift shop is also just as seamless. While lounging in their room, a guest can browse in-stock selections and shop virtually on the tablet. Additionally, personalized promotions and marketing can be displayed on the smart-room tablet, enticing guests to purchase hotel services and add-ons to truly complete their experience at your property.
How can hotel technology streamline back-of-house operations?
While providing additional offerings to customers might seem like additional work for staff, mobile apps and in-room smart tablets can actually automate the process, freeing up back-of-house operations.
As mentioned before, mobile apps allow hotel guests to check-in and check-out of their rooms without stopping at the front desk. Keyless entry lets guests access their rooms directly from their mobile devices, freeing up a front desk employee’s time to handle other tasks. Both mobile apps and in-room tablets enable guests to browse and order room service, saving your staff from having to answer phone calls and allowing them to process and deliver orders in real-time. Plus, digital ordering reduces the chance of human error. When it comes to shopping hotel-branded merchandise, a customized storefront on a mobile app or smart-room tablet makes it easy to manage inventory and product availability. Additionally, staff can easily manage and track guests’ orders through a staff-facing content management system, reducing the need to place a staff member at the gift shop and cutting down on gift shop traffic at the front desk.
Want to learn more about the benefits of upselling in hotels and how to use hotel technology to streamline the upsell process? Request a demo today.
