Hotel websites have a lot of work to do. Not only do they have to meet all the standard performance markers, such as decent loading times and mobile responsiveness, but they also have to host attractive images, quantify availability, and generally stand out in a crowded market. As if all that weren’t enough, hotel websites should do a lot more legwork than most when it comes to the unspoken power of upselling.

From spa packages to room upgrades and pre-booked luxury dining, successful hotel upselling stands to bring in almost as much revenue as room bookings themselves. Yet, countless hoteliers fail to benefit. In fact, far from boosting existing bookings, poorly executed upselling can actually fuel cart abandonment right at the last second

In other words, messy website upsells don’t just lose you extra income – they could cost your profits altogether. But what exactly is wrong with your website’s upselling scheme right now, and how can you fix it? Let’s find out!

Hotel Website # 1 – The Personalization Problem

Personalization is vital online. This is the one tool that can knock down on-screen barriers and make sure you’re always giving your customers what they want. For hotels, that should include everything from the use of geo-location during bookings to personalized service with a digital smile.

For obvious reasons, personalization also matters a great deal with upselling, which won’t land unless those add-ons are fully targeted to the booking in question. If you’re not doing this right now, then it’s no surprise that your attempts to upsell are annoying rather than appealing to your customers.

So, what can you do about it? Well, the more you know about your customers, the better opportunity you’ll have to give them precisely what they want. Detailed hotel metrics like those provided by https://www.gourmetmarketing.net/hotel-metrics are a great place to start, as they’ll help you see the full guest journey from click-throughs to landing pages visited, and the booking dates or room types considered. This will give you a great grounding on which to offer the best upsells for that particular client. You’ll then need software that can turn these vital metrics into automated pre-booking upsells that are far more likely to land where you want them.

 

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# 2 – A Question of Timing

As outlined in this article at https://medium.com/, timing is everything when it comes to sales, and your website upsells are no exception. Upselling offers that crop up before clients have even browsed your rooms are a little like a sales advisor who approaches too soon – they’re instantly off-putting and most definitely won’t secure a sale. Equally, upsales that come too close to checkout can feel like just another step in what should be a simple process. So, what exactly is the right timing for an opportune upsell?

It can be difficult to find this middle ground, but it does exist, and it’s usually somewhere around the time that a customer starts looking at actual dates. By this point, they’re impressed enough by your hotel to genuinely consider a stay, but they’re not yet at the point where they just want to complete their booking.

Let’s say a customer has selected a specific date for their stay, and they click ‘confirm’ on their chosen room. At this point, you’ve got their attention and enough metrics to land a great personalized upselling package, like an affordable family room upgrade or a dinner deal. Offering these things next to the ‘Checkout’ button is a non-invasive, effective way to seal the upselling deal.

# 3 – Leaning Too Heavily on Text Offers

Hotel websites are all about appearances. This is why you would never consider a text-heavy landing page, but probably use hotel imagery to do the talking for you. So, why do your current upsells consist of a simple line of text? That’s not appealing, and the chances are that frustrated customers will click off before they’ve even read what that text has to say.

To ensure you’re actually catching the right attention, you should aim to keep your upsells as image-heavy as your website itself. Of course, you do need to include some text to outline why exactly this upsell is worthwhile, or what’s actually included in that package, but that’s not what you want clients to see first. Instead, you want their eyes to land directly on a serene image of your spa, or a fantastic-looking meal from your top restaurant.

Not only are these images more appealing, but they also tie directly into the relaxing escapism that customers will enter as soon as they start getting serious about their booking. By this stage, they’re receptive and already imagining how great their stay can be. These images show them how much better it could become with your targeted upsells. Of course, you should still take steps to compress those upsell images and make them mobile responsive just like the rest of your site. But then, you sat back and let your offerings themselves do the talking.

 

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Hotel Website # 4 – Upselling Overkill

Your hotel has a whole lot to offer, and you probably have plenty of upselling opportunities, too. But if you pile all of these onto every single potential client, you’ll never make a sale, let alone an upsell. To some extent, personalization will help with this as it narrows down the relevant upselling offers for each booking, but it’s still possible that decision fatigue will stop your customers from buying any add-ons at all. After all, who could realistically hold a plethora of options in their mind at any one time?

More than two or three upsells can quickly become a source of friction rather than a financial boost, so tread carefully. Curate your selections, and consider introducing them at different times. For instance, you could offer room upgrades and spa packages during room selection itself, and then early or late check-in options during actual checkout. This drip feeding will stop clients from feeling quite so overwhelmed, and that could be the secret to securing more upsells than you’ve ever managed before!

What additional thoughts would you add? 

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