To effectively increase revenue and grow, hotels should go beyond their heads-in-beds strategy, and start coming up with new ways to leverage all their resources. Utilizing is one of the most important first steps that every hotel manager, owner, or revenue manager of independent hotels should take to start achieving this.
With a cloud based hotel software in place, you can create unique, holistic experiences for your guests, who shouldn’t be only travelers, but also locals looking for excellent food and beverage, quality gym and sauna, or an available parking space. There are so many opportunities you can seize, so read on to check out some ideas you can try.
1. Embrace the Latest Technology
Consumers are invested in technology more than ever before. People are booking hotels online, searching for restaurants using their smartphones, and asking for hotel amenities through phone apps.
This is especially true for millennials, who are hooked to their phones and other tech devices. They use tech for almost anything, and booking hotels online is one of those things.
If you haven’t yet, you need to start embracing the latest technology, so that you can provide your guests with a seamless experience that they’re actually looking for. If you want to attract more millennial guests, this is an absolute must. This is precisely why you need to utilize good hotel software.
Your hotel PMS will help you communicate with guests in real time, providing them with all your services on demand. They can ask you about amenities, request more towels, book restaurant reservations, order room service – all with a few simple taps on a screen.
Providing hotel services on demand will entice your guests to spend more because of the convenience and availability of your services, and the overall excellent experience. It goes without saying that you should have high-quality Wi-Fi throughout your hotel, with high internet speeds.
2. Sell Additional Services
Selling additional services and other hotel products to your guests is another great way to boost hotel revenue opportunities. You can offer F&B programs, laundry service, SPA treatments, Gym sessions, taxi service and a variety of other facilities and services
You can try and upsell your ancillary services either at the time of booking or during the stay, making them available 24/7 on demand. The greater the convenience, and the better the experience you offer, the more difficult it will be for guests to resist purchasing your additional services.
3. Harness the Power of Contextual Relevance
Contextual relevance is crucial for personalizing the guest experience and generating more revenue, but it can be challenging to know what is contextually relevant to each guest. However, with a hotel PMS in place, this becomes a piece of cake.
You can leverage either your hotel app, or AI-powered voice assistants (Google Assistant or Alexa, for instance), to always be available for your guests, and provide special offers at the right time of need.
For instance, if a guest asks about the pool, you can provide special offers for the pool bar. If someone asks about the best nearby places for brunch, you can suggest special offers for your restaurant.
You can even be proactive, and share information about any special offer or event at your hotel whenever your guests check it, or later during their stay. Providing useful suggestions will compel your guests to really take advantage of all your services.
4. Expand Your Offers to Local Residents
Engaging locals in your hotel is one of the best ways to boost your revenue. Perhaps there are local residents who actually wanted to try your cuisine without having to book a room, or wished they could relax in your wonderful spa.
Make your services available to everyone, and your hotel will start thriving before you know it. Offer local gym and spa memberships, laundry services, dry cleaning, unused parking spaces, conference rooms, special bar and restaurant offers, and anything else that you can think of. Before long, people will start flocking to your hotel for an authentic and delightful experience.
You can also offer special pricing to local residents during lean times, because they certainly won’t be able to resist your offers. It’s a great way to attract the local crowd when there are fewer tourists checking in.
A huge number of tourists are looking for local experiences, especially when they’re visiting a location for the first time, and want to engage in a bit of sightseeing.
This is why you should build packages for local experiences that are great in the area. You can customize them based on property type, or region, and include a wide variety of exciting activities your hotel guests can try. You can also include various facilities and other complementary establishments.
Local experiences are a perfect way to upsell and generate more revenue. You can offer guided city tours, hikes, biking experiences, wine tastings, meetings with the locals, tickets to art and music events, and much more.
5. Tie Up with Local Vendors to Offer Their Products
Collaborating with local vendors is yet another excellent practice for generating more revenue. For instance, you can tie up with coffee and tea companies, and offer their products at your hotel. For promoting their products, you’ll get a commission.
The best way to take full advantage of this is to promote products that you can display in every room. Again, tea and coffee are great choices, but so are bottled water and candy bars. There’s no shortage of opportunities here, so be sure to stock your rooms with lots of great products for which you’ll get commissions.
As you can see, there are some very beneficial ways of going beyond heads in beds to boost your hotel revenue. Are you ready to make your hotel grow? It all starts with a quality hotel PMS. So, book a free online hotel management software demo today, and take your hotel to a whole new level of excellence.
About The Author
Deepak Chauhan
Deepak Chauhan is responsible for marketing and positioning of “mycloud” platform and is a veteran in the hotel software industry with over 25 years’ experience giving him a strong understanding of the product requirements in the industry. He has very rare mix of working in operations of various hotels and chains for over 10 years and then co-founding a software product and service company, servicing 5 star hotels and chains for 14 years.
Deepak has led the development and marketing of cloud based hospitality systems to meet the specific, business objectives of small and mid-size properties across the globe and has worked closely with a diverse group of hoteliers and hotel technology vendors.
