5 underutilized ways to drive incremental revenue at your hotel

Increase revenue through text messaging

Every quarter is the perfect opportunity to take a quick look at where you stand on your goals. Revenue targets, guest satisfaction standards, whatever your aims are, it’s time to assess and course correct to achieve measurable success with incremental revenue.

Let’s focus on revenue and specifically, underutilized ways to drive incremental revenue to your hotel. First, make sure your property is communicating with your guests. This could be through a pre-arrival email or a text message. Open the dialogue for revenue generators in a natural, un-intrusive way that guests are accustomed to.

Take it to the next level by implementing a text messaging service that is AI-enabled, such as Revinate Ivy, a text messaging solution that can proactively engage with guests and automate responses to their questions and requests. This allows your staff to focus their efforts on guest interactions and satisfaction on property.

As much as 64% of consumers would prefer using texting as a customer service channel. This is key as text messages have an impressively high open rate of 98%. Contacting guests via their desired channel is critical if you want them to read and respond to messages.

As reported in Skift, using a texting service can significantly raise guest satisfaction scores. The article stated, “Caesars compared responses from guests who had used Ivy to those who hadn’t. Ivy users gave the properties approximately 10 points higher satisfaction scores.”  If guest satisfaction is your goal, this is an incredible bonus to implementing a texting platform.

1) Pre-arrival messaging

Start the guest experience on the right path. Reaching out to guests and letting them know you’re looking forward to their arrival, sets the tone for their stay. In this same communication, inform guests of available room upgrades, early check-in opportunities, or special packages that have become available since booking their reservation. Seasoned business travelers know to check for room upgrades, but did you know that a large portion of non-business travelers don’t know they can upgrade to a better room or check in earlier for a small fee? Let them know with a text!

2) Inform guests about the property’s amenities

If your property has a resort fee, be sure to acknowledge what’s covered in that fee. Make sure the guest is fully aware of what the resort fee covers to avoid a poor guest experience. You also wouldn’t want to miss out on upsell opportunities for related services. If your property has an exclusive dining offering, maybe a mimosa brunch, message the details to your guests. More guest usage of resort services usually decreases billing issues around the resort fee.

Additionally, texting allows your property to release specials in real-time for guests who have opted into offers. Not enough traffic at happy hour? An instant invitation for guests to sample a house cocktail can increase traffic and generate incremental revenue!

3) Provide mobile in-room dining info

Tell your guests what’s available for in-room dining. Don’t rely on the guest to open the physical menu and decide if they want to order room service. Visuals go a long way. If your hotel has a seasonal menu or a special offering, have enticing in-room collateral that will make your guests want to take part. With a service like Revinate Ivy, hotels can alert guests via text about a seasonal special and even send PDF menu links directly to the guest’s mobile phone.

For example, “Try our limited harvest breakfast from local farms featuring Belgian pumpkin waffles.” Ivy can expedite room service requests and help increase the value of the order. When guests text Ivy with a coffee order, she replies instantly and asks whether to add a scone or a muffin. The order is quickly routed to the café, without the guest having to leave their room or be put on hold for in-room dining.

4) Drive late check-out and extended stays

Many guests don’t realize that late check-out or extended stay is possible. By communicating at check-in and consistently during their stay, you can help guests realize their ability to extend their stay. Guests who check out after 11 a.m. are likely to spend money on an additional meal or take advantage of hotel services like the pool or spa. Using a messaging service allows you the flexibility to communicate with guests as availability changes. Perhaps a late-check out wasn’t available upon arrival and has now opened up. Now you can meet a guest’s request and keep them on property longer.

5) Help guests book their next stay

Provide your guest with an incentive. Think discounts or special amenity packages to book a return visit. These are valuable ways to generate revenue. If you utilize a text messaging solution like Ivy, you can check in with your guests mid-stay and even ask them to rate their experience.

This real-time insight is crucial in today’s hospitality environment. When guest feedback is positive, Ivy can present guests with the opportunity to leave an online review instantly. In case of guest sentiment is anything less than stellar, Ivy provides guest services agents the chance to contact the guest for more detail and correct the situation well before the guest checks out. Give guests a reason to book a return stay with your hotel when you know they’re enjoying their stay already!

These are just a few ways you can capitalize on incremental revenue with existing guests. The best part is that most of these tips can also increase guest satisfaction, boosting your property’s online reputation. We all know positive ratings influence booking decisions, so this is just one more added benefit to serving guests in real-time and on the mobile channel they prefer.