If you’re looking to increase your hotel revenue and sales, you need to get many things right. From setting up the right digital strategy to partnering with key stakeholders, everything has to be on point if you want to bring home the bacon. 

Lucky for you, we’ve done all the grunt work. In this article, we’ll distill all of our experience in helping some of the biggest names in the hotel business ramp up their profits. 

In brief, you will learn all the best strategies to ramp up your hotel revenue, how to tailor them to your business, and then how to keep it growing consistently. 

1. WhatsApp Marketing: Broadcast on Birthdays and Anniversaries 

That WhatsApp is one of the most effective marketing tools in the hotel business would be an understatement. 

You don’t have to take our word for it–just look at the data.

With an open rate of 98% within the first two hours, WhatsApp wipes the floor with other channels like email marketing. 

Moreover, research from Kantar shows that 66% of respondents would prefer to buy from a brand they connect with over messaging.

For you, the message is clear. A WhatsApp marketing strategy for your hotel can be a goldmine for higher hotel revenue and sales down the line.

You probably already know it: communication in hospitality is not just about information exchange; you also have to build relationships with people. 

Luckily, it pays well, too, with studies from eHotelier proving the effectiveness of this relationship marketing. 

One of the ways to implement this in practice is by sending personalized messages on birthdays and anniversaries. 

Reach out to your guests one to two months before their birthdays, wish them in advance, and then offer your coupons or discounted bookings for celebration. 

Moreover, it’s also essential that you capture the birthday data of new upcoming guests as well so as to implement this tactic successfully.

‍2. WhatsApp Marketing: Broadcast on Long Weekends

Long weekends are popular with pretty much all travelers, as this research from MakeMyTrip shows. This will also be true for your potential guests as well. 

If someone can reach out to them with exciting offers and discounts for their planned getaways–or even just nudge them towards it–who do you think would they prefer? 

Don’t take our word for it.

As research from Global Reach has shown, holiday marketing, which includes long weekends, has consistently demonstrated promising guest/customer engagement and sales. 

Moreover, by reaching out to your guests in their “buy phase” with personalized offers, you have a far higher chance of confirming their bookings too.

This is an untapped area for increasing your hotel revenue and sales, so make sure you implement this in your strategy.   

3. Initiate Conversations With Instagram Comments

If you’ve developed a solid hotel social media strategy, you’ve probably created a buzz on Instagram by now. It’s also likely that you're getting lots of reactions and comments because of it. 

Don’t let this engagement go to waste. 

If someone is engaging with your content, they will likely be more open to your offerings. 

So reach out to them and ask them about their upcoming trips or interests. You can also offer them tailored discounts or coupons if you have any prior data on them. 

An automated chat system is also something you can adopt for such situations. 

At Brance, we have mastered the art of Instagram conversation with our generative AI chatbot. Through it, you can reach out to the right people, at the right time and, ultimately, boost your hotel revenue and sales.

4. Build Partnerships With Travel Influencers 

Barely anyone likes to be marketed or sold to. Unless you’re selling to obsessed advertisers, this will likely be true for your audience too. 

More than anything, people crave authenticity, and this is where travel influencers can come to your rescue.

In fact, that’s where the data points to as well. Influencer marketing offers a staggering ROI, with a $6.5 return for every $1 spent, as reported by CarStack. Similarly, it helps you reach a much wider audience too.

One glaring example is that of Marriott, one of the first big brands to foray into influencer marketing. 

In the now-successful campaign, as reported by PRNewswire, the famous hotel brand partnered with YouTube influencer, Jeanna Smith, for a campaign to celebrate their one million check-ins. 

The campaign has reportedly gotten five million views by now.

‍5. Expedia Display Banner Ads on Group Websites     

Expedia is one of the largest online travel agents in the world, offering you access to millions of guests and travelers worldwide.

It offers a digital advertising program called Expedia Group Media Solutions, which advertises your hotels on all its websites, including Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo.

Basically, Expedia provides you with multiple solutions for advertising. One of those is Display Advertising, which lets you reach Expedia’s customers through mobile, email, sponsored content, and regular display adverts on their website. 

Then there’s also TravelAds Sponsored Listings and Accelerator, both cost-effective ways to manage the content.

So if your goal is to increase your hotel revenue and sales, neglecting Expedia ads would be sin.

‍6. Offer Time-Sensitive Deals    

People for a long time have associated scarcity with value. 

In other words, throughout history and even up to the present, people have always believed something scarce to be inherently valuable. 

Today, this is precisely the principle tapped into by e-commerce giants like Amazon and Flipkart, leading to quicker sales, as this report by wisernotify confirms.

You can adopt the same approach to increase your hotel revenue and sales. 

Offer time-sensitive bookings or discounts, especially when prospective guests are more likely to book. Weekends work well here. Likewise, seasonal promotions fit the job as well.

7. Convert Missed Calls to Bookings Using WhatsApp 

It’s tough to answer all your calls for hotel inquiries, especially if they come in during the holiday season or post-office hours of your employees. 

However, it doesn’t mean you can neglect these missed calls, as these will be missed opportunities otherwise. ‍

Reaching out to such potential guests will be critical, as the person is already in a high “buy stage.” Automated WhatsApp communications can help you here. 

With quick follow-ups, you can also cut down the risk of losing your prospective guest to a competitor.

At Brance, we specialize in follow-up automation, and our chatbot, when adopted to your WhatsApp account, can follow up with your prospective guests at least three times.

It will reach out to these interested guests on WhatsApp, ask them about their queries, and then guide them to the best solutions.

Ultimately, this will only help you increase your revenue. 

‍8. Go All-in With Video Content

Video content is killing it out there in 2024. With more and more people glued to their phones, the demand and consumption of video content is only going to grow more in the coming years. 

Here are some key numbers:

1. Websites with video content are 53 times more likely to appear on a search engine, as suggested by Hotel Technology News.
2. According to a report by SocialPilot, 70% of viewers make a purchase after seeing a brand on YouTube videos.

For you, what this means is that a well-planned video content strategy is only going to get more and more critical for increasing your hotel revenue and sales. 

Partnering with influencers for your video content can boost your visibility and help you pocket more revenue.

For example, you can carry out a professional shoot of your hotel, showcasing all its amenities. You can also partner with travel and food creators and showcase all your hotel's cuisines.  

Take inspiration from the big leagues. Marriot’s “Stay in the Moment” campaign, for example, did huge rounds on social media when it first came out three months back and has now garnered over 33k views in a span of three months.

‍9. Join Hands With Local Businesses & Organizations  

While the world will only get more digital in the coming years, you can’t say goodbye to the offline world—not yet, at least.

Partnering with local businesses like nearby theme parks, art galleries, and tourist sites can be an effective offline marketing tactic to improve your hotel's revenue and sales. 

Offering your guests discounts and coupons to all the nearby attraction points makes the deal just a little sweeter for them. 

It also attracts guests who otherwise would have gone somewhere for similar experiences to a different place.

10. Make Use of Upselling Strategies 

Your revenue growth strategies don’t end when a guest has made a purchase. Or they don’t have to, at least. 

You’d be surprised how often–and quickly–guests can shell out even more after they’ve landed at the hotel, especially if you’re offering them a fantastic experience. 

It can be anything from room upgrades to in-room services like breakfast, tea or exclusive activities like spa, meditation, or yoga sessions.

Whatever you offer, focus on enhancing your guests' experience and not on simply pocketing some quick money. 

Never force upselling on your guests. Keep a high standard of service as your priority, and you’ll grow your hotel revenue and sales in time.

‍11. Employ Length of Stay Promotion    

Discounts are a powerful motivator to influence consumer behavior. 

A length of stay (LOS) promotion is another form of discount that can nudge your potential guests just a little more to make a purchase. Basically, to increase their length of stay, you offer your guests a discount. 

Everyone loves a good deal, as they say. Your guests are no different. 

Remember, the cost of acquiring a new guest is always higher than doing repeat business. 

So reselling to your old guests, or rather, upselling in this case, is in your favor. Think about it: More extended stays always increase revenue, even when you’re offering discounts. 

In other words, a win-win for both you and your guests.

12. Employ Guest Referral Programs 

Think of the last time you made a purchase without mulling things over too much. There’s a high chance it was something suggested by your friends or family. 

That’s word-of-mouth marketing for you, and this is precisely what you’re tapping into with guest referral programs.

The stats point in the same direction, as this report from ExplodingTopics shows:

1. 92% of consumers trust referrals from family or friends over any sort of advertising.
2. Even on the B2B side, in 86% of buys, word-of-mouth plays a massive role.

Depending on your target demographic, your rewards may vary, but non-monetary rewards have been known to perform the best.

So think of things like future booking points, discount coupons, room upgrades, or gift cards–all of these things will push your guests to run referrals for you. 

13. Incentivize Your Staff for Upselling Opportunities 

You can have the best upselling strategies to increase your hotel revenue and sales, but if your hotel staff isn’t aligned with your vision, you’re not going to get very far. 

Not for the long haul, in any case.

Incentivizing your employees is a great strategy to fix this issue. Reward them for going the extra mile, and it’s only going to act as a flywheel for you. 

Indeed, as a piece from Compass confirms:

1. Incentivizing your employees will improve employee engagement and productivity.
2. It will build a team culture that’s focused on growth and success.          

When appropriately rewarded, your staff will be your biggest strength in dialing up your revenue through upselling opportunities. 

Here are a few examples of how this in action:

1. During a direct booking, your staff can upsell to your guests with a better deal or discount.
2. Even after the booking is confirmed, based on your guest’s demographics, your staff can pitch them an upsell or new amenity.
3. Check-ins are also known to be a good time for upselling. Your employees can help you here as well.
4. Your staff can also upsell your guests during breakfast or lunch. Exclusive activities like spas or some fun workshops are also on the table.     

How exactly you will achieve this will vary depending on your situation and needs, but here are the common approaches that work in the industry:

1. Monetary benefits: Probably nothing will motivate your employees more than bonuses for bringing in more revenue. So make sure you’re offering good rewards.
2. Training: Offering free education and training in sales and guest experience will help them improve their upselling skills. It’s also a great value addition to their skillset, so it will only motivate them more.    
3. Non-monetary benefits: Money is great, but you have to go above and beyond. Non-monetary benefits like promotions, rewards, and recognition will nudge your employees even more to do their best.     

Nowhere is getting your whole staff on board is as important as it is in the hospitality business. Incentivizing your employees, then, keeps them motivated–it also makes sure they do your bidding by promoting upselling opportunities. 

Increasing Your Hotel Revenue and Sales in 2024 

Increasing your sales and hotel revenue is no mean feat, especially in the post-covid economy. Going the tired-and-tested way is good, but you also have to think out of the box if 

These innovative strategies will give you an edge. So tailor them to your business, analyze them, and adapt them wherever necessary.

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