Do you want to increase your accommodation revenue in the spring? Read this article

In many countries, spring is the period with the highest concentration of holidays.

Indeed, in rapid sequence there are Easter, May 1 and Pentecost.

These holidays represent excellent revenue opportunities if you can intercept travelers moving during those dates.

So check carefully on the rates you have set on all portals on those days and those immediately preceding or following them.

If necessary, consider introducing minimum stays, especially if these holidays bridge with other days.

Also, create dedicated offers and packages on your site, so they can rank on Google when people search for them (e.g., by writing "Easter 2023 Venice offers").

With the arrival of spring, many foreign tourists take advantage of the warm weather to visit your location.

Their favorite travel times are weekends and, in general, vacation periods so that they can use up as few vacation days as possible.

Each nation has its holidays on different dates, consequently tourists of a certain nationality travel at different times than those from other states.

Despite this, many hoteliers do not know or note down the holidays of other countries, thus missing important marketing and sales opportunities.

Therefore, we suggest you note down all the national holidays of the countries from which your target clientele arrives and organize your rates, offers and packages accordingly.

Summer is still several months away, but we're sure you're already getting bookings for that period.

It is therefore time to start giving the high season your focus and attention.

The goal is not to find yourself at the last second having to sell off rooms you haven't sold or, conversely, already selling out months in advance at rates that are too low.

How do you do this?

Start analyzing the summer peak season periods and observe if there are times when demand is a little higher than expected, and you need to raise your rates.

If, on the other hand, you notice periods of low demand, think about what special offers you can offer and try to remain flexible.

Want to find out how to find the right rates for your rooms?

Read our guide to revenue management!

A hugely important activity at this time is controlling your social media and Google marketing campaigns.

As the peak summer season approaches, your time available decreases, fatigue increases, and you would lack the right mindset to focus on marketing. 

That's why it's important to do it now.

But what exactly should you be monitoring?

At a strategic level, it is important to make sure that all sensitive dates are covered by specific marketing activities so that you can optimize your sales during those periods. 

Remember how we talked earlier about foreign holidays? 

Make sure you have geolocated marketing campaigns planned for those countries ahead of those holidays.

Next, you need to check that the set-up is correct and that the campaigns are active or ready to go at the click of a button. 

Also check that the graphics are right, that the links and phone numbers are correct, and that there are no spelling errors. 

Also check that analytics and tracking codes are set up and working as they should.

One area where we see very little activity is internal marketing, that is, those marketing activities done within the facility to entice guests to try extra products or services.

Let me tell you a brief story. 

In 2019, I was the manager of a hotel in Rome where there was a small snack bar that couldn't sell desserts. 

Guests would stop in for a sandwich or pasta, but no one would take dessert. 

We tried to solve the problem by creating menus with desserts included, but to no avail.

When we were about to embark on other solutions, I had an epiphany: perhaps the product was not selling simply because guests did not know about the offer. 

So we created small displays to put on the reception desk, bar counter, and other common areas. 

Within a very short time, the package started selling very well, and we no longer had any problems selling the sweets.

Why did I tell you this story?

Because very often, some services do not sell because they lack internal marketing, not because they are not liked.

Therefore, start making more use of your space. 

You can, for example, put promotions on the elevator bulletin board, show the cocktail of the day on the first page of the bar menu, promote spa admission with a flyer on the reception desk. 

You won't regret it.

The final tip for increasing your facility's revenue this spring is to improve upselling and cross-selling strategies. 

Many of your colleagues still don't take advantage of the revenue opportunities that come from inside sales, and those who do almost never use a strategy. 

That is, they don't think about what steps to take to upsell and cross-sell accurately, test and use the data collected to improve. 

So create internal sales strategies, discuss them with your team, apply them, and collect the data to repeat the process, changing what is not working and enhancing what is going well. 

You will see business results increase quickly and significantly.

Read this article to find out how to upsell in your hospitality facility.

If you want to implement marketing campaigns and build an ongoing upselling and cross-selling strategy, check out Smartconnect, our platform that automates guest communication to help you get more revenue from extra services, more direct bookings, and boost loyalty.