Unit two: Up - selling

2.1. The sales role of Front Office staff

• The selling function - important part of the front office role.

• Reflected in the selecting, training, appraisal and reward of reservations

and reception staff.

The success of the front office team - is often measured by its success in
selling:
• On increasing the occupancy and
• On increasing revenue of the hotel

From a business point of view, hotels will earn more revenue and profit by
creating
• a long-term,
• mutually satisfying relationship with guests
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Guests
• return repeatedly,
• spend more while they stay,

This depends on making guests feel that:

• they are receiving genuine service,
• hospitality and value for money

Selling being done in an intelligent and guest-focused way:

• Giving guests Information, and options, and
• Giving guests access to additional services and
facilities which are relevant to their needs and will
enhance their stay. Dawit T.
The main purpose of selling is therefore:
• To maximize room revenue, in order to support the
hotel's profitability.
This can be done either by
 increasing occupancy (bringing in more customers),
or
 increasing guest spend (persuading guests to pay
more) – and
 ideally, both!
• To achieve customer satisfaction and loyalty.
• Increase new business.
• Staff satisfaction and retention
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Selling by front office staff may tip the balance of decision-
making in favor of the hotel increasing occupancy by:

• offering extra nights;

• filling rooms which might otherwise have been
unoccupied;
• offering options (e.g.. on dates or room types) to secure a
reservation which might otherwise have been lost;
• reducing the risk of no-shows by securing deposits; and so
on.
Satisfied customers are more likely to make
• an advance reservation (because they have a definite
preference).
• And may also be more likely to stay for longer.
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Benfites of upselling

1. Maximized revenue
• The aim of selling is to get the maximum revenue from a limited
number of rooms.

• Services are said to be 'perishable':

• customers can't buy hotel rooms (or an airline reservation, or

theatre tickets) and store them for their own use.

• Similarly, a hotel has to sell a room for a given night, or the

opportunity is lost, the 'sell by' date of a room is always
'tonight'!
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This means that:
You have a fixed number of rooms for any given
night:
• you can't 'produce more' rooms to match periods
of increased demand, or
• 'produce less' rooms to match lower demand

• The aim is to sell as many as possible of the rooms

you have.

• If you don't sell a room for a particular night, you

lose the potential revenue from that room.
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• If you get more enquiries than you have rooms, you can't
sell rooms twice

• you will have to turn away some enquirers (or sell them a
room on another night).

• The principles of yield management suggest to secure the

best possible rate for a room – consistent with
maximizing occupancy.

• You may have to discount the full rack rate in order to

attract customers for vacant rooms –

• because discounted revenueDawitisT. better than no revenue at all

2. Customer retention and loyalty
Customers who experience a product or service
which meets - or exceeds - their expectations
are

• more likely to feel positively about the

organization providing the product or service,
and

• more likely to use it again, when a similar need

arises
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3. New business
• Front office selling (positive first impressions) may secure
new business by 'converting' undecided enquirers about the
hotel;

• Secured by the recommendations and referrals of satisfied

and loyal customers

• Happy guest is one way of increasing occupancy by securing

'free advertising‘

• through positive word of mouth promotion

• by avoiding business and reputation damage through negative

word of mouth. Dawit T.
4. Staff satisfaction and retention

• High-quality customer service and successful sales

are satisfying not just for customers - but for Front
Office staff!

• The staff gets satisfied of working for the customer

and for the hotel.

• Acknowledged, valued and/or rewarded, since front

office performance is directly measured by
 sales figures and
 customer satisfaction ratings
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- Staff likely to stay with their employer for
longer which is a benefit to the hotel:

• better continuity of service;

• better continuity of staff learning and
improvement;
• less wasted investment in staff induction and
training;
• less cost and disruption of hiring and training
replacement staff

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ANTICIPATING AND MEETING GUEST
NEEDS
• All people 'need' the same kinds of things.

• Psychologist Abraham Maslow identified five

innate human needs, and suggested that they
can be arranged in a 'hierarchy of needs.

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Guests are unlikely to worry about
• social activities,
• status, or
• seeking out mind-broadening experiences like
sightseeing
if, for example, they are hungry or feeling unsafe.

• But can a lodge or resort really satisfy any of

these basic needs:

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1. Physiological need : is one of the basic
functions.

• Guests who are tired and hungry, or anxious

about finding food and accommodation at the
end of the day,

• Will be satisfied first of all by knowing that the

hotel have a bed for the night, and an open
food service.

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2. Providing safety or security : both physical
and psychological, is another key requirement.

Guests need
• to be safe (e.g. by being offered secure
accommodation) and
• to feel safe (e.g. by being offered welcome and
assistance in an unfamiliar environment, and
privacy when desired).
3. Once a guest has been provided with these basic
requirements, and begun to relax, (s)he may feel
the need for friendship or belonging.
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This may be satisfied by
• the 'social' areas and services of the hotel (e.g.. a
lounge, bar or meeting area, or entertainments), by
• personal service from front office staff,
• so that the guest feels welcomed and recognized.
4. Esteem needs: can be met by
• the courtesy and respect shown to guests,
• the assistance and service offered to them (as if they
were 'VIPs'), and
• the perceived quality or 'exclusiveness' of the hotel , or
• a 'superior' or 'deluxe' room, or a 'Members Club' card

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5. Self- actualization is, arguably, a feature of
travel, since it broadens the guests horizons.
A hotel can offer guests opportunities to improve
themselves
• physically (e.g. With exercise facilities),
• mentally (e.g. with local information) and
• experiential (e.g. with local cultural
experiences and sightseeing tours), if they
wish to do so.

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• More specifically, different guests - and different
'types' of guest - may have specific needs and wants,
which a hotel can anticipate and plan to satisfy.
For example:
VIP guests have needs and wants in areas such as:
• protection of privacy;
• security;
• suites of rooms or inter-connecting rooms for
security personnel and entourage;
• fast/private check-in and check-out;
• space for private entertaining; and
• 'special-status‘ treatment
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Business guests have needs and wants in areas
such as:
• space and facilities for working in their rooms;
• swift/efficient check-in and check-out;
• access to communications and office facilities;
• the ability to charge expenses to their company;
• access to meeting rooms; and
• perhaps extra facilities for relaxation

Some hotels have an 'Executive Section or Floor',

for all these reasons.
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Single female travelers have special needs in areas such as:
• security and safety;
• privacy and non-disclosure of their status and room number;
• freedom from harassment by males (a regrettable fact of
life);
• room-service dining;
• the opportunity to socialize with other women;
• facilities for personal grooming (e.g. in-room hair dryers);
and perhaps a bit of extra 'pampering' (e.g. spa and luxury
toiletries).

Some hotels have all-female sections too

Special diet guests need to be anticipated and catered for.

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• Front Office staff should determine the hotel's selling
proposition - ideally a 'unique selling proposition'
or USP.

What are the most important attributes or benefits of the

lodge or resort,

• that set it apart from the competition and

• make it particularly attractive to prospective
guests?

• Know your hotel’s exclusive features - and use them

when describing the hotel for prospective guests!
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Salesmanship of reception staff
1. Product knowledge
• A receptionist must be able to describe and
suggest hotel services and facilities.
• Thorough knowledge and hotel products
E.g. hotel’s rooms:
• types,
• sizes,
• locations,
• rates, and furnishings,

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• Is it the under- cover parking?
• The 24-hour room service?
• The free in-room Internet access?

2. Willingness to sell
• Be willing to give guests your full attention ,
offer assistance and knowledgeable advice

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3. Communication skills
• Able to communicate well
• Able to listen, observe, and establish the needs
of a guest.
• Ask appropriate question and discuss with
guests about their need

4. Selling techniques
• Able to persuade guests to purchase hotel
products without feeling pressurized.

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Useful techniques in selling hotel facilities

1. Offering alternatives
• Guests may not always be aware of the range of
services available in a hotel
• Receptionist must promote sales of services by
offering alternatives to choose from

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Two strategies can be used here
Top-down technique
• Starting from most expensive option and then
offer progressively cheaper ones
• Most appropriate for guests whose primary
concern is comfort and service rather than cost
Bottom-up technique
• Starting with the cheapest option and persuade
the guest to more expensive packages
• Most appropriate for guests whose prime
consideration is cost
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When choosing a selling strategy

• Front office staff must anticipate what

motivate the guest to use a service
• Special promotional price
• Exclusivity of expensive service

In general, it can e said that:

• Well-dressed, affluent guests are less likely to
be on tight budget and more concerned with the
quality of service than cost
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• Guests whose full accounts are settled by their
companies tend to spend more than guests
paying themselves

• Guests who want to impress business clients or

colleagues tend to spend more on high-quality
services

• Guests who desire comfort are more likely to

treat themselves to expensive services
• What should front office staffs do?
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To establish a guest’s needs and to be able to
recommend appropriate service

• Observe and listen guests carefully

• Knowing guest’s purpose of visit /account details

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2. Suggestive selling
• It involves describing services
• Offering to book them for a guest
• Care must be taken to avoid too much pressure on
guests
E.g.
• Couples travelling with their kid
- baby meals
- laundry service
- baby-sitting service

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• Tired business women /man

- a room with relaxing bath

- meals and cocktail in guest room and explain how

they can ask for

- special business package

• Transport
• Business center facilities
• breakfast

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Sales support materials
Selling involves the effective use of sales support
materials:

• promotional and informational literature which

supports personal selling by offering guests
information,
• advertising benefits,
• showing illustrative pictures - and
• giving contact details for follow-up

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• Brochures, and lists of hotel services and amenities -
even offered to customers to take away

• Service/sales staff may also attach or offer their hotel

business cards,

To facilitating the prospective customer in

• following-up the enquiry, and
• emphasizing personal service

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Closing a sale

• Closing a sale is the process of getting a

customer to agree and commit to making a
purchase.

• The approach you take to closing a sale will

depend on the circumstances that each selling
opportunity presents to you.

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• Demonstrating to the customer your belief in the
benefits and value the product or service - provide
to the customer.

• The customer should believe in the value of your

product or service as much as you do.

For example,
- "I think that our product could potentially make your
business more efficient" and saying
- "I know that our product will really make a difference
to the operational efficiency
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of your business".
• Avoid using false and obvious pressure
techniques such as

- "this offer is available today only“

- instead explain the benefits of

making a decision today

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Some of the common closing techniques are:

• Alternative: "would you like the product in

blue or red ?"
• Assumptive: "so where would you like the
product delivered to?"
• Direct: "Would you like to place an order
now?“

• Essentially, if you have done your job as a

salesperson effectively, you should always be
able to use a direct close.
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