A room upgrade may turn an uninterested guest to an excited one with 0 effort. But we cannot give free upgrades to everyone, nor should we! Room upgrading is a strategy that when performed properly, it will increase guests’ satisfaction and profit earning. How can a hotel profit on free upgrades, one may ask?
When the reservations department receives a request and the only way possible to accommodate the guest is by splitting a reservation into different room types, the person in charge should vet the room plan carefully and make a decision based on the possible income from that booking.
If for example a guest is asking for a 7-nights stay in a room that is unavailable for just 1 day within that period, you might consider freeing that room for the blocked night in order to book in the new guest, by upgrading someone for that 1 specific night. By doing this upgrade you manage to: 1. have a happy guest that has received a gift (upgrade) and 2. receive a 7-night booking that would otherwise be impossible or too inconvenient for the guest (more than 1 room changes would be required).
For sure, many factors affect this procedure and thus what you need is a professional reservations team that knows the drill and a well-trained receptionist or guest relations employee to deliver the news in the right way. Using this technique will eventually increase your hotel’s income.
