In association with
time to the fullest. Equally importantly, mini- mising last-minute requests reduces pressure on employees,” explains Byron. Once the guest is on property, the opportu-
nities to generate further revenue continue. Gillespie at the Park Regis Birmingham, says: “Our teams are incentivised to upsell where possible and this is something that benefits them as well as our customers. Our guests can have their stay enhanced and our team can also benefit financially, which is particularly important in the current economic climate.” He added that upsells must offer real value
and it’s important to understand when to discount and when not to discount. For exam- ple, if you have strong footfall in the hotel bar then the need for a happy hour is minimal. The psychology behind pricing has a role
Mark Bevan At Glasson Lakehouse in Ireland, hotel
guests can now book online various leisure activities in and around the lake, such as a pad- dle board (from £21), a fishing rod (from £13), a 60-minute golf simulator (from £46) or a hot tub (from £18). Montcalm East in London sells gym passes (from £15) and spa passes (from £45) to residents and non-residents alike. Both hotels are partnering with Journey,
a hotel ecommerce, marketing and technol- ogy company. Chief technology officer Craig Griffin says: “Reflecting the varied operating requirements hotels and resorts have, our facilities feature is fully configurable to allow just members or residents to book.” He adds: “It’s important that hotels remain
in control of their facilities, with real-time avail- ability and up-to-date reports as part of the dash- board to help them understand usage trends, the impact on revenue and identify periods where staff assistance is required, such as docking boats or cleaning hired spaces.” Data from all Journey’s hotel clients, which
include Wildhive Callow Hall in Derbyshire, Seaham Hall in County Durham, the Elms Hotel & Spa in Worcestershire and Ellenbor- ough Park in the Cotswolds, shows that nearly two-thirds of bookings include multiple items.
www.thecaterer.com BOOK WORM
Increasing revenue capture at the initial booking stage makes a lot of sense in terms of easing pressure on staff and increasing guest satisfaction. Alliants, the Southampton-based customer experience consultancy, has responded to a very real problem that hotels encounter every day. Heather Byron, senior vice-president of services, said: “When carrying out research and speaking to front desk and concierge employees, they told us that guests typically make requests for restaurant reservations or spa treatments on the same day or the day before. This often means the hotel is unable to fulfil the guest’s wishes.” Alliants, who work with the newly opened
Raffles London at the OWO and Nobu Hospi- tality among many others, has created a module within its guest experience platform – known as AXP Recommends – whereby guests can view an AI-powered personalised selection of activi- ties to book directly on their phones and see their digital itinerary update in real time. “Before arrival, guests are full of anticipa-
tion and excitement about their upcoming trip. This is the perfect time for them to make those bookings and guarantee they enjoy their
to play too in maximising revenue, says Rev- enue by Design. Understanding our subcon- scious responses to prices can help shape how the value of goods and services are perceived. So, a jacket reduced from £100 to £50 may
seem like a great deal – after all, it’s 50% off. But the same jacket, if always priced at £50, may not seem as appealing. Why? Because our perception of that jacket’s value is deter- mined by the initial price you believe the jacket was priced at. So-called price anchoring as well as charm pricing (£99.99 rather than £100) can be used by hospitality businesses to create value. Another practice is the removal of the currency reference, which psychologically removes our interpretation of the number as a price. This is used extensively in restaurant menu pricing where, for example, a dish cost- ing £20 would be expressed as 20. On pricing psychology, McCartan com-
ments: “The price you charge influences guest expectations. If you’re charging what’s perceived to be top-tier prices, you need to be able to deliver the level of service that comes with it. Equally, if your room prices are set in a bid to attract price-conscious travelers with the hopes of recouping that ‘lost’ room revenue in ancillary spending, you may find they’re much less forgiving of a room service mis- take. Managing this requires a balancing act and thoughtful segmentation of your guests.”
Technology Prospectus 2024 | 49
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