Hotel sales strategies to effectively increase revenue

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What are hotel sales and why are they important?

As a hotelier, the sight of empty rooms and quiet hallways can be disheartening – a stark reminder of a failing business strategy. To avoid this
scenario, it’s crucial to implement effective sales strategies that continually attract guests, regardless of the season.
The primary reason to focus on boosting hotel room sales is straightforward – it drives revenue. Increased revenue allows you to deliver the
service guests expect and propels your hotel towards future growth. Before you can offer additional packages, excursions, and luxury
upgrades, you need to master the art of selling rooms.
Another reason to prioritise hotel room sales is to create the atmosphere guests expect. A nearly empty hotel can be off-putting to guests. By
selling as many rooms as possible, you provide a lively, charismatic environment that enhances their stay.
While providing a comfortable stay is a key goal for any hotel manager or operator, it’s essential to remember that you’re running a business.
This means you need to sell hotel rooms. Your hotel sales strategies should balance your commitment to the guest experience with the
necessity of booking as many rooms as possible at any given time.
Whether it’s peak season or off-season, your goal should be to develop room selling techniques designed to increase profitability. Let’s delve
into how you can achieve this.

Table of contents
• 1. What are hotel sales and why are they important?

• 2. History and development of hotel sales management

• 3. Top 13 strategies on how to improve hotel sales

o 3.1. 1. Hotel group sales strategy

o 3.2. 2. Direct hotel sales strategy
o 3.3. 3. Destination marketing sales strategy
o 3.4. 4. Cross-promotional sales strategy
o 3.5. 5. Loyalty program and guest rewards sales strategy
o 3.6. 6. Revenue management sales strategy
o 3.7. 7. OTA optimisation
o 3.8. 8. Leverage online reviews
o 3.9. 9. Upselling
o 3.10. 10. Re-marketing
o 3.11. 11. Incentives or cross-selling
o 3.12. 12. Build local partnerships
o 3.13. 13. Make booking easy on your website
• 4. Hotel sales and marketing

o 4.1. Hotel sales ideas

o 4.2. Creative hotel sales ideas
o 4.3. Promotional hotel sales idea
• 5. Packaged hotel room sales ideas

o 5.1. 1. Use other businesses to enrich your packages

o 5.2. 2. Promote one-stop shopping
o 5.3. 3. Be creative with your choices
o 5.4. 4. Use your own property to add value
o 5.5. 5. Cater for specialty markets
• 6. Hotel sales action plan

• 7. Hotel sales tools

o 7.1. Hotel sales software

• 8. Advantages of hotel sales strategies
 o 8.1. Key takeaways
• 9. Increase hotel sales with the best hotel sales tool

History and development of hotel sales management

The history and development of hotel sales management is a fascinating journey that reflects the evolution of the hospitality industry itself. It’s a
story of adaptation and innovation, driven by technological advancements, changing consumer behaviours, and the dynamic nature of the
global travel and tourism industry.
Early Days: Personal Relationships and Word-of-Mouth
In the early days of the hospitality industry, hotel sales management was primarily based on personal relationships and word-of-mouth
referrals. Hoteliers would build relationships with travel agents, tour operators, and corporate travel managers to drive bookings. Word-of-mouth
recommendations from satisfied guests were also a crucial source of new business.
The Rise of Global Distribution Systems (GDS)
The 1960s and 1970s saw the advent of Global Distribution Systems (GDS), computerised networks that enabled travel agencies and travel
management companies to access hotel inventories and services in real-time. This marked a significant shift in hotel sales management, as it
allowed hotels to reach a global audience and significantly increased the efficiency of the booking process.
The Internet Revolution
The rise of the internet in the 1990s and early 2000s brought about another major shift in hotel sales management. With the advent of online
travel agencies (OTAs) like Expedia and Booking.com, hotels were able to reach an even wider audience. However, this also led to increased
competition and put downward pressure on room rates.
Direct Bookings and the Rise of Metasearch
In response to the growing power of OTAs, many hotels began focusing on driving direct bookings through their own websites. This led to the
development of sophisticated booking engines and the rise of metasearch sites like Kayak and Trivago, which aggregate rates from various
booking sites, including the hotels’ own websites.
Data-Driven Sales Management
The latest trend in hotel sales management is the use of data analytics to drive decision-making. With the help of advanced data analysis tools,
hoteliers can now make more informed decisions about pricing, distribution, and marketing. This allows them to optimise their sales strategies,
maximise revenue, and better meet the needs of their guests.

Top 13 strategies on how to improve hotel sales

Every hotelier needs to implement sales strategies that work best for their own target market as well as for their local destination.
Ultimately, it is up to the hotel operator or manager to create a customised hotel sales strategy that will drive the most room sales at their own
individual property, but here are 13 of the best hotel room sales strategies to consider:

1. Hotel group sales strategy

This strategy may require an overhaul of your normal marketing and sales approach. The idea is to sell rooms and meeting spaces to corporate
groups; it’s important you can offer a deal for both.
Landing these types of sales requires innovation but it can be very beneficial for repeat business if you do. The most cost-effective way to
secure group bookings is by connecting directly to planners.
You can list your property on venue marketplaces where planners can view floor plans, photos, and unique differentiators. It’s also important to
segment your target audience, so you can make compelling offers to the right kind of groups for your property.

2. Direct hotel sales strategy

With this sales strategy, the priority is to earn direct bookings online from as many guests as possible. Direct bookings are the most beneficial
booking for hotel operators because these bookings generate the most revenue.
There are no agents or other distribution partners that must be paid a commission when a guest books directly online.
In order to implement a direct booking strategy, hotel managers should invest in an online booking system that syncs with their
existing website and property management system. Hotel operators should also prioritise their social media strategy when focusing on
increasing direct bookings.
3. Destination marketing sales strategy
This type of sales strategy requires a hotel operator to work with other tourism business professionals in their destination to promote the region
as a whole.
Through a destination marketing campaign, local businesses team up to target the most powerful inbound tourism markets and drive more
traffic to the general area.

4. Cross-promotional sales strategy

With this sales strategy, hotel managers need to identify and evaluate various large events that will be taking place in the local region
throughout the calendar year.
Then, the hotel operator needs to come up with a promotion that can coincide with the event, ultimately allowing them to earn an influx of
bookings that they may not otherwise have had.
Opportunities that are ideal for a cross-promotional sales strategy include an upcoming industry conference, a concert or a major sporting
event.

5. Loyalty program and guest rewards sales strategy

Many travellers today, particularly the powerful millennial generation, value the opportunity to earn rewards with the companies that they do
business with. Hotels, in particular, have great success with rewards programs.
In a guest rewards sales strategy, the manager or operator should develop a system that rewards guests for staying frequently, for purchasing
upgrades, and for referring friends and family members.
A rewards sales strategy often generates repeat bookings, which are particularly lucrative for hotel operators.

6. Revenue management sales strategy

This type of sales strategy aims to maximise the number of rooms booked at any point in the year, regardless of the typical travel traffic at that
particular point in time.
Typically, a revenue management plan requires hotel operators to drop room rates during the low season in order to encourage bookings, while
raising rates during high traffic times.
During these moments, guests are going to be willing to pay higher rates to get a room, so it’s worthwhile raising rates to generate more
revenue per available room.

7. OTA optimisation
Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) such as Booking.com, Expedia, and Agoda are powerful platforms that can significantly increase your hotel’s
visibility and reach a global audience. However, to maximise the benefits of OTAs, it’s crucial to optimise your listings. This includes providing
high-quality photos, detailed and engaging descriptions, and up-to-date information about your hotel’s amenities and services. Additionally,
managing your rates and availability effectively can help improve your ranking on OTA search results, making your hotel more visible to
potential guests.
Remember, while OTAs do charge a commission, they can drive a significant volume of bookings, making them an important part of a balanced
hotel sales strategy.

8. Leverage online reviews

A positive online reputation can significantly boost your hotel’s bookings and revenue. Encourage your guests to leave reviews on popular
platforms like TripAdvisor, Google, and OTAs. Respond to reviews in a timely and professional manner, showing appreciation for positive
feedback and addressing any issues raised in negative reviews. This not only helps improve your hotel’s online reputation but also
demonstrates your commitment to guest satisfaction.
Additionally, showcasing positive reviews on your website can help drive direct bookings. Remember, a strong online reputation is a powerful
sales tool in the hotel industry.

9. Upselling
Upselling is the process of selling a more expensive version of the service or product your customer is buying. The methods you use to upsell
need to be handled with a degree of delicacy.
The timing, tone, and regularity with which you upsell is the key to the success of your efforts. You don’t want to seem pushy, so treat it as an
exercise in awareness rather than a sales pitch. Make sure guests know what options are available to them but let them initiate any further
interest.
10. Re-marketing
Re-marketing allows you to reach out to potential guests who have visited your site without finalising their booking. Many travellers will visit a
variety of different websites to explore their options during the research phase of their online booking journey.
With re-marketing strategies, you can access these customers again at different points during their online booking experience and remind them
to visit your site again to book with you.

11. Incentives or cross-selling

Cross-selling is the process of selling an additional, supplementary product or service to complement the product or service your customer is
buying.
Offering incentives in the form of additional products or services may just be the thing that gets your guest to confirm a booking. Think added-
value items like a free massage, or a local tour.

12. Build local partnerships

Unless your hotel is located in a remote or isolated destination, there should be plenty of other businesses and attractions you can form a
mutually beneficial partnership with.
Co-promoting with restaurants, speciality shops like ski hire, adventure companies, theme parks, or museums can help lead to easy and
effective marketing.
And these kinds of partnerships can work no matter how the guest is planning their trip – be it to book accommodation first, or create their
itinerary before looking for a hotel.

13. Make booking easy on your website

The importance of a good website experience for travellers can’t be overstated. Nothing will drain their excitement quicker than a slow,
confusing, or convoluted website.
Make sure yours is clean, intuitive, mobile-friendly, and has clear action buttons such as ‘book now’ for potential guests to click. When direct
bookings are so valuable, your website has to be a priority.

Hotel sales and marketing

Sales and marketing go hand in hand – sales must be enabled by good marketing to be effective. By basic principle, you shouldn’t market
anything that sales can’t deliver, or you’ll risk negative customer feedback. There are so many avenues to market and sell your hotel through
that, if you do it right, bookings should never be a problem.
In the hotel industry, marketing depends on how you make travellers aware of your property and your sales tactics will be how you get them to
book a stay at your property.
Your marketing should largely revolve around:

• Spreading a brand message

• Adopting a unique voice

• Making contact with your key target markets

• Being active on social media to build an audience

• Having an email marketing strategy

• Utilising a search engine optimisation strategy

• Being mobile friendly

Things that can really help drive sales include:

• Videos

• Amazing visual advertisements

• Well-crafted copy
 • Celebrated feedback

• User-generated content (driven by great experiences)

• Value-rich offers

• Unique selling points

You have a lot of freedom with sales, and it can be exciting. Essentially, you get to tell your potential guest how great your property is and how
much fun they’ll have enjoying your hospitality.
Selling your hotel rooms should be all about creating energy and building anticipation in the traveller – they need to believe not staying at your
hotel would be a missed opportunity to help make their trip perfect.

Hotel sales ideas

It’s never a good move to put all your eggs in one basket in any situation. Selling your hotel is no exception. You need to have a lot of ideas so
when something isn’t working you can shift your focus.
Different selling methods will apply to different markets and demographics – you certainly would sell in the same way to a family as you would
to a couple. The good news is that there are hotel sales ideas to cover all bases.
Take a look at this list to kick-start your thinking:

• Let people take virtual tours of your hotel

• Use fresh, interesting, content to answer travellers’ questions

• Keep your website updated with local events

• Have conversations with followers on social media

• Link with local businesses to create lucrative partnerships

• Let guests sell more for you with reviews and user generated content

• Go behind the scenes to humanise your brand

 • Connect with influencers

Trying something new is always worthwhile; if it doesn’t work you haven’t lost anything and it just might be what you need to provide a boost to
your hotel sales.

Creative hotel sales ideas

There’s no right or wrong idea before you’ve seen the results. Getting creative means you have to experiment and take actions you haven’t
taken before. Take a look at traditional methods and think about how you can step outside of the box.
For instance, selling guests in the local area is very common and very logical. But what if you went further and gave guests even more reason
to explore and enjoy their surroundings – just as Palomar San Diego did way back in 2012.
Their initiative was a scavenger hunt competition that sent guests and locals on a city wide adventure via a social networking app called
‘Scavenger Hunt with Friends.’ The idea was to #livelikealocal.
This could have been a complete failure but in reality it generated plenty of coverage for the hotel and added a fresh sense of fun for travellers,
while effectively giving them a guided tour of the city.
There are plenty of ways you can subvert traditional sales offers, simply by taking what already exists and thinking one step beyond it or
shifting the ingredients to create something travellers haven’t heard or seen before.

Promotional hotel sales idea

Promotions are great because you can be very flexible and targeted with what you offer, and often they’ll grab the attention of travellers
searching online.
This is where it can actually be useful to steer into what guests might expect, such as promotions around seasons, themes, events, direct
bookings, or partnerships.
1. Seasonal promotions
Most destinations experience a low season, where tourism is not as active as other parts of the year. However, with the right deals your hotel
doesn’t have to suffer through empty rooms and hallways.
Try to incorporate discounts with eye-catching promotions like ‘Summer Getaways’ and ‘Winter Retreats’ and remind travellers how beautiful
your destination is and how much they can see when there are less crowds.
2. Themed promotions
These will be attention-grabbing and very relevant for travellers looking into booking a stay in the area.
For example you might offer promotions around honeymoons or anniversaries if you’re in a romantic locale, adventure deals if you’re out of the
major cities, or ultimate relaxation experiences if you’re a coastal hotel. Appealing to different lifestyles or family setups is always a good idea.
3. Event-based promotions
It makes a lot of sense to capitalise on events and include them in your promotions. People will already be researching these events so if your
hotel has a deal in conjunction with them, awareness of your hotel should increase along with site traffic.
These events might include music or art festivals, Easter or Christmas events, circuses, travelling markets, sporting events etc. With a booking
you might offer discounted tickets, adapt the hotel experience to match the events, create special rates.
4. Direct booking promotions
Placing exclusive promotions within your booking engine on your website will give travellers an incentive to book directly instead of via an OTA.
It will also help establish your hotel website as your most important distribution channel and help increase profit by eliminating OTA commission
fees.
The incentive might be a discount, or it might also be an added extra such as a bottle of wine, restaurant voucher, or amenity gift cards.
5. Partnership promotions
Combining with other businesses will reduce the cost of promotion and marketing, and give you wider coverage, as long as your partner holds
up their end of the bargain. It may also give you access to a new market and create ongoing business.
Common partnerships include those with theme parks, restaurants, cinemas, museums, sporting arenas, adventure, and tour guides.
It’s one thing to create your promotions, but remember you need people to see them. Always advertise on your social media channels and
ensure your search engine optimisation is strong
6. Mobile-only promotions
Year-on-year, nearly every statistic points to an upsurge of mobile usage on hotel, travel, and booking websites, with projected numbers even
more prominent.
As quick as online booking overtook more traditional and outdated methods, mobile is starting to usurp desktop. Implementing smart and
effective mobile strategies will boost customer experience and keep your hotel competitive within an industry that never stops innovating.
First things first, you’ll need a mobile-optimised website which will attract traffic and remain as user-friendly as a desktop browser. Secondly,
your booking engine requires the capability to run promotions with restricted rates to mobile-only, while keeping a painless two-step booking
process.

Packaged hotel room sales ideas

Hotel packages are a staple of any marketing and hotel sales strategy, and also something guests will expect to have offered to them.
The impact these packages have on driving extra bookings or boosting revenue will depend on three key factors:

• What you sell

• How you sell it

• When you sell it

Guests won’t purchase a package just because you tell them it’s a great deal. You need to offer them value for money and something that will
excite or interest them personally.
Packages can apply to both leisure and business travellers as a pleasure and convenience respectively, and your hotel can only benefit from
selling packages as guests who purchase packages are less likely to cancel their booking.
Ideally you want a package that will please every guest but at the same time, if you have too many it will dilute the impact. Three great
packages are better than 10 mediocre ones.
Here are five tips when creating your hotel packages:

1. Use other businesses to enrich your packages

Combining your services with that of another tourist attraction in the area is a surefire way to add value to your packages. It also gives you a lot
of flexibility on what you can offer guests. Tickets to zoos, tours, theme parks, museums are always popular as are restaurant vouchers.
Even concerts or one-off events can be leveraged as short-term packages. This way you can cater for many different guests, those interested
in adventure and those more excited by shopping or fine dining.

2. Promote one-stop shopping

Savvy travellers will look at your packages and wonder exactly what kind of deal they’re getting. Unless you and your business partner agree to
offer discounted prices, it’s likely the combined price of a room and a tour package will be similar to the components purchased separately.
This is why you need to advertise the convenience and quality of what you’re offering, rather than spiking the cost.

3. Be creative with your choices

Guests might become rather bored if they see yet another ‘romance’ package. Try incorporating more interesting content into your packages
and their names.
For instance, a ‘bucket list’ package might include a selection of passes or discounts to the absolute must-sees of the local area. This will be an
attractive option for guests because it’s likely they are already interested in visiting those landmarks.
For business travellers, always focus on convenience such as a package delivering breakfast to their room, free dry cleaning, and transport
services.

4. Use your own property to add value

While most packages include a room and some type of external activity, you can make your packages even more enticing by adding your own
service to the mix such as spa-treatments or a bar tab.
Guests will want to experience your amenities and they’ll be more likely to pay to do so if it’s included in a package.

5. Cater for specialty markets

Never ignore families. Often it’s the children you’re appealing to most because parents will be looking for activities that will occupy the kids. The
same principle applies if you’re a pet-friendly hotel.
You must also consider guests with disabilities and people with specific occupations that you can give personalised packages to.
Don’t forget to promote any new packages you create, be they long-term or one-off. Use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and your email to drum
up business. Send any information along to your local tourism office so they can do the same.
Another thing to consider is what you want to achieve with your packages. Sometimes they can create a lot of brand awareness, even if they
don’t attract much business directly. For example, I read about this strange offer from a hotel in California.
To the average traveller, you and your competitors will often appear very similar. That’s why you need to present an offer that tips the balance
and convinces an undecided traveller that yours is the best hotel for them. Package deals and extras are an easy, but extremely effective way
of doing this, providing you take the right approach.
Check out the video below to see how your hotel create packages that your hotel guests want:

Hotel sales action plan

Implementing a successful sales strategy requires you to have an effective distribution strategy. Hotel operators must network with industry
professionals as well as agents to sell their rooms to the maximum number of people in a variety of target market segments.
Common agents that are included in any distribution strategy include retail travel agents, visitor information centres, local businesses, online
travel agents, and destination marketing organisations.
Hotel operators and managers must recognise that their distribution network is a fluid, living entity, and they should constantly be looking for
new and innovative ways to reach out to new agents and distributors.
In addition to expanding and developing a diverse distribution network, hotel operators must be able to effectively distribute their rooms to all of
their agents in real-time. The only way to do this is to partner with a channel manager that connects to your property management system.
With a channel manager, hotel operators can provide their live availability to every distribution agent that they have, regardless of their location
or time zone. This allows them to sell as many rooms as possible — including securing those valuable last-minute bookings.
It also significantly reduces the risk of overbooking rooms at the property, particularly during high-volume times. A channel manager is
necessary to implement any sales strategy that a manager wishes to employ at their individual property.

Hotel sales tools

Your hotel sales tools include anything that enables you to bring a guest into your hotel. This might mean your social media accounts, your
email marketing campaigns, the phone on your front desk, guest feedback, or back-end hotel technology solutions.
Though when you think of tools as objects or functional pieces of software you might consider these to help inform your sales strategy:

• Social networks

• Analytics tools such as Google

• Survey tools

• Online travel agents

• Property management tools

• Booking engines

• Channel managers

• Website builders

Identifying and using the right tools will depend on your property and the guests you want to attract but for the most part all properties need the
same tools. The difference comes in how you use them.
Data is extremely important so using tools that can give you detailed reporting functions is a great step to take. With enough data at your
disposal, you can make informed decisions about how you sell, gaining an edge over any competitors who are following a ‘cookie-cutter’
approach.
Obviously you need to be smart about how you use the budget at your hotel and look for tools which will make life easier while helping deliver
more revenue to the business.

Hotel sales software

When you think of sales software in a hotel context, it’s better to think of distribution software. Three key pieces of technology that could help
you are a channel manager, online booking engine, and website builder.
While they may not be strictly thought of as sales software, they are the key to driving sales and revenue in the hotel industry.
1. Channel manager
This is one of your greatest allies when distributing your rooms because it’s a tool that manages all the different online travel agents (OTAs)
you sell your rooms through, such as Booking.com, Expedia or Airbnb.
The main operating principle is called “pooled inventory” which means updates to rates and availability are made automatically across all
connected channels whenever and wherever a booking is made.
Enabling a more effective way to promote your rooms will naturally create an increase in sales. Read our guide on channel managers to learn
more.
2. Booking engine
An online booking engine has become essential, especially with the rise of social media. Creating a friction-less experience for guests when
they book directly will boost your conversion and improve your sales results. Read our guide on booking engines to learn more.
3. Website builder
This takes away the need for you to hire a web designer. Instead you can use this software to create a beautiful, search engine optimised,
guest converting website in minutes.
You simply have to provide your content and choose from a number of available templates. Your website is a major selling point for travellers –
winning them over with an amazing first impression is imperative.
With the right technology in place, you will be able to easily and effectively implement your hotel room sales strategies. To learn more about
these hotel sales tools and to find out if they are the right choice for your hotel property, check out how they work in a video demo.

Advantages of hotel sales strategies

When you sell hotel rooms, you do more than just get another guest in the door of your property. You are able to improve your hotel business in
its entirety.
Here are a few of the benefits that you will realise when you employ hotel room sales strategies that are designed to increase hotel room sales:

• You will generate more revenue consistently throughout the entire year. An effective hotel sales strategy allows you to earn as much
revenue as possible, regardless of the seasonal ebbs and flows of the tourism industry.

• You will be able to make improvements to your property. As you begin to earn more revenue from your bookings, you can make
improvements that will generate buzz about your brand and continue to sell more rooms.
 • You will be able to move beyond standard sales strategies and begin creating packages that increase the revenue you generate per
guest. Once your sales steadily increase, you can begin to expand your offerings. Romance packages, adventure packages and luxury
upgrades allow you to sell more rooms while also boosting the revenue you earn per booking.

Key takeaways

• Your hotel room sales strategies should reflect your commitment to the guest experience while emphasising the importance of booking
as many rooms as possible.

• Even during the slow travel season, you need to implement sales strategies that will improve business and continually bring in more
guests.

• 13 essential hotel sales strategies are: group bookings, direct bookings, destination marketing, cross promotional sales, guest rewards
strategies, revenue management strategies, upselling, cross-selling, packages, promotions, re-marketing, guest reviews, OTA
optimisation and local partnerships.

• There’s no right or wrong sales idea before you’ve seen the results. Getting creative means you have to experiment and take actions
you haven’t taken before.

• Your hotel sales tools include anything that enables you to bring a guest into your hotel.

• Three key pieces of software that could help you are a channel manager, online booking engine, and website builder.

Increase hotel sales with the best hotel sales tool

In the ever-evolving landscape of the hospitality industry, it’s crucial to stay ahead of the curve and leverage the right strategies and tools to
boost your hotel sales. SiteMinder, as a leading hotel software platform, can be your partner in this journey, offering numerous benefits:

• Maximise Revenue: SiteMinder’s advanced technology allows you to manage room rates and availability across all your distribution
channels in real-time. This not only helps in selling as many rooms as possible but also in securing those valuable last-minute bookings,
thereby maximising your revenue.

• Improve Operational Efficiency: With SiteMinder, you can automate your hotel operations, from managing online travel agents to
handling direct bookings. This not only reduces the risk of overbooking but also frees up your time to focus on enhancing the guest
experience.
 • Drive Direct Bookings: SiteMinder’s online booking engine integrates seamlessly with your website, enabling guests to book directly with
ease. This not only improves the guest booking experience but also increases your profitability by eliminating OTA commission fees.

Don’t let your hotel rooms stay vacant. Embrace the power of SiteMinder and transform your hotel sales strategy today. Get started with
SiteMinder and see the difference it can make in improving your hotel sales.

Want to increase bookings?

We’ve helped hoteliers get up to 43% more commission-free,

Let’s face it, hotel sales can be complicated. Depending on the size of your property, sales teams will vary significantly, and with lingering labor
shortage issues, hotel sales managers are often left with the challenge of hitting their sales goals and ensuring consistent occupancy with
limited resources.

Finding the right people to be part of your sales team is critical so you can achieve more with fewer resources. Sales jobs require diverse skills,
from engaging with in-house guests to cold-calling corporate clients. Sales teams need to be able to collaborate with other hotel team
members, such as general managers and revenue managers, to develop and reach realistic revenue and sales goals.

Read on to learn more about what hotel sales teams do and strategies to help boost your hotel sales.

What do hotel sales teams do?

The number one goal for hotel sales teams is to sell more rooms and secure business throughout the month, quarter, and year. Most sales
teams can be split into three market segments:

Leisure/corporate business.

This market often has the highest success rate of all three sources and includes relationship-building with corporations to host its business
travelers. For this market, sales teams will benefit from having a strong business relationship with their local OTA market managers to get
information about local market trends and other hotels’ promotions in order to be more competitive. Corporate biz can yield a decent ADR and
usually offers a steady stream of occupancy during the shoulder nights.

Contract business.

This market involves establishing contracts for a minimum amount of room nights per month at an agreed-upon contracted rate. Airline and
construction crews are great groups to target for new business. Contract business usually has the lowest ADR but the longest LOS.

These groups aren’t ideal for urban markets that already have high demand, but are perfect for suburban and highway hotels because they
guarantee a minimum occupancy for a long period of time, sometimes a year or more! This is why extended-stay hotels often yield a
higher RevPar and save on operating costs.

Group business.

This market includes booking hotel business for large groups like weddings, family reunions, bachelorette parties, and more. Typically these
are one-off events and do not ensure consistent revenue; however, they can be pretty profitable depending on the type of hotel group. While
these groups are typically one-off events, they commonly yield the highest ADR and can help build a solid base business during shoulder
periods.
Hotel sales members are responsible for finding prospects through cold-calling, email, and social media, attending conferences, tradeshows,
and other events to promote their hotel’s brand and network with those in the hospitality industry.

The work doesn’t end for your hotel sales team once the sale is made. Relationship nurturing is another crucial aspect of the job to ensure
account retention. Following up regularly with clients can help your property stay top-of-mind when booking again.

The director of sales should prioritize the reviewing of results from the most recent period (monthly or quarterly) with their team to determine
areas of success and opportunities for growth. Having measurable goals for your team to hit each period can help them to stay on track.

How to build a hotel sales team

Due to the effects of the pandemic, as of October 2021, there were 300,000 fewer workers in the hotel industry than just two years prior. Hotel
sales teams were among the first groups to be laid off during the pandemic, and management is now struggling to find qualified talent to fill
these roles.

While sales teams will differ based on property size and type, when building a sales team, no matter the size, you must take time to hire
the right people for your business. Here are some best practices for building your hotel sales team.

• Ensure you have a well-defined target market. This will help you when interviewing candidates to ensure they have the right
experience and proven results.
 • Hire salespeople who can fulfill multiple functions in the sales process. For example, your team should consist of individuals who
can prospect as well as form connections with different groups of people and nurture long-lasting relationships.

• Your team should be hospitable, friendly, and, most importantly, consist of great listeners. The key to a successful sales
organization is delivering value to your customers by understanding what’s important to them.

• Make sure your team members work well with others. Your team will work cross-functionally across the hotel with catering
managers, general managers, front desk staff, and more to ensure that a customer’s experience meets expectations once they arrive.

• Invest in training. During initial training, your sales staff should be educated on your specific room types, room rates, services, upsell
opportunities, local offerings, and more. Remember, customers today have access to tons of online information, so your staff should be
well-versed in your competitors‘ strengths and weaknesses to successfully handle objections and questions from prospects.

What is the difference between hotel sales and marketing?

Hotel sales and marketing teams work in tandem with one another to deliver on hotel revenue goals. Marketing teams create brand awareness
and share relevant content through social media, paid ads, press releases, and more (take a look at our hotel marketing strategies). Sales
teams foster relationships, negotiate contracts, search for new business through outbound prospecting, and nurture inbound leads to close
deals.

Together these groups play a pivotal role in the hospitality sales process.
12 essential strategies to boost your hotel sales

While hotel sales can be challenging, it’s gratifying to form new business relationships that can last years. Here are a few strategies for your
hotel sales team to use:

1. Implement a sales commission structure.

Incentivize your team with a well-thought-out commission program. Usually, these consist of a percentage of sales paid on top of an annual
base salary.

2. Have your sales team be active on social media.

Social channels like LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and even TikTok can be a great way to network and connect with prospects. Promote last-
minute deals, packages, contests, and property updates to your network, and consider tagging prospects in the comments for ultimate visibility.

3. List your property on venue marketplaces.

Marketplaces can help you promote your property to planners from across the world. These sites often feature hotel workspaces, meeting
rooms, group accommodations, and event spaces.

4. Ensure your sales and marketing efforts are aligned.

If your property separates sales and marketing functions, ensure they are in frequent communication to align on strategy, messaging, and
target audiences.
5. Set clear expectations for your sales teams.

Set weekly or monthly goals for your sales team and consistently track their efforts. Make sure to celebrate wins and award your teams for a
job well done to keep morale and retention rates high.

6. Spend time hiring the right team.

In the hospitality industry, it can be challenging to find qualified talent. Don‘t cut corners to hire; spend time interviewing candidates to ensure
their values and strengths align with your property.

7. Work closely with your revenue manager.

Sales and the revenue management person or team should be closely aligned to ensure proper rates are communicated to prospects and
customers.

8. Form partnerships with local convention and visitor bureaus (CVB).

CVBs will often recommend hotels and venues to event planners. These RFPs are generally more qualified than regular leads.

9. Attend local tradeshows for tourism and travel.

At local tradeshows, you can make valuable connections across the industry with travel agents and other hoteliers. You can also see what’s
new in the industry and ensure that your hotel’s services and amenities are competitive.

10. Track local events that draw large groups to your city.
Stay on top of important events throughout the calendar year, and focus your outreach on event organizers to see if you can bundle your hotel
rooms with the event.

11. Offer special group rates.

Incentivize groups to stay at your hotel with special rate plans. Incorporate these rates into your website and booking engine to encourage
direct bookings.

12. Create package rates for different groups.

Develop package rates for your different target groups as part of your sales strategy. For example, your corporate group rate could include
complimentary dry cleaning and airport shuttle service.

Final thoughts

Hotel sales can be challenging, but it’s also one of the most rewarding lines of work. Working to deliver a guest experience that exceeds
expectations and provides life-long memories is invaluable.

To keep your team happy and motivated, ensure that they have realistic and measurable sales goals and are being recognized for their work.
Make ongoing training a priority and invest in repeatable strategies that deliver results.

See how Cloudbeds helps tens of thousands of properties grow revenue and sales.
Get a demo

Published on 05 December, 2022

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Explore the Top Hotel Sales Tips To Drive More Business This year

1. Conduct a SWOT analysis

SWOT stands for: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. You might call these your team’s soft metrics •, as opposed to
hard data (such as attendance stats).

A well-rounded sales team (of any size and scope) will always reserve special attention for these soft metrics. Do certain team
members have unique skills you’re not leveraging (strengths)? Are you doing anything to scope out your competitors’ tactics
(threats)? Conduct a SWOT analysis of your current sales team to understand where your team lacks and where they excel.

The day is won or lost in asking (and frequently returning to) these soft • questions.
Drive sales with the easiest group business manager
Learn More

2. Follow the (social media) times

Make sure you’re undertaking every effort to keep up to date on your hotel social media channels. Facebook, Instagram, Twitte r,
LinkedIn, and beyond can give you a competitive edge if you use them intelligently.

Can you track competitors using a custom Twitter timeline? What about tracking competitor Facebook Pages in Facebook Insights ?
There are thousands of professional groups on LinkedIn. Have you thought about sc oping out your city’s major industries, looking for
relevant local LinkedIn groups, and cutting a deal on their next convention?

Now that’s strategic social marketing and one of our favorite hospitality sales tips to share.

3. Don’t skimp on training front-line employees

Your front-line employees are your front desk employees, your event service staff, and those with daily, direct access to your
customers.

Train these people well: make sure they can answer any questions about your hotel, events, or surroun ding locale. These front-line
employees are satellite sales staff: they can let guests know about special promotions or deals. If visitors have a good expe rience
with these employees, there’s a good chance that goodwill positively influences their overall visit and perception of the property.

Front-line employees also serve as your quasi-sales team: they help to sell the overall experience.
click to tweet

4. Take advantage of seasonal or local events

Plentiful profits await organizations who understand this point. In hospitality sales, seasonal or local events • should automatically
translate in your brain as large gatherings of people¦huge margin opportunit ies.•

Is your hotel near a cruise port? Try striking up a mutually beneficial package deal with the cruise line (reduced room rates for cruise
guests, etc.). Cultural events, concerts, and festivals can also garner large groups of travelers. Look forward o n the events calendar
to see which you can create a partnership to boost bookings at your hotel.

5. Cherish and nurture repeat business

It’s cheaper to retain current customers than it is to attain a new one. This is why taking steps towards loyalty is one of our favorite
hospitality sales tips. Whether that’s through loyalty programs, incentive campaigns, or added special perks. Communicate what
these would look like via email campaigns or through paid social media advertisements on Facebook.

Unlock growth opportunity insights fast

Get Started Now

6. Look for untapped markets

Your property may be the go-to location in town for social events. Or your city is just ripe with social events period. But what efforts
have you put forth to explore untapped markets in your city? Taking the Blue Ocean Strategy approach, your property could be
destined for more than social events. Is there a demand for corporate events or small meetings that aren’t being met? Do you have
space that could double as coworking space? Is there a big concentration of association conferences happening in your town th at
you haven’t thought to host?

Unsure of where to start? Set aside a small marketing budget for hotel ads, targeted to the new verticals or audiences you’re looking
to host. See what the demand you receive.
7. Combat the lulls with special offers
In many cities, even though winter brings the prospect of seasonal profits, it can morph into a dead zone come January. A classic
way to combat these lulls is through special off-season promotions. Drive urgency through great deals offered for a limited time.

Now we turn it to you: what are your go-to hospitality sales tips you can share? Let us know in the comments on Facebook.

Plus, don’t forget to check out our easy Sales Enablement Software that will save your sales team time. And discover new
hotel sales strategies that could improve your revenue today.

How to Set Hotel Sales Team Goals and KPIs in a Time of Unpredictable Demand

By Doug Kennedy
President of the Kennedy Training Network
6 min read14 September 2021
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How To Set Hotel Sales Team Goals and KPIs In A Time Of Unpredictable Demand — Photo by Kennedy Training Network (KTN)

It’s the time of year when hotel sales leaders are finalizing their budgets for the coming year, and 2022 is certainly a challenging one to set
sales goals based on KPIs. First, let’s look at what has been done historically and then explore alternatives.

For approximately 10 years leading up to the recent pandemic era, budgets were increased each year, divvied up, and turned into individual
sales goals that were then tied to bonuses. With the seemingly endless string of years of an up market, sales bonuses became an expected
part of the compensation.

Were these sales bonuses truly justified based on performance? Or were they achieved mostly due to good fortune?
For years now KTN has offered our training clients an optional pre-training forensic style “sales process assessment” that has provided me with
a behind-the-scenes peek at sales activities across a broad spectrum of properties. We sit with each salesperson, visit their lead intake source
(often email folders) from about 60 days prior, randomly pull qualified inbound leads, then ask the salesperson to show documentation of
related sales activities. This includes email exchanges, in-app correspondence on platforms such as CVENT, and notes from phone
conversations (where they occurred), primarily looking at three things:

• Timely, tenacious, and proactive follow-up actions.

• Personalization of follow-up correspondence and messaging.

During this time we also ask about processes in place for outbound prospecting. Where are the leads sourced? Are these efforts tenacious and
personalized as well?

Often, a sales director will say “Chris is our best salesperson. They killed their sales goals for the last three quarters.” Yet when I conduct the
above process, I find out that in fact Chris did not typically follow up proactively, and when they did, the follow-up was generic, and Chris’
prospecting consisted of randomly sending generic emails or LinkedIn messages to randomly selected contacts.

Over time, after several years of conducting these assessments through February of 2020, it became obvious that too many times salespeople
like “Chris” thrived mostly because of an up market.

When budging for 2021, some operators were more realistic than others and budgeted for lower demand, while others forecasted the most
optimistic scenarios. Some decided to go ahead and bonus their sales staff for 2021 despite budget shortfalls, and where that did not happen,
many salespeople were content just to receive their base salary while so many of their industry colleagues were furloughed or laid off.

Looking ahead at 2022, market conditions remain uncertain and the economy could swing wildly. Perhaps herd immunity is reached, new
Coronavirus cases decline, and pent-up demand causes a huge rebound. Or perhaps new variants emerge that require time for vaccine
updates, consumers and companies alike grow more cautious, and demand flattens or declines. The most likely scenario is somewhere in
between.

I am imagining most hotel directors are feeling more than a little angst about budgeting for next year. What is a realistic number to ask? What is
fair to ownership, yet also fair to our salespeople? Set goals too high and they will soon become unattainable; set them too low and the sales
bonus will once again be an entitlement program.

But there is a third option for 2022 and beyond. Perhaps it’s an option that should have been used all along.
It is time to factor “sales process excellence” into the equation. Now, the “DOS textbook” says “results are everything” and “revenue in the
bank” is the only way to measure sales. But if you ask me, this mentality created what I call the “decade of profitable mediocrity” in hotel sales.
In other words, sales goals were easily met even with very poor sales process performance, and too many salespeople lived off of a generous
flow of inbound leads.

Of course, sales KPIs should include a revenue component, especially for hotels that have more predictable market segments that tend to
perform well regardless of the overall economy.

However, it is time that sales leaders also factor in KPIs related to excellence in sales process. If your hotel’s market segments are steady and
predictable for 2022, compliance with pre-set KPIs might be around 20% of the bonus. In other words, if forensic audits show compliance,
salespeople receive their full bonus; otherwise, they only get 80%. Or if your hotel is facing extreme uncertainly, admit that your sales goals are
simply a best guess and factor in compliance with sales process KPIs as high as 50%.

It is easy to conduct your own forensic sales audit. Just randomly pull 10 or more leads each quarter, then ask each salesperson to show you
their action steps as documented in your sales CRM and in-app message exchanges. (First though, you may have to mandate that your
salespeople correctly use their sales CRM!)

What are the KPIs for sales process excellence? Here are some ideas:

• All “right-sized” inbound sales leads are responded to within one business day. If more time is needed to draft a proposal, an
acknowledgment of the inquiry will go out promptly.
• For leads received in platforms that require an in-app response, if an external email is included, then a direct email response is also
sent so you stand out from other respondents.
• Personally I believe that the initial response should also include a phone call. Some say that “If the prospect wanted to talk they would
have called” or “Today’s planners don’t like talking on the phone.” Don’t believe it. Okay, some planners might sound busy or a bit
cranky when first answering, but most will open up when they year something like “…I have read your RFP and just have a few brief
questions that can help me provide a more personalized response.” Similarly, prospects will respond favorably to well-worded
voicemails.
• All correspondence must be personalized and contextualized, not simply a generic proposal or copy/paste text. Did they paraphrase,
summarize and restate needs? Did they address all specific details mentioned? Did they delete from the template used all text and
images that were irrelevant?
• Did they send a full proposal or contract within 3 business days or less?
• Did they follow up at least two additional times, and by two different mediums (phone call, email, in-app message, and/or video email?)
• Where phone conversations or in-person meetings happened, are there notes to document what was discussed?
 • Regarding prospecting, has it been done consistently over time and not just rushed to complete X number of cold calls by Y date? What
types of research was conducted to identify sales suspects? Did the salesperson reach out to each qualified prospect at least three
times? Did they use a blend of mediums, vs. just sending three emails? Was the correspondence personalized and not generic?

By factoring in KPIs relating to excellence in sales process, if 2022 turns out to be another tough year for demand you can still reward effort.
Alternatively, if 2022 brings a windfall of revenue from pent-up demand you will ensure that salespeople go beyond meeting goals and instead
maximize every opportunity.

Anzac Appeal raises just 3% of target as street sales take a tumble

ByMichael Fowler
April 23, 2020 — 5.17pm
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Two days out from Anzac Day, RSL Victoria’s Anzac Appeal has raised less than 3 per cent of this year's original goal.
The appeal, an annual fundraiser to support war veterans and their families, normally gathers more than 90 per cent of
its funds via street sales of badges in the weeks leading up to Anzac Day.

RSL Victoria was hoping to raise $3.5m before the coronavirus pandemic hit, but has received $100,000 in donations.CREDIT:ROB GUNSTONE
With volunteers unable to sell badges this year due to social distancing restrictions, RSL Victoria has raised about
$100,000 in online donations.
Before the coronavirus pandemic RSL Victoria was hoping to collect $3.5 million this year – the 75th anniversary of the
end of World War II – having raised between $3 million and $3.5 million in previous years.

RSL Victoria chief executive Jamie Twidale said he would be "surprised if we end up around the $500,000 mark this
time".

"It's not looking great," Mr Twidale said.

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How to commemorate Anzac Day during the coronavirus pandemic
Anzac Day will look a little different this year with marches and services cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Here
are some ways to get into the Anzac spirit from home.
"We traditionally put so much effort into that face-to-face selling. The volunteers get so much out of it, they talk with the
community and get a real sense of meaning. This year we've obviously had to focus exclusively on the online campaign."

The Anzac Appeal goes towards crisis accommodation for at-risk veterans, financial assistance for families, employment
support and health and wellbeing programs.
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With this year's Anzac Day services cancelled due to social distancing rules, veterans and Australians who want to pay
their respects have been encouraged to do so on their driveways at dawn on Saturday.
Mr Twidale said amid the pressure of social isolation, particularly for elderly Australians, the RSL's services were as
important as ever.

He said while RSL Victoria had enough funding to maintain its existing services for veterans over the next year, new
programs would have to be wound back due to the Anzac Appeal shortfall.

"One for example is the professionalisation of our advocacy services. We were going to have more paid staff and less
volunteers, but those will be delayed until we recoup the money we've lost," said Mr Twidale, an Afghanistan veteran.

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He said online donations in other years normally contributed between $20,000 and $30,000 – a minor part of the Anzac
Appeal.

"When we pivoted in early March and said 'We'll have to do this differently this year', we've tried a few approaches. We
set that target of $500,000, which is probably quite optimistic, but I guess time will tell."

November's Remembrance Day fundraiser, RSL Victoria's other annual fundraiser, usually generates about half the
revenue of Anzac Day.

Mr Twidale is hopeful there will be an uptick in donations leading into Saturday.

"Money is important because it helps us deliver services, but commemorating – especially in this year, where things will
be different – is also very, very important. We want to make sure that doesn't get forgotten."

Along with the 'Driveway at Dawn' initiative, Mr Twidale said the RSL was encouraging Australians to call a veteran on
Anzac Day to "Say g'day, thank them for their service and have a chat".

A pre-recorded dawn service will be played on TV and radio at 6am on Saturday. Badges are also available for purchase
at Woolworths supermarkets.

enerational clash at RSL Victoria over whether to quit

pokies business
Club leadership grilled at state conference about merits of using gambling revenue to fund veterans’ welfare services
Lisa Martin
@LMARTI
Sat 6 Jul 2019 08.00 AEST
•
•
•

62

W hile the supermarket giants and AFL clubs are pulling out of the poker machine business, Victoria’s Returned

Services League branch is not following suit yet – despite a push from some veterans and declining gambling revenue.
At the 104th RSL Victoria state conference in Melbourne, there was a heated generational showdown between the the league’s top
brass – predominately ex-Vietnam servicemen – and younger veterans who served in Iraq, Afghanistan and East Timor.

A day after Woolworths announced it was offloading its pokies and pubs business, the RSL leadership faced questions about the
merits of gambling revenue as a way to fund veterans’ welfare services.
Former army captain Dave Petersen, who served in Afghanistan, seized on the recent moves by Woolworths, Coles and some
Victorian AFL clubs to quit the pokies business.

“Maybe we could speak to Geelong Football Club to figure out how they divested from poker machines instead of buying poker
machines off them,” Petersen said.
Victorian gambling changes won't work without ad bans and tax increases, experts warn
Read more

The North Melbourne Kangaroos pulled out of pokies in 2008, and the Melbourne Demons have vowed to do the same by
2022. The Geelong Cats and the Western Bulldogs have also signalled that they are getting out of the business and Collingwood
Magpies sold two pokies venues last year.
The RSL Victoria state president, Robert Webster, said there had been significant debate on the matter at an executive level.

He said RSL Victoria’s 52 gaming sub-branches produced $11m a year towards welfare services compared with $6.8m from
fundraising appeals.

Webster acknowledged the need to move away from gaming because revenue from it was declining. He said the organisation was
looking to diversify its income stream but declined to make a specific commitment to divesting.

“At the moment, they are providing money that we don’t have, to help veterans,” he said.

Petersen said was buoyed by Webster’s comments, noting that it was the first time RSL Victoria had used language like that in a
public space.

“It’s the start of the end from our perspective” he said.

“Other boards are making the decision to divest, and what will happen when the RSL acknowledges that it’s socially irresponsible,
and unacceptable to operate poker machines as a charity, our … position to sell those assets will be greatly diminished.”

Petersen said pokies were ruining the lives of many young veterans.

“I know a veteran who put $300,000 through the pokies at the Altona RSL. The Altona RSL had assisted him to get a [veterans]
pension and a payout from the veterans affairs department.”

It’s understood the league must find $68m to pay the state government for pokies licences between 2020 and 2032.
The 52 RSL sub-branches that have gaming operations are contracted to continue them until at least 2032, the league said in a
statement.

Lucas Moon, a young veteran in the group pushing for reform, was upset that RSL Victoria had scuttled a proposed veterans hub at
a site in Collingwood, after being offered 100-year peppercorn rent from a local council.

The proposed hub included employment, health, psychological, legal and social inclusion services.

The state conference was told that no independent feasibility study or business case had been prepared before the management
knocked the idea on the head and pulled out of the expression-of-interest process.

Webster told the conference the management had relied on an engineering report, which estimated a $4m to $7m outlay to make
the property habitable and that the process could be long, difficult and full of unknowns.

There were risks RSL Victoria was not prepared to take, he said, adding that other sites were being considered.

A spokeswoman for RSL Victoria said: “Our role at RSL Victoria is to ensure the continued viability of the RSL in Victoria, and part
of this is making sure that we have continued revenue streams that will fund the operation of the RSL for another 100 years.”

All bets are off. We say no to gambling advertising across the Guardian.
A parliamentary inquiry into online gambling harm has recommended a phased, comprehensive ban on online gambling
advertising within three years. The Guardian already rejects gambling ads. Our journalists have reported on the devastating impacts
of the gambling industry for individuals, families and society at large, and the correlation between exposure to gambling advertising
and increased risk of engaging in gambling is well documented.
The gambling industry has grown rapidly in recent years and the advent of 24/7 betting apps on smartphones has placed high
stakes gambling machines in almost every pocket. A greater risk of gambling addiction and financial ruin is just a few clicks away.
We’re committed to offering world-class journalism in an environment free from potentially harmful advertising. If you can help
us replace the revenue that we will lose each year, please give once from as little as $2, or better yet, power us
every month with a little more. Thank you.