Upselling for hotels: how to increase revenue across the guest journey

Upselling for hotels means encouraging guests to choose a higher-value option than the one they originally booked, such as a better room, package, service or experience. In hospitality, the term is often used together with cross-selling because many offers during the stay are extra services rather than direct upgrades. The best results come when the offer is relevant to the guest, easy to understand, available at the right moment and simple to accept.

What is upselling in hotels?

Upselling is the activity of selling a product or service in a higher category or at a higher price than the customer originally chose.

In practice, you upsell when you offer a superior room to a guest who booked a standard room, a better wine to a guest who ordered the house wine, or a package with additional benefits to someone who selected the basic option.

Basically, upselling is a paid upgrade.

In hotels and accommodation businesses, the word is often used in a broader way. Many offers are not pure upgrades, but extra services added to the stay. For example:

• breakfast added to a room-only booking
• parking added before arrival
• a spa treatment booked during the stay
• a transfer from the airport
• late check-out
• a local experience or activity
• flowers, wine or a welcome package in the room

Strictly speaking, these are often examples of cross-selling, because you are selling something additional rather than a higher category of the same product. In everyday hotel work, however, upselling and cross-selling usually belong to the same strategy: increasing the value of a reservation by offering something useful at the right moment.

Why is upselling important for hotels?

Upselling should be part of every hotel’s sales strategy for two main reasons:

1. It increases revenue

When you upsell, you are selling to someone who has already chosen your property. The most difficult step, convincing the guest to book with you, has already happened.

That makes upselling different from acquiring a new booking. You do not need to win the guest from scratch. You need to show them that a better room, a more convenient service or an additional experience can make their stay more comfortable, easier or more memorable.

A guest who has already booked a room may be open to paying more for a sea-view balcony, private parking, a spa slot or a late check-out. The extra cost feels smaller because it is compared with the stay they have already chosen.

For this reason, better upselling can increase the revenue generated by each reservation without depending only on higher room rates or new demand.

2. It improves the guest’s perception of quality

Look at the booking from the guest’s side. They have just chosen where to stay, often after comparing many options across websites, portals and reviews. That decision can be tiring.

Once the booking is made, additional offers can feel different. The guest is no longer choosing between dozens of properties. They are deciding how to make the stay they already booked better.

Two things matter here: comparison and personalization.

A superior room may not feel like “€160 per night.” It may feel like “€20 more than the room I already booked.” A bottle of better wine may not feel like “€25.” It may feel like “€8 more than the bottle I had in mind.”

At the same time, the offer can make the stay feel more personal. A transfer, a massage, a birthday setup or a local experience shows the guest that the stay can be adapted to what they want.

This is why good upselling should never feel like simply adding charges. It should feel like giving the guest a better version of the stay they already chose.

When should hotels offer upsells?

There are specific moments in the guest journey when upselling works better. At those moments, the guest is more likely to understand the offer, focus on the value and make a decision without feeling interrupted.

The most important moments are:

• before arrival
• at check-in
• during the stay
• after a service has been used or before the next stay

Pre-stay: after booking and before arrival

The pre-stay phase is the period between booking confirmation and check-in. It is one of the most useful moments for upselling because the guest is already thinking about the trip.

They may still need transport, parking, breakfast, activities, spa treatments, restaurant reservations or special arrangements. If your offer helps them prepare the stay, it does not feel like a sales interruption.

A pre-stay message can include one specific offer or a short selection of extras. The key is to keep the communication useful. Arrival information should remain clear, and the upsell should not bury the essential details the guest needs before coming to the property.

A few rules help:

• offer only a small number of relevant options
• personalize the proposal based on the booking
• make sure the offer is actually available
• show the price clearly
• make the next step simple

For example, do not ask the guest to calculate the difference between room categories. Say what changes and what it costs:

Upgrade to a superior room with sea-view balcony for €20 more per night.

For a deeper focus on this phase, you can read our guide to pre-stay upselling in hotels.

Check-in: when the guest has arrived

Check-in is a classic upselling moment. The guest has arrived, the trip is becoming real and the stay is about to begin.

This can be a good time to offer a room upgrade, breakfast, parking, late check-out or a service that improves the stay immediately. But the front desk has little time and the guest may be tired, distracted or in a hurry.

That is why the offer has to be clear and concrete.

A weak check-in upsell sounds like this:

Would you like to upgrade to superior for €20 more?

A stronger version explains the difference:

We have a superior room available for your stay. It is larger than the standard room you booked and has a sea-view balcony. It would be €20 more per night.

The guest should understand immediately what they gain and what they pay.

In-stay: when the guest is already using the property

In-stay upselling happens during the stay, after the guest has arrived. This is a particularly valuable phase because the guest is already present, more familiar with the property and often more interested in improving the experience.

At this stage, the best offers are often practical or experiential:

• spa treatments
• restaurant offers
• room service
• late check-out
• local activities
• bike rental
• wine tastings
• wellness packages
• family services
• parking extensions
• partner experiences

The guest may not have been ready to buy these before arrival. But once they are on site, the offer can feel more relevant. They have seen the property, understood the location and started imagining how to spend their time.

In-stay upselling also has fewer of the problems of check-in. The guest is not necessarily standing at the desk with luggage in hand. They may see the offer from a QR code, Wi-Fi login, guest app, WhatsApp message, email, in-room material or front-desk suggestion at a quieter moment.

Wi-Fi login and digital touchpoints

The first login to the hotel Wi-Fi can be a useful digital touchpoint. The guest wants to connect quickly, so the message has to be short. This is not the place for a long list of services.

A simple message works better:

Late check-out available tomorrow from €25. Ask reception or book from your guest page.

The same logic applies to QR codes, guest apps and digital service pages. They should not become long catalogues that nobody reads. They should help guests find and book the most relevant extras quickly.

Digital service access has become more familiar to travelers. In an Oracle Hospitality and Skift survey, travelers said they wanted several services popularized during the pandemic to remain available, including contactless check-in and check-out, contactless payments and access to guest services from mobile. This supports the wider point: guests increasingly expect useful digital options during the stay, especially when they save time or make the experience easier.

Post-stay and return offers

Upselling does not have to end when the guest checks out. After the stay, the goal changes: you are no longer selling an immediate extra, but encouraging the guest to return, book direct or choose a higher-value package next time.

Post-stay communication can include:

• thank-you messages
• return-stay offers
• loyalty incentives
• seasonal packages
• birthday or anniversary messages
• direct-booking benefits
• offers linked to a service the guest enjoyed

This works best when the message is based on the stay. A guest who used the spa may be interested in a wellness package. A family that booked during school holidays may respond to a future family offer. A couple who stayed for a weekend may be more interested in a short-break package than a generic discount.

Which upselling offers work best in hotels?

The best upsell offer is not always the most expensive one. It is the one that feels relevant, easy to understand and worth the extra cost.

Useful hotel upselling offers include:

• Room upgrades: larger room, better view, balcony, suite, premium amenities.
• Breakfast and dining: breakfast add-on, half board, tasting menu, picnic basket, room service.
• Arrival and transport: airport transfer, parking, early check-in, luggage service.
• Comfort extras: late check-out, minibar package, flowers, wine, celebration setup.
• Wellness: spa access, massage, private sauna, yoga session, wellness package.
• Local experiences: tours, museum tickets, tastings, bike rental, activities with partners.
• Family services: crib, children’s equipment, family package, babysitting where available.
• Business services: meeting room, workspace, faster Wi-Fi, printing or private transfer.

A good upsell should answer a simple question for the guest:

Does this make my stay easier, better or more personal?

If the answer is not clear, the offer will feel like a random add-on.

How should hotels propose an upsell offer?

In upselling, the way you present the offer matters as much as the offer itself. The guest should understand the value quickly and feel free to say yes or no.

Limit the number of choices

Too many options create confusion. In most cases, one to three offers are enough.

If you show three options, use them carefully:

• a basic option
• a better-value middle option
• a premium option

This helps the guest compare without being overwhelmed. For example:

• keep the standard room already booked
• upgrade to a superior room for €20 more per night
• upgrade to a suite for €60 more per night

The goal is not to pressure the guest. It is to make the difference between options easy to see.

Focus on the difference, not the full price

The guest already has an anchor: the room, package or service they booked. Use that anchor to explain the upgrade.

Do not focus only on the total price. Focus on what changes:

For €20 more per night, you get a larger room and a sea-view balcony.

This is clearer than listing every feature of the superior room or asking the guest to calculate the difference.

Personalize the offer

A generic offer is easy to ignore. A relevant offer feels helpful.

If the guest booked a standard room, offer the next suitable category. If they booked a family stay, suggest family-relevant services. If they are arriving late, parking or a simple dinner option may be more useful than a spa package.

Personalization does not need to be complicated. It just needs to show that the offer fits the booking.

Use real availability

Do not offer what you cannot provide. “Based on availability” weakens the offer and can create frustration if the guest accepts and you later have to say no.

If a superior room, massage slot, transfer or late check-out is not available, do not promote it. Upselling works only when the guest can trust the offer.

Use urgency carefully

Scarcity can help when it is real. For example:

Only two superior rooms are still available for your dates.

Or:

This upgrade price is available until 48 hours before arrival.

But false urgency damages trust. If every offer is “only today” or “last chance,” guests will stop believing you. Use urgency only when it reflects a real operational limit.

Add a small extra when it helps

A small extra can make the offer easier to accept. For example, a room upgrade can include a welcome drink, a late check-out can include a breakfast discount, or a wellness package can include a small gift.

The extra should not hide the main offer. It should make the decision feel more worthwhile.

Use reviews or guest proof

If previous guests often mention a room view, breakfast, spa or local experience in reviews, use that proof. It helps the guest imagine the value before buying.

For example, an upsell email for a superior room can include one short review line about the balcony or view. A spa offer can mention that it is one of the most requested services during weekend stays.

How can hotels make in-stay upselling more effective?

In-stay upselling works when the offer is easy to notice, easy to understand and easy to buy.

That means your touchpoints matter.

Redesign guest folders and brochures

Many guest folders and brochures look like shopping lists. The best services are reduced to a name and a price, with little reason to care.

Rewrite them around the guest experience. Instead of:

Bike rental – €20

Try:

Explore the lakefront by bike. Half-day rental available from €20.

The service is the same. The value feels clearer.

Make physical touchpoints more attractive

A table in the lobby, an in-room card or a small display near reception can work, but only if it catches attention and gives the guest a reason to stop.

You can make these points more useful with:

• a small selection of local products
• a QR code to book services
• a short explanation of the most popular experiences
• a staff member who can answer questions
• materials for families or children
• visible examples of partner experiences

The goal is not to fill every corner with offers. It is to make the most relevant offers easy to discover.

Use QR codes and guest pages

A QR code can lead guests to a page with extra services, practical information and available experiences. This saves them from searching across different websites and gives your property more control over the recommendations they see.

This can include paid services, such as spa, transfer, tasting or bike rental, and useful information, such as Wi-Fi, parking, check-in details, restaurant opening hours or local tips.

The page should be simple. If the guest needs several clicks to understand what is available, the opportunity is lost.

Ask for feedback in real time

A guest who has just enjoyed a service may be open to a related offer.

For example, if a guest liked a massage included in a package, they may be interested in another wellness treatment. If they enjoyed a wine tasting, they may be interested in a local food experience. If they appreciated early check-in, they may ask for late check-out.

The key is timing. Ask while the experience is still fresh, and keep the suggestion natural.

How can technology support hotel upselling?

Technology cannot make a weak offer attractive. But it can help you send the right offer at the right time and make it easier for the guest to accept.

The most useful tools help you:

• identify guests who may be interested in specific services
• automate pre-stay and in-stay messages
• show available extras in a digital service catalog
• avoid offering unavailable services
• track which offers are viewed, clicked or booked
• connect upselling with guest communication
• reduce manual work for the team

This is especially useful when the hotel has many possible services but limited staff time. Without a system, upselling depends on whether someone remembers to mention the right offer at the right moment. With a clearer workflow, offers can be linked to the guest journey.

For example:

• a pre-arrival message can include parking, transfer or breakfast
• an in-stay message can promote spa availability or local experiences
• a QR code can show bookable services from the guest’s phone
• a post-stay message can invite the guest back with a relevant package

The goal is not to automate every interaction. It is to make relevant offers easier to manage and easier for guests to buy.

Upselling works when it feels like a better stay, not like an extra charge. A room upgrade, a service, a package or a local experience should arrive at the right moment, with a clear price and a reason that makes sense for that guest.

That is why the strongest hotel upselling strategies follow the guest journey: before arrival, at check-in, during the stay and after checkout. Each moment has different opportunities, and each one needs the right message, touchpoint and level of personalization.

With Smartness, you can connect guest communication, extra services and digital touchpoints in one workflow. Smartconnect helps you present relevant offers before, during and after the stay, while a digital marketplace makes services easier for guests to discover and book.

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