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Since launching our extras system years ago, we have continued to add features in an effort to maintain its position as one of the best in the market for the many advantages it offers in terms of increasing your average booking value and differentiating your direct channel from the OTAs.
We have analyzed data from the thousands of establishments that take advantage of the potential of our extras system, and here are our conclusions:
- While on average 13% of customers add extras to their room booking, there are chains that, thanks to their maturity in terms of the sale of extras, have increased this as far as 22%.
- While the average value of extras purchased is €15, among hotels of the same category (stars), customers with the best value proposition double the average amount.
- The sale of extras has generated 1.71% incremental revenue for hotels. This figure is even higher in establishments with a lower average price, reaching 2.70% in hotels in the 1 and 2 star categories. Where chains are concerned, the percentage increases to 6%, reaching 23% in the case of the best-selling chain.
Every hotel, hostel or apartment has something to offer its customers in addition to rooms. It’s a question of imagination, hard work and trying to minimize the impact on your operation.
In this article we have compiled all the functionalities of our extras system; a system that will allow you to easily configure a differential proposal and increase your average booking value.
Create the optimal price in order to be both competitive and attractive.
In order for an extra to be offered, quantified and charged correctly, and for your extras strategy to run smoothly, you need to choose the right type of price for each extra. This is a combination of two variables:
- Price type
- Per person. Eg.: tickets to shows, spa access, etc. with the option of configuring them so they are automatically assigned to all the people who constitute the booking (cancellation insurance, for example) or to allow the user to select the number of people for whom the extra is desired (e.g. spa access, which can be chosen only for a certain number of guests).
- Per room. Eg.: arrival services, late check-out… these will be assigned to as many rooms as there are in the booking.
- Per booking. Eg.: car rental, parking, personal shopper …
- Quantity
- Per night: everything that is charged multiplied by the number of nights booked. E.g: extra bed, regime upgrade, room with view supplement, car rental… are all offered for all the nights included in the booking. The customer can reduce this amount, but not increase it.
- Once-off, when it is not dependant on the number of nights in the booking, e.g. tickets, spa access, late check-out, personal shopper…
Configure availability to suit your operation
This can be configured so it’s always active or apply only to a specific date or range of dates, every day during the stay, or to stays with a specific check-in or check-out.
In addition to ensuring control of your extras, this will allow you to modify prices according to demand in order to maximize revenue.
Apply filters and restrictions as required
Control precisely which extras are offered according to the characteristics of each booking:
- Allows you to allocate extras by room type, occupancy, regime, rate and/or special offer.
- You can make each extra available for bookings with a minimum stay, a maximum stay and/or subject to a certain amount of prior notice.
Free of charge? As an extra it will get more exposure
There are certain products or services that, while you don’t charge for them, you need the user to indicate that they require them, for example, a cot, or emphasising the advantages of booking via the official website. These are perfect for offering as extras at zero cost, that way the user who wants it will add it to their booking.
Differentiate your direct channel by creating unique packages
An extra may be charged at its usual price or, additionally, you may give it away (include it) as part of a special offer. In the “Offers” section of the extranet you should mark the offer that includes an extra. This offer will then apply the established price and ignore the extra.
In addition, you can offer loyalty club benefits in the form of extras. These can be offered to all members, to a certain type of member, discounted, or free of charge.
Configure your extras to make them attractive
Having a successful extras strategy requires, on the one hand, having a clear understanding of your value proposition, defining what to offer and how to market it, and streamlining operations as much as possible. On the other hand it is important to be imaginative in its creation and detailed in terms of content and images. Our system will help your extras have the impact they deserve, but it is up to you to ensure that the content is attractive and differentiating.
Create your extras in the “Extras” section of the extranet main menu:
- Texts: In addition to the name of the extra, you can use a subtitle as a means of indicating a good reason to purchase the extra (don’t repeat words you have used in the name!). In the description you should be able to entice the customer by making the extra more attractive and convincing. If you wish, you can add restrictions and/or special conditions (“small print”).
You can include these texts in the 23 languages that our extranet allows.
- Image: Our system includes a large library of images, so you can choose the one that best reflects the benefits of your extras. You don’t have to worry about the rights to use the images, that has already been taken care of. If you need to include your own exclusive image(s), you may do so.
You can change the order in which extras are displayed to your customers, based on those that work best.
Once they have been uploaded, check (from a user perspective) how they are displayed in your booking engine and assess whether they are sufficiently attractive. Our system displays the extras to the user once the room has been chosen, on a dedicated page, with any unnecessary complexity eliminated.
We facilitate your operations by automating communication.
In an effort to assist you with the challenge of speeding up the process of preparing or delivering extras to your customers, we generate an email that is automatically sent to the person responsible for this, whether it is your hotel’s internal staff or an external supplier. This way you will be notified when a new purchase or cancellation of an extra occurs.
And all information relating to your extras, accessible on the BI
With our Business Intelligence system you can see in detail, with a single click, how your extras are performing and evolving, thereby allowing you to make better decisions and optimize their performance. The system allows you to analyze:
- KPIs: Revenue generated, units sold, average revenue.
- Year by year performance of these ratios and what percentage the extras represent of total sales.
- Explore the sale of your extras broken down by month.
- In the case of chains, broken down by hotel.
- Analyse each extra by month of issue and month of stay.
- In-house and external extras.
- Visualise their evolution graphically.
All this information is updated in real time in order that you may measure the performance of your extras, rethink, if necessary, what is offered or how it is offered, and make quick and effective decisions on how to optimize your extras strategy.
Need some inspiration? Here are our top 10 extras sales
What are customer preferences regarding extras? Here are the most popular options in this ranking:
- Parking
- Regime upselling
- Details on arrival: fruit basket, minibar, bottle of champagne……
- Experiences: golf, fitness or yoga sessions, boat excursions, bike rental…
- Gastronomy: wine and/or tapas tastings, gastronomic welcome gift in the room…
- Spa & Wellness
- Transfers
- Romantic: flowers, cocktail or romantic gift pack, candles…
- Additional services: pillows, nanny service, travel insurance, late check-out…
- Pets: Snacks, dog bed, etc.
And from there, well, let your imagination run wild! The range of options designed to surprise or make life easier for your guests is infinite.
No extra charge
Our extras system has no additional cost. You pay your usual commission for in-house extras, and we do not charge commission for extras offered by third parties.
How to activate extras
If you need help or are unsure where to start, just ask your account manager to clarify your doubts and/or help you create extras. Get started now!
