Every interaction with a guest is an opportunity to increase revenue. Mastering the art of upselling hotel rooms can transform an average stay into a memorable experience for your guests while significantly boosting your bottom line. Whether you're a front desk agent, a hotel manager, or part of the reservations team, this guide will walk you through the most effective strategies, scripts, and psychological triggers to help you upsell with confidence—without ever sounding pushy.
Sell Premium Rooms, Don’t Give Them Away
Loyalty programs often entice members with free upgrades to premium rooms, but those suites and executive rooms are high-margin assets—why gift them when guests are willing to pay? When it comes to supply and demand, hotels operate the complete opposite way to the rest of the world. To maximize profitability, hotels must capitalize on every opportunity. Driving incremental revenue across multiple touchpoints is essential.
Train staff to pitch the value (e.g., Since you are here for a romantic getaway, can I recommend a corner suite with a stunning city view?) Listening to why the guest is visiting can give the clues your team needs to tailor offerings and add real value.
Maximize Hidden Revenue Through Strategic Room Assignments
Often, high-value rooms are given away at standard rates simply because their potential is overlooked. Room assignment plays an important role in revenue optimization, yet many hotels fail to implement a structured approach to room sales. It’s important to categorize rooms based on desirability—factors like floor level, view and convenient locations. By pricing upgrades effectively, hotels can generate additional revenue without added operational costs. This is a commonly missed upsell opportunity. Not all standard rooms hold the same value—a deluxe room near the spa or pool, for instance, offers greater convenience and a more relaxing ambiance than one next to a service elevator. Guests will pay a premium for hidden selling points that hotels often overlook.
Economic Impact: A 10% increase in premium room sales at an ADR premium of $50 could boost revenue per available room (RevPAR) by $5-$10. For a 200-room property, that’s an extra $300,000 annually.
Lower Online Rates Strategically, Then Upsell on Arrival
Discounted online rates can fill rooms, but the real win lies in converting those bookings into higher spend. Guests lured by a deal are often open to upgrades once they’re on-site: remember that emotions often lead them to spend more.
Drop base rates on online travel agencies (OTAs) and your website by 10-15% to boost visibility and bookings. Pair this with a pre-arrival email offering a low-friction upsell (e.g., Upgrade to a balcony room for just a few dollars more). At check-in, arm staff with scripts and visuals (tablets showing room photos) to seal the deal.
With 30 years of industry experience, FPG has tested and refined specific dialogues for countless scenarios. “When we recommend specific scripts to use, it’s because we’ve used them hundreds of thousands of times,” Geoffrey Toffetti, CEO Frontline Performace Group says. After observing top and low performers repeatedly, one thing is clear: FPG knows which dialogues work.
Economic Impact: Filling 20 additional rooms nightly at a discounted $100 rate, with 25% upselling to a $130 premium, adds $600-$800 in daily revenue. Over a year, that’s $200,000-$300,000 in incremental income.
Incentivize Front Desk Staff to Drive Conversions
Your front desk team is the face of these upsell efforts. Motivated staff can turn a check-in into a revenue opportunity, but they need ‘skin in the game.’ “It’s no secret that the hospitality industry struggles with staff turnover, especially at the front desk,” says Toffetti. “Without proper incentives and career progression, employees become disengaged, leading to missed revenue opportunities.”
So roll out a tiered incentive program—e.g., 8-10% of premium room upsell revenue generated, 5-10% of service bundle revenue, with monthly recognition for top performers. Pair this with training on consultative selling (e.g., Guests love the spa package—it’s a great way to unwind after travel).
Training and tracking results can be done at the touch of a button with FPG’s tools in IN-Gauge which is specifically designed to optimize hotel front desk program implementation and operations. “Hotels that implement a performance-based program can retain top talent and outperform competitors,” says Toffetti.
Economic Impact: A 15% uptick in upsell conversions from incentivized staff could add $100,000-$150,000 yearly at a mid-sized property, with minimal overhead, beyond the incentive cost.
Create Packages to Sell During High Occupancy
A common challenge faced by many hotels during peak occupancy is the belief that there’s nothing more to offer guests once the rooms are sold out. But, this assumption overlooks a goldmine of potential revenue. With all rooms booked, there is still an opportunity to enhance the guests' stay. That's where a simple idea comes to life: create a value-driven package. For eg., If your hotel has many business guests checking in, create a package that caters specifically to corporates.
The Solution: An On-the-Spot Revenue Opportunity
In a matter of moments, you could create a Business Package that includes the following:
✅ Parking: A key need for business travelers.
✅ $50 Room Service Voucher: Many business guests prefer the convenience of dining in their rooms after a long day of meetings.
✅ Printing Services: Up to $50 worth of printing at the hotel’s print shop—perfect for business needs.
This Business Package could be offered to business travelers for only $45, presenting them with incredible value. Upon check-in, staff could present this option:
"Mr. Jones, since you're here on business, we highly recommend our Business Package, which includes parking, a $50 room service voucher, and $50 worth of printing services—all for just $45. It’s a fantastic deal!"
The Impact: Shifting Mindsets and Creating Value
The results can be immediate and impactful. Not only will this upsell offer generate extra revenue, but it also helps shift the mindset of front desk staff. Initially, many may assume that business travelers would not want to purchase extras, thinking they couldn’t expense these services. However, after a few successful upsells, staff will quickly realize that business travelers, in fact, appreciate such packages for their convenience—and are often reimbursed by their companies for the cost.
This realization sparks a new enthusiasm among the front desk agents, empowering them to confidently offer packages to every business traveler.
The Bigger Picture: Leveraging Upsells Beyond the Basics
There could also be a similar opportunity with the executive lounge, which generally offers meals and drinks for a set price eg., $125 per day. Front desk teams may initially believe that business guests would not be willing to pay for this premium service, thinking they are only concerned with keeping costs down.
However, after some simple calculations, it is clear that for many business travelers, the cost of dining in the hotel restaurant could be more expensive than the lounge access. For example, breakfast at the restaurant cost $55, but the executive lounge offered several meals throughout the day for just $125. This not only saved the guests money, but also provided added value in terms of convenience, with access to all meals and drinks in one place.
The Takeaway: Always Be Ready to Upsell, Even When Your Hotel Is Full
1️⃣ Create Ready-Made Packages: Whether it’s a business package, a romance package, or a family offering, always have value-driven packages that can be easily offered to guests, especially during high occupancy.
2️⃣ Highlight the Value: When presenting these packages, emphasize how they save guests time, enhance convenience, and even help them save money.
3️⃣ Train Your Staff: Help your team understand that business travelers—and many other guests—are open to additional services that make their stay more comfortable. With the right training, they can sell these packages confidently.
4️⃣ Upsell for the Right Reasons: Remember, it’s all about providing a better, more convenient experience for your guests. When they see the value, they’re more likely to say yes.
By creating simple, value-driven packages and ensuring your staff is equipped to sell them, your hotel can generate revenue even when occupancy is at its peak.
Eliminate Time-Consuming In-House Upsell Programs
Many managers spend 30–40% of their time manually managing upsell initiatives, often without clear tracking or accountability—resulting in inconsistent outcomes. This manual approach is both time-consuming and inefficient. With FPG, hotels gain access to automated tools, audited data and expert guidance, eliminating the burden of manual upsell management. By streamlining these processes, managers can shift their focus to what matters: enhancing guest experiences and developing their teams.
Economic Impact: FPG’s program helps to maximize incremental revenue, fast, boosting RevPAR by 4+% with no CapEx.
The Bottom Line
Collectively, these strategies could lift RevPAR by 5-10% and ancillary income by 15-20%, delivering a $500,000-$1 million annual boost for a typical mid-sized hotel. More importantly, they position properties to thrive, not just survive.
If you'd like to join 2,500+ hotels worldwide using our program, or to learn more about our virtual and on-site development programs, find out more at www.frontlinepg.com or email us at discover@frontlinepg.com—we’d love to hear from you!
