Pearson New International Edition International pcl tp indd 1

MODERN FRONT OFFICE ISSUES AND TACTICS
Upselling the Hard Way
Even more so than in the past, today’s consumers want to know if the room rates they are
paying make sense so that they can judge value. Consumers understand that a hotel’s most
elegant suite costs more than the same hotel’s smallest room. They may not know, however,
why an executive king costs more than a standard king. Hoteliers may know the fine dif-
ferences in room types; most consumers do not.
When various room types are created for legitimate reasons, upselling a guest from a
lower-priced to a higher-priced room type becomes the job of the front desk agent or reser-
vations agent. Consider, however, the following all-too-real exchange that can occur when
front office staff do not know the differences between the hotel’s designated room types.
Desk agent:
Mr. Anthony, I see that you have reserved a king room for tonight; would
you like to upgrade to an executive king for only $15 more?
Guest:
Well, I might be interested. What’s the difference between the two rooms?
Desk agent:
As far as I know, it’s $15.
All front office employees must be well trained to understand and appreciate the actual dif-
ferences between the hotel’s designated room types. If they do not, their upselling ability
will be ineffective.
Hotel guests, like all consumers, appreciate having choices. Revenue managers
can increase RevPar by working hard to promote and, in some cases, to create alter-
native room types. For example, assume that Loni is an FOM at a hotel constructed
with 250 virtually identical rooms. The only discernible difference in room types at her
hotel are bed type (king versus double), and the guest’s smoking preference. The ADR
for her hotel is approximately $125. In this situation, it might appear that the ability of
Loni and her front office staff to upsell is limited. In fact, Loni, with the approval of
her general manager, has created a special room type that is available on weekdays.
Targeted toward business travelers, the program consists of selected nonsmoking