Grow your independent property’s revenue in 10 easy ways

With a good revenue management strategy in place you should see an organic growth in your revenue, but if you want to increase that revenue even a bit more then these tactics might be worthwhile to test at your property. Perhaps you grow this revenue through ancillary revenue, revenue generated by other services and offerings outside of your rooms, or by investing in new common areas, target markets, or rooms.

Packages & POS items

Did you know that 15% of guests buy extras or POS items at the time of the reservation and an additional 2% will add some after receiving an email campaign? Guests are also five times more likely to add them when booking seven to 21 days in advance too!

Make it easy for guests to tailor their experience and add a bottle of wine, flowers, or chocolates to their stay. You can add a small upcharge to these items and can easily offer POS items that you can buy in bulk and store for longer periods of time to always have on hand.

Gift certificates

Let your guests share the joys of staying at your property with their friends and family by offering gift certificates in your booking engine. This is a great way to drive additional revenue as you can specifically market these around gift-giving holidays, like Christmas, Valentine’s Day, birthdays, anniversaries, and more!

Immediate discounts

If a potential guest calls over the phone with a few questions, offer them a 5 – 10% discount for booking directly over the phone or with a promo code in your booking engine so they don’t go back to an OTA after hanging up with you and ending up costing twice as much to acquire as a guest.

You can also do this with exit intent technology tools or pop-ups to encourage immediate and direct reservations through your online booking.

Gift shop

Even if your property isn’t big enough for an actual storefront, you can always offer branded merchandise that’s kept at the front desk or in an office to drive revenue and increase brand awareness. You could offer coffee mugs or champagne flutes that display a logo, robes, souvenirs, or even cook books if you’re famous for your breakfasts.

Specific/themed promos

Have a concert or special event coming up in your area? Write blogs about it and create packages around it to capture people’s attention and encourage them to book a special offer. You can also tie promotions into specific holidays or sport seasons like the NHL, NFL, or MLB, where guests could get an upgrade to a room with a better TV, a gift card to the local sports bar, or credits for a Lyft or Uber ride so they can get to/from the game.

Restaurant

Have space in or your near your property? If you have the resources and staff, you could always invest in a restaurant at your property to keep guests on-site longer for more meals or even market to your region’s residents to drive year-round, non-guest revenue.

Winery

Similar to operating a restaurant, if you’ve got a winery on-site you should be offering wine tastings as extras or winery weekend packages to your property to entice guests.

Extended stays

If you’re located in a busy metro area, offering extended stays for business travelers or guests visiting family or friends in long-term care or the hospital. Typically, these guests will need additional amenities like kitchenettes, laundry facilities on-site or nearby, and a living area for more space.

Internet marketing

To maximize your online revenue, you need to be bringing website visitors to your site in the first place and investing in Internet marketing is a great place to start. Many marketing agencies can assist you in optimizing your website with the right keywords, content, and Calls to Action, to get people to your site and encourage them to convert.

Agencies can also help you with email marketing to drive revenue during need periods or to promote your gift certificates, manage your social media profiles, and run your online advertising like Google AdWords or Bing Ads.

Offline relationships

Finally, another way to grow your revenue, albeit a slower one, is to work on offline relationships with other companies in town. See if you can leave business cards or brochures with the whitewater rafting company down the street or if you can add a link to your site as a recommended place to stay on the local golf course’s website.