Tips to prepare for hotel peak call season
The voice channel isn’t just another booking option. It’s a driving force for direct revenue. The fact is, 30% of customers across all age groups — including those tech-savvy younger generations — still prefer the personal touch of a phone call. And voice channel reservations average an impressive $1,570 in value. It outperforms every other booking method, making it crystal clear why you can’t afford to miss a single ring.
With fall foliage trips, winter ski adventures, and holiday travel plans on the horizon, call volumes are about to surge. Are you ready to make the most of this opportunity? Or are you at risk of missing out on valuable direct bookings and potential revenue?
Read on for five essential tips that will help ensure that you’re primed to optimize your voice channel efforts during the upcoming peak call volume season.
Tip 1: Monitor your metrics
One crucial metric to track is pace. This refers to how your bookings stack up against your goals or previous years. It’s like taking your property’s pulse to give you a real-time health check on your reservation flow. Monitoring your pace is important because it can help you spot trends, anticipate needs, and make smart decisions about staffing, pricing, and marketing.
Booking window is another important metric to monitor. You may know that on average, booking windows are shorter than they were in 2023, with over half of hotel reservations made within a week of travel. But while knowing industry trends is important, it’s more important to understand your property’s specific data. Knowing when guests typically book reservations for your property can give you insight into when to staff up your call center.
In addition, focus on past seasonal call volume spikes and identify which calls are most likely to convert during peak periods. For instance, you may notice annual late-fall surges in calls about New Year’s Eve availability or winter activity packages. Use these insights to prepare your reservations team by conducting targeted training sessions on efficiently handling high call volumes and effectively upselling seasonal offerings, such as complimentary New Year’s Eve champagne toasts or bundling ski passes with room reservations. This will help you maximize booking capture during these critical high-demand periods.
And don’t forget about those marketing campaigns. Let’s say you’re running a Winter Wonderland package complete with lift tickets, equipment rental, shuttle service, and special après-ski amenities. You’ll expect to see a flurry of related calls, right? Keeping a close eye on this helps ensure that your team is appropriately staffed and well-prepared to turn curious callers into confirmed guests.
If all of this talk about tracking data and metrics leaves you feeling a bit overwhelmed, this is where a voice-based lead management solution can really come in handy. The right solution can help you track these key metrics and boost voice channel performance for optimal results.
Tip 2: Watch your abandonment rate
Picture this: It’s 3:00 p.m., check-in is in full swing, the lobby is buzzing, and phones are ringing off the hook. Like many properties, your front desk staff may double as your reservation team. Calls go unanswered because your staff is too busy juggling check-ins, late check-outs, and everything in between. During these peak times, your call abandonment rate likely climbs.
This abandonment rate isn’t just a statistic; it’s potential revenue walking right past your front door, or in this case, hanging up the phone. Every missed call is a missed opportunity. It could be a quick question that would have led to a week-long booking or a chance to impress a future loyal guest. When potential guests can’t reach you, they may just dial the hotel down the street instead.
As we move into peak call volume season, you’ll likely find yourself fielding twice as many inquiries about availability or holiday packages. Without proper preparation, your abandonment rate could skyrocket. To tackle this, you need a solid game plan.
Consider setting up an overflow call system. A solution such as Revinate’s RezForce ensures no call goes unanswered, maximizing your booking potential and capturing revenue that might otherwise be lost. Thompson Seattle, a US-based property looking for solutions to reduce call wait times and increase customer service, realized a 50% call conversion increase after bringing on a skilled call center team. The 50% of calls that did not convert still offered an opportunity for second-chance bookings, and Thompson Seattle drove an additional $7,000 in revenue per month from them.
By addressing your call management issues, you’re not just improving metrics — you’re opening the door to increased bookings, enhanced guest satisfaction, and, ultimately, a stronger bottom line.
Tip 3: Follow-up calls lead to second-chance bookings
Here’s an eye-opening stat: 64% of callers don’t book on their first call. That’s nearly two-thirds of potential guests needing a bit more time or convincing. Are you capturing their information for second-chance bookings? If not, you’re likely leaving money on the table.
Consider a traveler calling about your Fall Foliage & Fairways Package. She’s interested but wants to check with her travel companion first. A well-trained reservation team will capture her contact details and note specific points discussed during that first call. This information becomes invaluable for personalized follow-ups. Without it, the potential guest may slip away to a more proactive competitor.
Now, you may be thinking, “I don’t have time for manual, personalized follow-ups!” This is where automation can really benefit you. Once your team records key information from initial calls into customer profiles, you can set up an automated email sequence:
- Hour 1: Send a thank you email for the guest’s interest.
- Day 2: Highlight a property aspect aligned with the guest’s preferences.
- Day 3: Offer a limited-time discount to encourage booking.
Rich guest profiles also transform your database into a powerful marketing tool that can actually boost call volume. Imagine your marketing team sending out an email blast to all potential customers who made ski season inquiries. Suddenly, phones are ringing with eager callers looking to lock in that special rate mentioned in the email.
As you gear up for peak call season, make certain your lead follow-up game is strong. Because nurturing these connections can turn maybes into definite bookings, making a significant difference in your revenue.
Tip 4: Plan for staffing shortages
The hospitality industry’s labor shortage continues to challenge hotels and resorts. In addition, you’ve likely experienced situations where you’re in the midst of peak season, with calls pouring in, and suddenly, your star reservations agent calls in sick. Or maybe you’re short-staffed due to team members taking some well-deserved vacation. Either way, you’re left scrambling.
As you head into your busiest season, you need a flexible staffing strategy that lets you adapt at a moment’s notice. This is where an on-demand contact center such as Revinate’s RezForce can be a real lifesaver. U.S.-based RezForce agents aren’t just call handlers; they’re an extension of your team, managing overflow and after-hours calls 24/7/365 with an impressive 99% booking accuracy rate. These pros go beyond just booking rooms, however. They capture valuable lead data for second-chance bookings and help grow your marketing database, truly maximizing your voice channel potential.
Tip 5: Elevate every guest interaction
Our final tip brings us to the heart of our industry: The guest experience. When preparing for peak season, it’s tempting to focus solely on answering calls and booking rooms. But here’s the thing: Every interaction with a potential guest is a chance to showcase your property’s unique charm and build lasting connections. But, how do you maintain a high-touch experience when outsourcing calls?
You need a partner who breathes your brand, not simply recites a script. Take RezForce agents, for example. They truly become part of your reservation sales team, taking the time to know your amenities inside out, understand your local area, and embrace your property’s voice, ensuring consistency in every call.
Imagine you run a quirky boutique known for its playful vibe, RezForce agents won’t simply rattle off room types. They’ll be able to chat about your themed suites with the same enthusiasm as your on-site staff. Or when a caller asks about your spa services, they won’t just confirm its existence – they’ll be able to highlight your signature treatments, mention current promotions, and share interesting tidbits about your locally sourced products.
When reservation agents have command of the facts about your property, that mastery of detail makes earning bookings easier. Consider the success that The Marker Key West Harbor Resort and Southernmost Beach Resort experienced with skilled agents. The property achieved a 40.3% voice call conversion rate, increased average stay value by over 10%, and earned $4.9M in revenue.
For luxury properties, RezForce takes it up another notch. They offer agents trained in Forbes Travel Guide’s 5-Star certification standards who can deliver top-tier, white-glove service that makes your high-end guests feel like royalty before they even arrive.
RezForce agents understand that each call is an opportunity to create a lasting impression. Their high standards ensure you’re not just handling peak season – you’re creating guests for life.
Make the most of hotel peak call season
As peak call volume season approaches, remember that preparation is key. By utilizing these tips, fine-tuning your strategies, and leveraging solutions such as RezForce, you won’t simply survive the busy season – you’ll thrive in it.
Are you ready to turn those rings into reservations?
About Revinate
Revinate is a direct booking platform that leads the hospitality industry in driving direct revenue and increased profitability.
Our products and our people combine to give hoteliers the superpowers they need to crush their goals. With Revinate, hoteliers shift share away from OTAs and drive tangible results across an individual property or a portfolio. Our industry-leading, AI-powered, customer data platform collects, unifies and, synthesizes data giving hoteliers a foundational advantage.
Hoteliers gain critical intelligence – guest lifetime spend, stay preferences, ancillary revenue, and more. With our Rich Guest Profiles database, hoteliers don't need to guess who their most profitable guests are, or how to drive conversions across email, voice, messaging, and digital channels.
Revinate's direct booking platform and omnichannel communication technology powers 900+ million Rich Guest Profiles across 12,500+ hotels to drive over $17 billion in direct revenue.
Sanjana Chappalli
VP of Brand Marketing and Communications
Revinate, Inc.
