Swedish Hotel Rival has increased its upsell tenfold in just three months, and it's no coincidence. Due to staff shortages, inflation and high interest rates, more and more hoteliers are using technology to upsell and generate revenue outside of the rooms. The market-leading cloud service for the hotel industry, Mews, has analyzed the financial development of the hotel industry during the summer of 2023 (June, July and August).

Short seasons, high labor costs and labor shortages underscore the need to streamline and digitize hotel operations. This is known at Hotel Rival in Stockholm.

Hotels increased their additional sales significantly

The hotel industry is coping with staff shortages and short seasons by diversifying its revenue. One in five hotels in the Nordic region sells parking spaces and meeting rooms in addition to overnight stays. This strategy generates an average of €4,981.81 more per month. Hotels using this approach can also sell their facilities to local residents and businesses, especially during the low season.

One example is Hotel Rival, a private boutique hotel in Stockholm, which has significantly increased its upsells by partnering with Mews and Oaky. In just three months, their upsells at the front desk increased tenfold.

”Everyone on our team is now motivated to sell more to give our guests a great experience. We want our guests to be happy when they stay at Hotel Rival. Mews is the foundation that allows us to connect to integrations to manage all parts of our hotel operations, from upselling to pricing and guest payments. It has saved us a huge amount of time across the board and allows us to focus on our guests,” says Jesper Sandberg, Revenue and eCommerce Manager at Hotel Rival.

He adds: ”One example is the incredible results we’ve seen right from the start when we used Mews and Oaky to enable our front desk staff to sell more effectively. Guests staying in higher room categories tend to be happier, and we’ve seen an increase of 358 % in upsell revenue in the first month of this integration and 683 % in the second month.”

Nordic expansion

Mews currently has a market share of 9% of the total hotel capacity in the Nordics and works with more than 200 hotels in the Nordics, including Strawberry and Best Western. Mews helps hoteliers streamline and rationalize operations, transform the guest experience and create a more profitable business. Short seasons, high labor costs and labor shortages underline the need to streamline and digitize hotel operations. Mews wants to strengthen the growing hotel industry and enable hoteliers to deliver and focus on exceptional guest experiences.

”We see hoteliers across the Nordics embracing innovation and digitalization, which is having a huge impact on their business. From increased occupancy to increased revenue, the path to optimization lies in data. We are committed to continuing to expand our presence in the Nordics to help hoteliers deliver exceptional experiences to millions of guests every year,” says Matt Welle, CEO of Mews.

Financial development of the hotel industry

Mews has analyzed five key areas for hotels and provides a status of the industry's health in summer 2023: occupancy, average daily rate (ADR), revenue per room (RevPAR), online check-in and upsells, and bookings of other parts of the hotel. And the results show that the travel market is doing well, hotel occupancy in the Nordics in summer 2023 was 59 %, up 2 % compared to the previous year, and the highest booking rate occurred in August. The analysis also shows that:

• Travelers are increasingly taking advantage of the convenience of online check-ins and upgrades: 11 % of guests checking into hotels in the Nordics used online check-in this summer. Those who upgraded during online check-in spent an additional €40 upgrading their booking, mainly to include breakfast and late check-out. 14 % of guests checking in online chose to skip daily cleaning and plant a tree instead, in line with the Mews x Hotels for Trees initiative.
• Consumers defied rising prices and traveled as usual during the summer of 2023: ADR and RevPAR saw clear positive movements despite only a 2% change in occupancy compared to summer 2022. ADR increased by 5% year-on-year to an average of €130.72, partly but not only due to inflation. RevPAR increased sharply by 10% year-on-year to €79.85, including an average of almost €30 higher in June compared to the previous year.
• Revenues beyond those for rooms are an excellent diversification strategy: 20% of hotels sell bookable spaces and services to guests and visitors and generate revenue as a result.

According to the press release.