I take pleasure in sharing with you something that, chances are, you’ve never seen before.
The image below (left) shows part of a reservation confirmation for an add on sale at the Thavorn Beach Village Resort.
OTA BOOKINGS BRINGING CUSTOMERS DIRECTLY TO YOUR OWN WEBSITE
So, what’s so unusual about that? I hear you ask.
Well, at least three things. And I am not even talking just about the dates of stay (visible on the second image on the right), showing the reservation for when most of the rest of the world is still in some form of shut-down.
The Unusual Stuff
First, the above purchase was made a few days before the guests’ arrival at the hotel, and a few days after the holiday was originally booked.
How did this happen? Well, the guest booked their holiday and, in the background, UP2 did its job. Our systems picked up the reservation record, and based on a number of hotel-defined parameters (room type booked, rate plan booked, dates of stay booked, etc. etc.), we selected the content most likely to convert and we sent it to the guests in a targeted, stay-specific, personalised message, asking them if they wanted to consider doing more with their holiday. Just like a quarter of all people that see e-mails from this hotel, they did!
Second, the booking was originally made from Agoda! UP2 can discern reservations from third party channels, and for those that share a method of communication between hotels and bookers (like Agoda, Bookings.com, Expedia etc.) we could contact them. UP2 knows how to use temporary e-mail addresses and open a dialogue with your guests, directly in the OTAs’ platforms! From there it prompts the guest to come directly to you, and customise their stay on your website – including making additions to their reservations; just like the breakfast offer you see above.
“It is exactly because we are small that we know what it means, when the rug is pulled from under your feet”
The third extraordinary element, and a source of personal pride for me, is that this reservation cost nothing to the hotel. Since March 2020, Upgrade2 has opted to completely remove fees to all its existing customer hotels and to all new customers alike, until at least the summer of 2021. And let me be clear about this: we are most definitely not made of money. It is exactly because we are small, that we know what it means for the rug to be pulled out from under your feet. We wanted to materially, truly help as best we could. We believe that there is no industry like our industry, where the saying that ‘we are all in this together’ applies more. Asking for hotels to pay us – or accumulate debt – in this environment felt wrong. So, we don’t do it.
So, these are just some of the reasons why I think you have never seen before a reservation like the one depicted above.
We are UP2. If you wanted to be part of our story, we would love to hear from you. You can get in touch with us on here for Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn.
With best wishes, and stay strong,
The UP2 team