Tips to increase bookings through the Call Center

Content in collaboration with our partner thinkIN, which provides hotels with a comprehensive solution to efficiently manage their customer service and booking operations.

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The hotel industry has changed radically in recent years, and the customer service area has been gaining the importance it has for the business. Not so long ago, what was known as central reservations was the department that accumulated a huge volume of inbound and outbound calls, and the focus of these communications was neither on customer experience nor on conversion.

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Research, training, new technological advances and, above all, the awareness that good customer service increases conversion, give this area a leading role in the business today.

A powerful Call Center

One of the advantages that all this evolution has brought is the ability to take advantage of "last minute" sales, those that have a short lead time (last minute bookings). With the amount of stimuli that people receive nowadays, it is essential to have a service that can clarify doubts and, ultimately, turn a concern into a sale. A well-informed customer is more likely to finalize a reservation.

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Successfullast minutemanagement maximizes occupancy, increases revenue, attracts last minute travelers, who may then return for repeat stays, and promotes loyalty. 

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Another of the possibilities of having an empowered Call Center is the ease with which it can successfully transmit, in one call, all the benefits of superior products, which leaves a wide range of options for upselling.

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The client sometimes has doubts about what he really wants to book, or if what he is booking fits his needs. You have to probe these needs, identify them, and know how to help them to book one type of room instead of another.

This often translates into higher-value bookings, optimizing hotel resources, but also customer loyalty. In addition, upgrades and additional services often have higher profit margins than basic rooms.

Upselling allows you to personalize the customer experience according to their needs and desires, creating a perception of exceptional service.

Positive experiences, especially those enhanced by upselling, are more likely to be shared among friends, family, social media, stories and comments. When customers feel that they are being served in an exclusive way, they consider it a valuable experience.

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Tips to boost your Call Center 

Currently, there are hotel chains and independent hotels in which the Call Center generates more than 35% of their direct sales. But how to achieve such a high share of voice distribution, these tips will be useful:

- Training and retention: Investing in training is a sure way to increase conversion. The agent trained in hotel content, quick to respond and trained in objections, achieves triple the results of agents who are not. Turnover is a dangerous sign to take into account, as it requires investing more time in training and results worsen. It is mandatory to create a good working environment, and incentivize agents.

- Long-term strategy: There is no magic wand to help achieve immediate results. Setting a strategic plan for five or even more years, in which the Marketing and Revenue departments participate, will be vital to achieve an increase in sales in this channel. There is no point in improvising.

- Technological functionalities: Technology is one of the most important aspects that impact conversion. The possibility of automatic price matching, sending quotes, call classification, etc. are fundamental mechanisms to close bookings and avoid leakage to other channels.

- Voicebot & Mailbot: How many of the calls are actually a sales opportunity? Probably more than 60% of the traffic received are calls from customers who need information or need to modify or cancel their reservation. The use of artificial intelligence is making it possible to resolve these types of calls automatically, making it easier to optimize and put the focus on what is really important: conversion.

In conclusion, by integrating these elements, hotels not only see an increase in their direct sales, but also improve customer satisfaction. The Call Center thus becomes a fundamental pillar of direct sales.

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thinkIN and customer service

thinkIN, a Roiback partner, offers a boutique service that ranks among the best rated in the national market. The close collaboration between thinkIN and Roiback provides unbeatable expertise for the enhancement of direct sales.

It has an international, multidisciplinary and versatile team that can adjust to any type of scenario within the industry. With multilingual agents, prepared, professional and mainly with a vocation towards customer service. The combination of personalized attention, expert product knowledge, use of advanced technology, effective sales strategies, focus on continuous improvement and a motivated and committed team allows it to offer a superior telephone booking service that not only meets but exceeds the expectations of all its customers.

Contact your DCS now to learn more about our Call Center solution. Call Center solution and don't miss the opportunity to earn more with your bookings.

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