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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Our Call Center for hotels has become one of the main sources of reservations for our clients. The hotel sector has changed radically in recent years, and the customer service area has been gaining the importance it has for the business. Not long ago, what was known as the reservation center was the department that accumulated a huge volume of incoming and outgoing calls, and the focus of these communications was not precisely on either customer experience or conversion.

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Research, training, new technological advances and, above all, the awareness that good customer service increases conversion, gives this area its current prominence in the business.

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A powerful Call Center

One of the advantages that has come with all this evolution of the call center for hotels, 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 today, it is essential to have a service that can clarify doubts and, ultimately, convert a concern into a sale. A well-informed customer is more likely to finalize a booking.

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A successful management of “last minute” maximizes occupancy, increases revenue, attracts those last-minute travelers, who may then repeat their stay, favoring loyalty. 

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Another possibility of having a boosted Call Center is the ease with which it can successfully convey, in a call, all the benefits of superior products, which leaves a wide range of options for the practice of “upselling”.

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Sometimes, customers have doubts about what they really want to book, or if what they are booking fits their needs. It is necessary to explore these needs, identify them, and know how to help them book one type of room instead of another.

This usually translates into a higher value booking, with optimization of the hotel's resources, but also into customer loyalty. In addition, improvements 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 through upselling, are more likely to be shared among friends, family, on social networks, stories, and comments. When customers feel exclusively cared for, they consider it a valuable experience.

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Tips to boost your Call Center 

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

· Training and retention: Investing in training is a safe bet to increase conversion rates. An agent trained in hotel content, quick to respond, and trained in handling objections, achieves triple the results of agents who are not. Turnover is a dangerous sign to consider, as it requires investing more time in training and results worsen. It is mandatory to create a good work environment and incentivize agents.

· Long-term strategy: There is no magic wand to help obtain 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 increased sales in this channel. Improvisation is not helpful.

· Technological functionalities: Technology is one of the most important aspects that affects conversion. The ability to match prices automatically, sending quotes, classifying calls, etc. are fundamental mechanisms to close reservations and avoid leaks to other channels.

· Voicebot & Mailbot: How many of the calls are really a sales opportunity? Probably more than 60% of the traffic received are calls from customers who need information or to modify or cancel their reservation. The use of artificial intelligence is allowing to resolve this type of calls automatically, thus facilitating optimizing and focusing on what is truly 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, Roiback's partner, offers a boutique service that places it among the best valued in the national market. The close collaboration between thinkIN and Roiback provides an unbeatable expertise to enhance direct sales.

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

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

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