The Travel Guide To Upselling And Cross-Selling

The Travel Guide To UPSELLING AND CROSS-SELLING As more travel and hospitality websites make optimizing and personalizing the booking experience a priority, an interesting question emerges: How and when should upsell and cross-sell offers appear? A LOOK AT THE TRAVEL AND HOSPITALITY BOOKING FUNNEL To figure out when and where to offer upsell and cross-sell offers, it's critical to know how much time travelers spend in the purchase funnel. HOW MUCH TIME DO TRAVELERS HOW FAR IN ADVANCE DO TRAVELERS SPEND RESEARCHING THEIR TRIPS? BOOK THEIR TRIPS? 23.9% 1 Day 3.9% 26.9% 2-6 Days 8.6% 20.6% 1-2 Weeks 17.1% 12.1% 3-4 Weeks 19.5% 8.5% 1-2 Months 24.9% 5.6% 3-5 Months 19.5% 2.5% 6+ Months 6.5% TIMING AND TYPE OF BOOKING IMPACT UPSELL AND CROSS-SELL INTEREST All trips aren't created equal. Travelers also have varying levels of upsell and cross-sell interest based on the type of trip or mode of transportation they're booking. Are Travelers Interested in Additional Service or Upgrade Offers? 19% 13% 16% 19% 11% 24% 35% 35% Airlines Hotels/Lodging Car Rentals Never interested Rarely interested Sometimes interested Often or always interested Always interested When and Where Do Travelers Want to See Ancillary Offers? There's no silver bullet when it comes to displaying upsell and cross-sell offers. Rather, there are subtle differences in offer preferences that marketers should understand and leverage to make sure upsells and cross-sells hit the right visitor at the right time. 63% 70% 63% During shopping After making shopping choices, but before booking 44% 45% 45% Just after booking 26% 21% 16% 23% 22% 16% 29% 26% After booking, but before trip departure 14% During trip departure or check-in Airlines Hotels /Lodging Car Rentals THE SMARTPHONE AND TABLET IMPACT Shifts in technology mean shifts in marketing strategy. Case in point: Smartphones and tablets also impact travelers' interest in upsell and cross-sell offers. Desktop Smartphone Tablet 7% 8% DEVICES USED TO PLAN TRAVEL 86% Devices Used to Plan Travel by Trip Frequency 000 6% 6% 10% 10% ' Desktop Smartphone Tablet 89% 82% 79% 1-2 trips per year 3-5 trips per year 6+ trips per year Interest in Ancillary Offers by Device 12% 13% 12% 11 Desktop Smartphone Tablet 74% 77% Airlines Hotels/Lodging Car Rentals 3 WAYS TO MAKE SURE UPSELL AND CROSS-SELL OFFERS RESONATE AND DRIVE BOOKINGS 2 Review metrics. The likelihood a traveler will spend more depends on their position in the purchase funnel and other variables. Look for opportunities to display specific offers at specific times to specific visitors based on their trip, preferred mode of transportation, and device. Look for new ways to display upsells and cross-sells. Throughout the purchase funnel, create innovative ways to get visitors to engage with ancillary offers. For instance, displaying upgrade options while travelers are choosing their seats during booking can be an effective way to expose Don't upsell and cross-sell everyone. Context matters: A visitor who is planning a trip to Las Vegas would likely be interested in deluxe package offers that include fine dining. Meanwhile, a traveler heading to Sioux City might not expect or want to be upsold, as the trip is more likely for a functional purpose (family gathering, etc.) than a getaway. more visitors to the offer and drive additional revenue. monetate Follow @monetate on twittery SOURCE: PhoCusWright 25% %S% 28% 33% 29% 73%