When it comes to selling extra services and experiences, many hoteliers and property managers make the same mistake: they imagine complicated offers, major investments, and a total overhaul of their operations.

But is that really the case?

No! A great example comes from Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, which in 2024 enabled more than 4,000 small affiliated properties to start selling extras.

What did they sell? Nothing complicated—just early check-in and simple F&B services.

How did they sell it? With an automatic message sent to the guest’s phone a few days before arrival.

The result? About half of the participating properties recorded an average increase of $1,500 per month in revenue from extra services.

This was reported by Skift—one of the most trusted publications in the travel industry—to illustrate one of its 2025 Megatrends: hospitality businesses are increasingly moving beyond just selling rooms, diversifying their revenue with add-on services.

But how do you actually sell effectively?

It’s not enough to just “offer something” at check-in or overload guests with flyers. You need to deliver the right offer, to the right person, at the right time. In other words: you need a strategy.

Targeted marketing and suggestive selling: what they are and why they work for your property

Two of the most effective sales strategies for your property are targeted marketing and suggestive selling.

Targeted marketing: segment your guests to sell better

Targeted marketing is based on a simple principle: not all guests are the same, and not everyone responds to the same offer in the same way. Segmenting your guests—grouping them by shared traits like location, spending habits, booking behavior, or trip type—lets you offer them more relevant content and promotions.

Some practical examples:

• Segment by location: For international travelers, offer an airport transfer. For locals, highlight your gourmet experiences.
• Segment by travel date: Send an Easter offer only to those who stayed with you during Easter last year. (If you'd like to learn more about using discount codes, you can read our article dedicated to how to attract hotel bookings with email marketing and discount codes.)
• Segment by spend: Identify your high-spending guests and offer them premium packages like in-room massages or private tastings.

Suggestive selling: offer at the right moment

Suggestive selling means offering an upgrade or add-on at the moment when the guest is most likely to say yes. It’s not about being pushy. It’s about meeting your guest’s needs at the right point in their journey and adding real value.

Examples include:

• A few days before arrival: Send an email offering a welcome package (wine, chocolates, flowers) to have in the room upon arrival.
• During the stay: Leave a QR code in the room linking to a page with next-day experiences.
• The day before departure: Send a message offering a discounted late check-out—perfect for guests with late flights.
  

To see tangible results, both of these strategies need to be applied simultaneously.

Targeted marketing helps you understand who might be interested in a specific offer. Suggestive selling helps you deliver that offer at the perfect moment.

Using both together not only increases your revenue per stay, it also boosts how guests perceive your service. They’ll feel heard, valued, and cared for. And that leads to stronger loyalty, more positive reviews, and more repeat bookings.

How to present your extras and experiences effectively

The days of brochures on the desk, printed spa menus, and bulletin boards at reception are long gone.

Today’s guests are used to searching for information online and booking with just a few clicks, any time of day, from any device. That’s why, if you want your extra services and experiences to be seen (and actually purchased), you need to present them in a modern, accessible way that is fully integrated into the guest’s stay.

The ideal solution? A dedicated page on your website that works like a mini e-commerce shop, with a dedicated space for each service: images, clear descriptions, pricing, and a simple booking or inquiry option.

A perfect example is the Marketplace included with our Smartconnect subscription, shown in the sample screenshot below.

The Marketplace is a personalized web page featuring your logo, where you can promote not just your in-house services, but also local experiences, tips, and information tailored to your guests.

All you need to do is share the link via email, WhatsApp, or QR code in the room, allowing your guests to browse your offerings and book instantly—whenever it’s most convenient for them.

How to use Smartconnect for targeted marketing and suggestive selling

Smartconnect goes far beyond helping you promote services via the Marketplace. It automates your entire sales strategy—from contact segmentation to suggesting personalized emails and WhatsApp messages.

Here’s how Smartconnect helps you sell the right service, to the right guest, at the right time in just 3 simple steps.

1. Smartconnect segments your guests for personalized communication

The first step to selling smart is knowing your guests. With Smartconnect, there’s no need to manage complicated spreadsheets manually. The software integrates with your PMS, imports guest data, and automatically segments your contacts based on the available information.

The result? Clear guest groups with shared characteristics, such as:

• Nationality and language
• Length of stay
• Booking channel
• Apartment/hotel booked (for multi-property setups)
• Total booking value
• Cancellation policy
• Profile data (other reservation details)

This phase is essential for targeted marketing. It allows you to identify the right guest segment and gather enough data to move on to the next steps: deciding which service to offer and when to offer it.

2. Smartconnect suggests relevant offers for each segment

Once your audience is segmented, Smartconnect suggests personalized offers for each group—so you don’t bombard the wrong guests with irrelevant promotions. Let’s look at three practical examples.

Segmented by nationality: airport transfer

An airport transfer service isn’t useful for every guest—it only makes sense for international travelers flying into your region.

In this case, it’s crucial to have a message or email ready to go a few days before check-in. With Smartconnect, once you’ve segmented by geography, the software creates the message for you.

On the left side of the example screenshot, you can see: the service (Transfer), the target audience (guests from the U.S.), the timing (2 days before check-in).

On the right, you’ll see the ready-to-send email copy.

Segmented by length of stay: wine tasting

A 6-night stay gives you much more room to offer extra experiences than a short weekend break. It’s the perfect opportunity to suggest a wine tasting, excursion, or special dinner.

With Smartconnect, you can automatically schedule a personalized offer to be sent mid-stay—when guests are settled, relaxed, and more open to trying something new.

In the example screenshot below, the software recommends offering a wine tasting (available in the Marketplace) only to guests staying more than 5 nights. The suggested send time: two days after check-in.

Segmented by spend: discount on a premium service

A guest spending over €2,000 on their stay expects a little extra attention. This makes them the perfect audience for an exclusive offer—such as access to the spa (or a high-value treatment) with a personalized discount.

With Smartconnect, you can easily automate this type of message, ensuring it's only shown to guests who meet specific spending criteria.

In the example screenshot, the selected product is the spa package, and the offer is sent two days before check-in to guests with bookings over €2,000.

The email copy is ready to send and highlights the guest’s value while conveying a sense of exclusivity—thanks to the use of a personalized discount code.

3. Communicate at the perfect moment, automatically

As shown in all previous examples, Smartconnect also recommends the best time to send your offer based on the type of service and the profile of your target audience.

You decide whether to follow the software's suggestion or modify and reschedule the message to match your operational needs.

This makes it incredibly easy to apply the principles of suggestive selling, sending the right offer at the right moment, thus boosting your chances of conversion.

If you want to unlock the full potential of email marketing to increase your revenue—without adding extra work—Smartconnect is the platform for you.

And that’s not all. By using the full Smartness platform, you’ll be able to roll out an integrated growth strategy in just a few clicks.

From dynamic pricing to marketing, from upselling and cross-selling to guest communication and market analysis, Smartness helps you hit every growth goal with less effort.

Want to see how it works?