PARSIPPANY, N.J.—Wyndham Hotel Group announced new efforts to deliver personalized, pre-arrival upgrade offers to guests at select hotels globally and, in turn, present hotel owners and operators with new ancillary revenue generating opportunities.
Part of a partnership with travel merchandising company Nor1, the effort is made possible thanks to Nor1’s eStandby Upgrade platform, which empowers Wyndham Hotel Group’s portfolio of hotels to offer individually customized, pre-arrival offers to guests—e.g. discounted suite upgrades—and, as a result, monetize premium inventory and services that may otherwise go unused.
“In providing this solution to our hotels, we’re ensuring that operators have one of the essential tools needed to maximize the revenue streams that stem from their premium offerings and room types,” said Kathy Maher, senior vice president of revenue management at Wyndham Hotel Group. “What’s more, we’re giving those same operators the flexibility to manage when and how upgrades are awarded, leading to meaningful guest interactions that inspire brand confidence and loyalty.”
Here’s how it works: once a guest makes a reservation at a participating hotel, the eStandby Upgrade platform automatically analyzes various data points to determine whether an upgrade should be offered and, if so, at what cost. The guest is then notified, either via the booking confirmation page or via the reservation confirmation email, of the upgrade opportunity and given a chance to purchase. If he or she does, the upgrade is conditional upon availability at check-in, meaning the guest pays nothing until he or she arrives at the hotel. Should a purchased upgrade not be available, the original reservation stands and the guest is not charged anything extra. Thus, guests are able to realize significant savings during times of lower occupancy while hotels are able to maximize revenue opportunities for their best offerings.
More than 20 Wyndham Hotel Group properties are already taking advantage of the eStandby Upgrade platform—including the Wyndham New Yorker Hotel in New York City, the Wyndham Hamilton Park Hotel and Conference Center in Florham Park, N.J., the Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort Bonnet Creek in Orlando, Fla., and the Shelborne Wyndham Grand South Beach in Miami, Fla. Over the course of the next three months, the company hopes that more than 500 of its managed and franchised hotels will explore the opportunity.
