Why Guests Who Are Shopping Online Still Call Prior To Booking – And What To Do About It

Sponsored By Travel Outlook and Track Hospitality Software

Register your team and participate live, or view the recording, of Doug Kennedy’s next 40-minute training webcast scheduled for Friday, April 17, at Noon ET. Register Here 

“Lodging leaders across all sectors may be noticing that while voice channel bookings continue to drop, the number of actual calls continues to hold steady,” says Kennedy. “That’s because those who are shopping online often call with questions prior to booking.” Too often, untrained staff simply provide polite answers. As a result, these callers book through expensive third-party channels, or worse yet, book a different property.

 Because KTN provides remote call scoring assessment services, each month KTN’s quality team accesses and listens to recordings of real calls recorded in various cloud-based platforms, providing a unique opportunity to identify what real-world callers actually say and ask. Whereas such conversations used to start with “Hi, I need to check rates for these dates…,” today’s callers more typically ask specific questions that obviously indicate they are seriously considering a future booking. Here’s a chance to have Doug train your staff on how to recognize that these questions are opportunities for conversations that put a human imprint on your brand logo, create positive first impressions, and result in confirmations. Topics include:

– Who ARE today’s callers and WHY does anyone still call when they can so easily book online?

– What does it feel like to be a guest who is shopping online these days?

– Has the proliferation of online images, reviews, and distribution channels made the researching and purchasing of lodging more stressful, not less?

– How are AI-powered searches worsening a sense of “choice overload?”

– What are some simple things voice reservations (and even front desk) staff can say and ask to convince shoppers to book now vs. going back online?

Recordings of previous webcasts are available on KTN’s YouTube channel and are now also being distributed on your favorite podcast channel or on KTN’s Spotify channel.

Everyone who registers for this and all KTN webcasts receives a link to the recording, even if they cannot attend. The 40-minute format is perfect for “lunch and learns” or excerpts can be shared at staff meetings. The target audience is anyone who is interested in upskilling themselves or others, and the topic areas are broad enough to be relevant for all sectors of the lodging industry.

“We are grateful to the generosity of our sponsors who have allowed us to offer complimentary admission,” said Kennedy. “It takes a lot of time to design, promote, and deliver these events, and so we would normally charge a registration fee, but this series is now completely free to all.”

Sponsors include: Travel Outlook, the only KTN Certified call center, Track Hospitality Software, whose products include a Track PMS and Pulse reservations CRM.

Complimentary registration can be accessed at www.KTNwebcast.com. Here are the additional topics scheduled so far. 

Intentionally Communicating The Vibe Of Hospitality

Friday, May 22 (Noon ET)

REGISTER HERE 

Whereas previous KTN webcast topics have often covered a philosophical approach to hospitality excellence, this month Doug will dig into the interpersonal communications habits that can be used daily to communicate the vibe of hospitality. Whether engaging with guests, coworkers, or internal customers, these tangible, real-world suggestions will help exude their aura of 5G Positivity.

– Proxemics and kinesics.

– Wordless communication speaks silently but loudly.

– Vocalics and paralanguage can convey more than actual words.

– Telephone hospitality essentials.

– Communicating hospitality textually.

– The language of hospitality.

– Listening loudly, with intention. 

Advanced Reservations Sales Skills: Maximizing Rates & Overcoming Objections

Friday, June 19 (Noon ET)

REGISTER HERE 

Given increasingly complex revenue and pricing technology and methods, today’s reservations sales agents have to offer and explain fast-changing rates and availability restrictions to the best-educated and most savvy consumers ever. This webcast helps reservations sales agents present and defend rates, along with other “levers” revenue leaders use to optimize revenues in the era of dynamic pricing algorithms. Sales tactics covered include:

– A better way of explaining why rates change according to demand and why rates are higher during periods of high occupancy.

– How to “downsell” when the last remaining accommodations during high demand are lower-tier, less-desirable options.

– How to “upsell” when the last remaining accommodations during high demand are top-tier, possibly larger or higher-priced options than what was originally requested.

– Explaining mid-stay rate variance.

– What to say when the rates have gone up by the time they call back.

– Overcoming objections to minimum stays when the caller cannot extend their dates.

– Favorably framing discounted rates.

– Avoid offering discounts when they are not requested or needed.