While many hotels have focused attention in recent years on helping reservation agents convert inquiry calls into bookings, most hotel managers still seem to be overlooking numerous other opportunities their front-desk staff encounters every day.

One opportunity is the walk-in inquiry.

Depending on your market segment and especially your location, walk-in sales can represent a significant distribution channel. With hotels in North America heading into the busy summer leisure travel season, most of which still happens by automobile, the timing is great for those who are looking to eke out a little more topline revenue this year.

Unfortunately, most hotels today do a less than adequate job of selling to walk-ins. Typically, the car pulls up out front and someone gets out; sometimes it's the mom, sometimes it's the dad, sometimes it's the 13-year-old kid who is sent in. Regardless of who it is, they all ask the same question: "How much are your rooms?" All too often associates simply say "$99 a night," without inviting the inquirer to stay or building rapport by engaging them in small talk, let alone any mention of value-added benefits.

As any sales professional knows, the worst mistake you can make in any type of sales is quoting a price without demonstrating value. All to often, this leads to the common response of, "Let me check with my spouse outside and I'll be right back."

When you stop to consider it, the walk-in sales opportunity provides the hotel with some significant advantages over other distribution channels, so in theory, front-desk staffers should be extremely successful at converting walk-in inquires. One advantage we have in fielding walk-in inquires is that the salesperson can visually evaluate guests' needs and wants. Are they dressed as if on a business trip or on vacation? What is their age demographic? Are they traveling alone or with family? What is their level of commitment: in other words, do they park the car and walk in with luggage or do they just run in to find out the price?

A second advantage is that the walk-in sales prospect can see the product firsthand and is able to formulate a first impression. (This is a reminder of why it is critical for hotels to maintain curb appeal.) Perhaps our biggest advantage is that it takes more effort for the walk-in prospect to continue shopping around-it's much harder to get back in the car and drive on than it is to hang up the telephone and dial the next hotel phone number on the list, or to click the next online travel-booking site.

Here are some tips for training your staff to capture more walk-ins this summer:

• Connect with the customer. Fundamental guest-service principles will help you gain a competitive edge in any sales scenario, and especially with walk-ins. Greeting guests as they approach the desk before they greet you, establishing eye contact, smiling and using positive body language will set you apart from competitors. Make sure your staff doesn't inadvertently depersonalize the interaction by staring blankly as they utter "Checkin' in?" or even worse "May I help the next guest?"
• Offer a menu of options. Depending on your inventory of rooms and packages, you'll want to offer several choices when possible. For example, you might offer a traditional room and an executive-level room, or a nonview and view room; or a room option and a suite. Or perhaps your options include a room-only rate and a "package" option including breakfast and/or dinner. By offering a menu of options, the guest is moved along to a decision-making process based on: "Which accommodation option should I choose?" versus "Should I stay here tonight or keep looking?"
• Use colorful language to "paint the picture." Common industry terms like "standard room" and "continental breakfast" do little to entice guests. Instead, help them take psychological possession by fully describing the furnishings, views, special-access lounges, and/or food-and-beverage presentations. Remember to use the knowledge gained from reading the guest to point out features that might provide a specific, value-added benefit. For example, be sure your staff notifies business travelers if your rates include complimentary local calls. Hotels offering specialty rooms or suites should also provide front-desk staff with photos to show prospects.
• Offer to show the room. Just as the new General Motors marketing campaign encourages the "24-hour test drive" to get drivers behind the wheel so they can take "psychological possession" of the product, once we get a walk-in to actually "walk into" our accommodations, generally their level of commitment will increase significantly. Ideally, a front-desk person or bell staff member can show the room and along the way give them a quick property tour and provide area information. Even if you are a smaller property and have only one or two people at the desk each shift, consider setting aside one room in each category just to show and providing prospects with a one-time access key to go look at the room themselves.
• Avoid positioning last-sell or higher rated options in the negative. Hotels generally experience the most walk-ins during periods of peak demand, which also is when they tend to have the least options remaining. Typically, the last remaining options for same-day walk-ins are either the highest-rated options, such as suites and executive/club floors, or the least-desirable rooms, such as those with restricted views, are next to the elevator shaft or are over the cocktail lounge. Without proper training, front-desk staffers inadvertently position these options in a negative way by saying, "All we have left tonight are our _______ rooms," making them sound overpriced or simply just not worth it. Instead, train your staff to use the limited availability to create a sense of urgency by saying "Fortunately, we still have some options for you." Or "Oh good, we still have our _____ rooms left tonight."

In addition to training the front desk to utilize these and other sales techniques, it's also important to measure the results both individually and on a department-wide basis. If your property-management system allows, assign a special source code to walk-ins. Otherwise, create a form to manually record your staff's productivity if necessary.

Of course, you'll also want to challenge everyone's competitive spirit by posting the results, celebrating your success at monthly meetings and by implementing an incentive when the goals for the number of walk-ins per week and month are exceeded.

By employing the basic sales training and development principles at the front desk, your property can position itself to outsell the competition and capitalize on opportunities your associates encounter every day from this summer's last-minute travelers.

Doug Kennedy, president of the Kennedy Training Network, has been a fixture on the hospitality and tourism industry conference circuit since 1989, having presented over 1,000 conference keynote sessions, educational seminars, and on-premise training workshops for diverse audiences representing every segment of the lodging industry. Visit www.kennedytrainingnetwork.com for details or e-mail him at: doug@kennedytrainingnetwork.com.