Booking experiences online significantly boosts the average spend, finds Journey

It can increase the average spend by up to 95%

Data collected by Journey in the Stay for the Story white paper confirms a paradigm shift: experiences are taking precedence over the room itself and becoming a growth driver that extends beyond the hotel room. 

By making experiences such as spa treatments, dining, activities, and additional services visible and bookable online, hotels are generating significant additional revenue. 

The platform estimates that establishments applying the same business discipline to experiences as to rooms see higher average spend, greater customer loyalty, and improved marketing effectiveness. This approach structures the purchasing journey around value, not just the room itself.

Specifically, Journey observes that adding extras at the time of booking, such as a spa pass or a pet supplement, generates an average of 16% more immediate revenue. 

When guests can customise their stay with experiences (spa, dining, amenities) directly during the checkout process, the average spend can nearly double (up to 95%). The challenge for travel professionals is to showcase and enable the booking of experiences at key moments in the customer journey, when the intention and willingness to spend are highest.

This strategy addresses pressured margins, caught between rising costs and continued reliance on OTAs. 

"With margins under pressure, hotels can no longer rely solely on the room to drive performance ," explains Simon Bullingham, CEO of Journey. 

"Our data shows that when experiences are treated as revenue-generating products, not just bonuses, hotels see measurable gains in average spend, repeat spending, and marketing effectiveness." 

Simon Bullingham advocates a structured approach and emphasises the need to drive the experience through inventory: "What isn't managed doesn't sell, what doesn't sell doesn't get optimized, and what isn't optimized can't scale." 

Hotels that industrialize the monetisation of their experiences tend to capture growth, even in a challenging environment.

The wellness sector, the white paper explains, particularly illustrates this phenomenon. Establishments selling rooms and spa services see their average spend increase by 44%. 

Making spa inventory bookable online also boosts advertising effectiveness, with the return on advertising spend increasing from 13 to 30.

The document also cites the potential for additional revenue from restaurants and gastronomy, coworking opportunities, and inclusive pet-friendly services. 

More broadly, positioning the hotel as a destination, leveraging local activities and craftsmanship, fosters engagement, conversion, and differentiation, aligning with evolving customer expectations.

Establishments wishing to activate these levers will therefore have to change their paradigm and implement this evolution in internal processes: offer online inventory, connect systems and reduce friction for customers.