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Sales & Marketing

Opinion Article

Reservations Reconfirmation Calls Present Opportunities To Build The Brand, Upsell, and Cross-Sell

As online bookings increase, the number of reservations inquiry calls decreases over time. Yet when you spend time at a busy front desk or in the reservations office, the calls continue to ring. Why? Many of those who book online still call the hotel directly to reconfirm their booking, especially if they originally booked at a third-party OTA website. Inbound reconfirmation calls occur more frequently at upscale hotels and destination resorts, where travelers are typically celebrating special occasions, traveling with large parties, and/or flying to their destinations. However, they also happen surprisingly often at all hotel types, including focused service.

Doug Kennedy
By Doug Kennedy, President of the Kennedy Training Network, Kennedy Training Network (KTN)
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Making Change Work: A Conversation with Ryan King on Hotel PMS Implementation and Leadership

This article is the first installment in The Implementation Playbook, a new Shiji Insights series examining the realities of hotel PMS implementations. Across five parts, the series will explore the leadership behaviors, operational structures, and on‑property practices that determine whether a technology rollout succeeds or struggles. This first article focuses on the foundational mistakes hotel groups commonly make, and what leaders can do to avoid them.

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Report

SiteMinder report reveals major shift in how travellers are researching their 2026 hotel stays

Online travel agencies (OTAs) have overtaken search engines as travellers' primary starting point for hotel discovery, according to SiteMinder's Changing Traveller Report 2026, released today. Twenty-six percent of travellers surveyed will now begin their hotel research on an OTA, up from 18% last year, while those who will start with a search engine have fallen to 21% from 36%.Word-of-mouth recommendations from friends and family have doubled from 7% to 14%, familiar hotel brands have grown from 3% to 7%, while AI use as a discovery starting point has reached 4%, up from 1% last year — rising higher among Gen Zs and Millennials.The hotel discovery landscape is more dynamic than it's ever been before. Not only is the starting point of research diversifying, but travellers are moving more seamlessly between channels, often using several simultaneously to build confidence in their choices. This non-linear journey has become the natural rhythm of modern travel planning. Trent Innes, Chief Growth Officer at SiteMinderWhile AI remains an emerging channel for initial hotel discovery, the technology is set to rapidly transform the broader booking journey. Eighty percent of travellers now want AI-powered capabilities, with price monitoring and alerts (44%) leading their wishlist, according to SiteMinder.The report, the world's largest consumer research on accommodation, surveyed 12,000 travellers across 14 countries including Australia, China, France, India, Spain, Thailand, the UK and the US.It also revealed that:

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