Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour, a luxurious 5-star hotel with 590 rooms in the heart of Sydney’s bustling harbor, sought innovative ways to drive incremental revenue and improve guest communications. With a focus on optimizing workflows, personalizing guest experiences, and boosting satisfaction, the team needed a solution that aligned with their luxury brand image. By implementing Duve, the hotel achieved impressive results, integrating personalized communications, effective upselling strategies, and operational efficiencies into one single system that enhanced both guest experiences and revenue performance.

Challenges

• Driving incremental revenue beyond room rates: The hotel aimed to increase revenue from add-on services such as room upgrades, dining, and early check-ins. Before implementing Duve, however, most upselling efforts relied on manual methods, such as in-person offers at the front desk or through the hotel’s direct booking website. While these approaches were occasionally successful, they delivered inconsistent results and lacked scalability.
• Inefficient guest communication management: Before Duve, guest communications were managed through a variety of separate tools, including a basic messaging platform that lacked flexibility and failed to integrate with the hotel’s new property management system (PMS).
• Standard check-in processes: The pre-arrival process required all guests, regardless of their membership status or booking channel, to complete a full check-in at the front desk. This one-size-fits-all approach led to missed opportunities to deliver a personalized and seamless experience for guests with different profiles.

Solution

Duve’s all-in-one platform transformed the way Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour managed guest communication, pre-arrival preparations, and upselling. By automating and segmenting pre-arrival messages based on guest profiles, booking channels, and loyalty membership levels, Duve delivered personalized journeys that significantly boosted guest engagement. The platform’s centralized communication hub streamlined all guest inquiries into a single platform, streamlining responses and improving efficiency. Additionally, Duve’s strategic upselling features contributed to a notable month-over-month increase in upsell revenue for the hotel.

Results achieved with Duve:

• Doubled upsell revenue month-over-month: Leveraging Duve’s pre-arrival messaging and upsell features, Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour doubled their upsell revenue from September to October. In October, the hotel generated well over $34,000 in upsell revenue, by selling room upgrades, early check-ins, and late checkouts. This substantial growth was driven by a strategic WhatsApp message, automatically sent via Duve’s scheduled messaging feature 10 days before guest arrival, guiding guests to their personalized app and encouraging engagement with available upsell options.
• Positive impact on the hotel’s Average Daily Rate (ADR) growth: By automating upsell offers, the hotel experienced a continuous flow of add-on purchases, enhancing pre-arrival engagement and purchases while also raising awareness of available options for guests who preferred to finalize their selections at the front desk.
• Improved guest experiences by aligning expectations upon arrival: By collecting pre-check-in details in advance, the hotel streamlined the arrival process, leaving only essential tasks—such as ID verification—for in-person completion, in accordance with hotel policies. Tailored pre-arrival communications set clear expectations, informing guests of specific requirements based on their profile and membership level. This approach not only improved front desk operations but also ensured a smoother, more efficient check-in experience for guests.

Conclusion

Duve has empowered Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour to achieve significant revenue growth and operational efficiency while enhancing its reputation as a premier luxury destination. By automating manual processes, personalizing guest interactions, and driving incremental revenue through upsells, Duve has become an essential partner in the hotel’s ongoing success.