Email, SMS or WhatsApp: which channel really generates revenue for hoteliers?

Yes WhatsApp can become a real revenue driver for a hotel, as long as you use it at the right time, with the right message, on the right type of offers.

THEemail remains useful for informing and structuring.
The SMS works great for triggering quick action.
But Whatsapp is often the most effective channel to generate interaction, promote responses and push additional hotel sales in a more natural way.

Why? Because a WhatsApp message is read much more than an email.
In the hotel industry, we often observe:

• Email : around 22 to 40% openness
• SMS : up to 95% reading
• Whatsapp : often 80 to 98% openness

In other words: many hotels continue to push their offers on the least read channel.

To remember

• The subject is not only to communicate better, but to generate more hotel revenue
• WhatsApp is not intended to replace all other channels, but to become the most profitable at certain key moments
• The best revenue opportunities are being played out before, during and just after the stay
• An additional sale works best when it's useful, contextualized, and delivered at the right time

Why are so many hotels still missing out on a simple revenue stream?

Many hotels seek to develop their additional turnover, but still use inefficient mechanisms.

They send a pre-stay email with a full list of services.
They post offers at the front desk.
Sometimes they put a brochure in the room.

But in fact, few customers actually read this content at the right time.

Concrete problem

The offers exist, but they are not seen when the customer is ready to buy.

Operational impact

• few additional sales
• low conversion rate
• underexploited services
• Too strong dependence on income room only

Real situation

A hotel offers:

• An upgrade
• A breakfast
• Spa access
• A late check-out

But the customer only discovers these offers once there, or too late, or in an email that he never opened.

The problem is not the offer.
The problem is the channel And the timing.

Why is WhatsApp changing the game when it comes to revenue generation?

When a hotel sends a commercial offer by email, it hopes for an opening.
When he sends an offer via WhatsApp, he's creating a potential conversation.

That is a major difference.

What the channel numbers show

In a lot of hotel scenarios:

• one Email marketing generates on average an opening rate around 22 to 35%
• one SMS is read almost immediately, often at more than 95%
• A message WhatsApp Business Hotel can reach 80 to 98% openness

That's not to say that every WhatsApp message automatically generates revenue.

That means something else: your offers finally have a real chance to be seen.

Concrete situation

When a hotel sends 1,000 emails to its former customers, it is common for only a minority to open, click and then book.

Conversely, a more targeted campaign on WhatsApp, sent to a smaller but better selected audience, can generate more interactions, more direct responses, and more conversions.

What is really changing for hoteliers

WhatsApp allows you to:

• Capture attention more quickly
• shorten the time between message and action
• facilitate immediate customer response
• make the offer more personal

And in the hotel industry, speed often makes the difference.

Email, SMS, WhatsApp: which one really generates hotel revenue?

There is no single universal winner.
Each channel has a different role in generating revenue.

Email: useful for informing, less effective for triggering

Email remains relevant for:

• present several services
• detail an offer
• send a newsletter
• structure a loyalty campaign

But it has a very clear limit: it is often consulted too late, or not at all.

Field example

A hotel sends an email 72 hours before arrival with:

• upgrade option
• Breakfast reservation
• Spa access
• late check out

The content is good.
But if the customer doesn't open it, it doesn't generate anything.

Email is useful for setting up the frame.
It's not always the best channel to convert.

SMS: very effective for a short action

SMS works well for:

• a simple offer
• A time-limited reminder
• Information with a link
• a proposal with an immediate response

Field example

The day before departure:

“Late check-out available until 2 pm for €20. Answer YES to take advantage of it.”

It is short, legible, immediate.

SMS is great when the offer is clear and the decision is simple.

The limits of SMS for hoteliers

Texting is less suitable if you want to create a real conversation or value a more emotional experience.

WhatsApp: the best channel to trigger a profitable interaction

This is where WhatsApp gets a head start.

Because it combines several advantages:

• Very strong reading
• natural format
• Easy answer
• Proximity impression
• possibility of two-way conversation

WhatsApp field example

At 16:00, a customer is settled in his room.

Message sent:

“Hello Vincent, we hope that your installation is going well. This evening, our chef is offering a tasting menu with a 20% discount. Would you like to reserve a table?”

The message is:

• contextualized
• useful
• sent at the right time
• easy to activate

That's exactly where Whatsapp hotel becomes a business lever.

When does WhatsApp generate the most revenue in a hotel?

The real lever is not only the channel.
It is The moment of the customer journey.

Before the stay: sell without forcing

Before arrival, the customer is in a logic of preparation.

This is often the best time to offer:

• An upgrade
• A transfer
• A car park
• An early check-in
• A breakfast

Real situation

Two days before arrival, a customer is still in the process of organizing his stay.
He is more receptive than once he is there.

Sample message

“Hello Julie, your arrival is approaching. Would you like to add breakfast to your stay for €14 per person? Just say YES.”

Field benefit

• more early sales
• better organization on the reception side
• higher average basket from the pre-stay

During the stay: the ideal time for contextual additional sales

That's probably where WhatsApp is strongest.

Why? Because the customer is already in the experience.

He can buy:

• A spa treatment
• A dinner
• A cocktail
• An activity
• A late check-out

Real situation

The customer is not necessarily going to look for your offers.
But it can very well respond to a relevant proposal received at the right time.

Concrete examples

• At 11 am: brunch proposal
• at 16:00: spa or rooftop offer
• The day before departure: late check-out
• after the first night: room upgrade if available

La additional hotel sale works best when it feels like a useful service, not an advertisement.

After the stay: generate deferred income

It is often thought that the income comes only during the stay.

It's not true.

After departure, WhatsApp can help:

• Retrieve a review
• send a promo code
• Relaunch an old customer
• stimulate the next direct booking

Real situation

A former customer enjoyed his stay six months ago.
He may never open a reactivation email.
But a short, direct, and personalized message on WhatsApp can bring back memories much more effectively.

example

“Hello Marc, we are launching our autumn weekend offer with 15% off for our former customers. Do you want to take advantage of it?”

This type of message can turn an old OTA client into a direct customer.

The additional sales that work best on WhatsApp

Not all offers perform the same way.

The most relevant are often those that are:

• simple to understand
• useful immediately
• easy to accept

Concrete examples

• Before stay : parking, breakfast, transfer, early check-in
• During your stay : spa, dinner, room service, activity, upgrade
• before departure : late check-out
• After stay : promo code, return offer, stay reactivated

How to activate WhatsApp without complicating operations?

That is often the big objection.

“Yes, but we don't have time.”
“Yes, but we don't want to manage one more phone.”
“Yes, but we don't want to create an unmanageable additional channel.”

This is exactly where things need to be structured.

To activate it properly, you must:

1. Define key moments in the customer journey
2. choose a maximum of 3 to 5 message scenarios at the start
3. focus on the easiest offers to sell
4. Automate sending at the right time
5. centralize responses so as not to create unnecessary burdens

Good habit of setting up WhatsApp in your hotel

Start small.

For example:

• D-2: preparation message with breakfast or parking option
• D+1 stay: spa or restaurant offer
• Eve of departure: late check-out
• D+1 departure: review + return promo code

This is often enough to quickly test business potential.

Summary table: which channel generates what type of revenue?

The most frequent mistakes

Sending offers too early or too late

A good message at the wrong time doesn't convert.

Pushing too many offers at once

Too many options = less action.

Copy and paste an email on WhatsApp

WhatsApp asks for a short, simple, natural message.

Do promotional without context

What converts to hotels is not commercial pressure.
It's relevance.

What hoteliers need to remember

If the question is: What channel really generates revenue for hoteliers?

The answer is clear:

• The email informs
• The SMS triggers
• WhatsApp often converts better as soon as you need to create an interaction

It's not because it's “in fashion.”
That's because he is:

• No longer read
• more direct
• more natural
• better suited to the key moments of the stay

And above all, it makes it possible to transform customer communication into a revenue driver.