Queen Elizabeth 2 Hotel, part of Accor, is a historic 4-star floating hotel in Dubai aboard a historic British ocean liner. Its 447 refurbished rooms and suites blend classic maritime design with modern amenities, catering to both leisure and business travelers who seek a distinctive alternative to conventional hotels. With a variety of dining options, heritage tours, and special experiences, the hotel has a lot to offer to please even the most discerning guests.
We spoke with Sarah Quindoza (Revenue Manager) and Damodar Shirodkar (Front Office Manager) to explore how the hotel successfully uses Oaky’s Pre-arrival and Front Desk Upselling to elevate revenue performance, guest satisfaction, and motivate staff.
Challenges before Oaky: A lack of upselling consistency leading to lost revenue and low team engagement
“The process wasn’t consistent, and the front‑desk team would upsell only when they happened to spot an opportunity, which meant we were missing out on revenue,” Sarah notes.
Key obstacles included:
Lack of a structured upselling program: Though the team would occasionally offer upgrades at the front desk, it wasn’t consistent and profitable.
No automation and manual work: The reservation team had no automation in place for upselling, adding to their manual workload and leaving revenue opportunities untapped.
Low staff motivation and engagement: With no established upselling process or rewards system, front office staff had little motivation to promote upgrades or add-ons.
Missed revenue opportunities: Without a unified approach, the hotel couldn’t capitalize on high-conversion moments such as the post-booking, pre-arrival or at check-in.
Solution: Combining the power of Pre-arrival and Front Desk Upselling for an effective upselling strategy at every touchpoint
To solve their upselling challenges, Queen Elizabeth 2 implemented Oaky’s Pre-arrival and Front Desk Upselling to create a consistent, end-to-end strategy.
Maximizing incremental revenue is really just common sense. The opportunity is already there, and you just need to tap into it. If we don’t present options to the guest, they won’t choose them. That’s why having a platform like Oaky makes a difference—it helps us capture revenue we’d otherwise miss
Sarah Quindoza
Revenue Manager
1. Automated pre-arrival communication that makes guests aware of offers
With Pre-arrival Upselling, the hotel automates the upselling journey before guests arrive. Guests receive personalized pre-arrival emails featuring available upgrades and add-ons. This reduces the workload of the reservations team and allows for capturing revenue early. As Sarah puts it:
“It lifted a whole task off our reservations team. Now, guests get pre-arrival offers automatically—it’s one less thing our team has to worry about.”
2. Confident agents who present relevant offers at the front desk
On the other hand, Front Desk Upselling enables front desk agents to offer personalized upgrades with real-time availability and pricing. Thanks to the 2-way integration between Oaky and Opera Cloud OHIP, purchased deals are directly synced with the PMS:
“Oaky lets our team upsell without jumping between systems. One-click, and the offer is added—no calculation, no guesswork,” Damodar highlights.
3. High-margin offers thanks to clear rewards for the team
Oaky empowered the hotel to implement an employee incentive program to reward front desk agents for successful upsells. Oaky allows agents to see the amount of commission they receive for each upsell, which motivates them to upsell more high-margin offers. As a front desk manager, Damodar can also track each team member's performance to provide fair rewards and adjust upselling tactics.
Results: Increased revenue, delighted guests, and a motivated team
1. Strong upsells across all categories: 49% of revenue - coming from services, 31% - room upgrades, and 20% room-related extras like early check-in.
2. €46.09 in additional revenue per guest per month
The top-performing deals include:
Captain's Room with a Balcony
Restaurant Lido
3. High guest engagement thanks to personalization: pre-arrival emails achieve a 23.7% average conversion rate. As mentioned by Sarah and Damodar, pre-arrival emails help create an early emotional connection between the guest and the hotel.
4. A more motivated front desk team thanks to the incentive program and fair monetary rewards.
"Our agents now care. They ask where they stand, they celebrate wins—it’s built a new culture around upselling," Damodar says
5. More tailored and enjoyable stays thanks to well-timed personalized offers that strongly resonate with guests and improve online reputation.
“If you don’t do upsell, it’s a classic check‑in: get the key and head to your room. With Oaky, we explain what we can offer—then we make a real connection, and that sets the tone for the entire stay,” Sarah add
Final thoughts: Creating not just an upselling strategy, but a mindset shift
With Oaky, the Queen Elizabeth 2 has successfully embedded upselling into its hotel culture. Oaky didn’t just establish a consistent upselling strategy, but also introduced a mindset shift across departments.
What started as a pilot quickly became a cornerstone of revenue strategy, guest satisfaction, and employee engagement, helping Sarah and Damodar in their managerial positions, too.
“Incremental revenue is one of my key KPIs, so having a tool like Oaky helps me actively monitor and drive performance,” Sarah notes.
With Oaky, we don’t just wait for opportunities. We create them. It gives my team the visibility and tools to upsell effectively and consistently, and that has a direct impact on our bottom line.
Damodar Shirodkar
Front Office Manager
