Many talk about the sale, but we talk about the moment before: the moment when it’s decided whether a guest is even open to spending more money with you or not.
Whether they listen and whether they develop trust. Whether they are willing to invest more, not because they have to, but because they want to. Guests don’t buy because of better arguments. They buy when they feel seen, valued, and understood.
In the restaurant and hotel industry, there’s often too much talk about technique: menu knowledge, processes, mise en place, product training, cross-selling. But what good is all that if the service remains “cold”?
If guests sense, “This person wants to push something on me and not necessarily do me a favor,” then we’ve already lost. Selling in the hospitality industry isn’t a formula, but a matter of attitude!
I still vividly remember a scene from one of my coaching sessions in a hotel restaurant in the Bernese Oberland: A young waiter, shy but attentive, didn’t ask a single upselling question; instead, he listened unobtrusively to the guests and observed them very closely. He perceived the atmosphere at the table, reflected on it, and at the end, he recommended to individual guests the perfect dessert and digestif to suit their tastes. And the guests were thrilled with his “intuition.” Coincidence? No, but rather great empathy and remarkable powers of observation!
The guests stayed an extra hour, ordered more wine, and returned two days later. That’s how revenue is generated. Not through pressure, but through connection.
At FinOptima, we work with companies and teams who want to learn precisely this: not to “sell” better, but differently: to sense things better, to be truly present, and not simply to go through the motions. Not to try to persuade, but to empathize with the guest and accompany them.
Those who see service merely as a stepping stone miss opportunities (and revenue!). But those who understand service as an invitation to genuine connection open doors. And not just to their wallets, but to their guest’s loyalty.
Remember:
– Emotion beats technique.
– Appreciation beats discounts.
– Attitude beats any checklist.
Unleashing potential – celebrating success.
