The Upselling Culture Shift: What Fast-Growing Properties Are Doing Differently

Elated Guests, sparkling, shining and emotionally connected to your brand and services you offer

Living at the professional crossroads of purpose and revenue: as you would expect I've been honing in lately on what the some of the most impactful companies are measuring when it comes to customer relationships. And honestly? It makes me double down and underscore the importance of continuing to rethink how we approach recommending in hospitality, F&B and wellness.

What's caught my attention: companies and clients—the ones experiencing decent growth, in flat times—aren't obsessing over new customer acquisition. They're laser-focused on "upselling efficiency." Essentially, how good they are at helping existing guests say "yes" to what genuinely serves them better.

Helping the guest make better decisions with individualized, mindful and meaningful recommendations

Now, before you roll your eyes at another "sales metric," stay with me. Because when I started connecting dots and measure what I see working in properties I partner with, there are some really interesting patterns that have emerged.

The Upselling Conversations I Keep Having with Managers & Directors

In the past few months, I've had nearly identical conversations with spa directors from luxury properties across the country. They'll say something like: "Michela, my team knows the products. They're brilliant therapists. But recommendations just aren't happening naturally, and I don't know why."

What I'm noticing is that most properties are operating without any real visibility into their recommendation patterns. They might have a general sense that "Sara is good at retail" or "enhancements are down this month," but they're not quite tracking the patterns that would actually show what's working and what isn't.

Meanwhile, many from outside hospitality are measuring everything. Not to create pressure, but to understand what makes recommendations feel natural and effective. Then they are replicating those postive, authentic conditions systematically.

And I started wondering: what if we applied this across the board, that same thinking to the cultures in service, hospitality and interestingly spa?

What we Discovered When we Started Paying SPECIFIC Attention

I recently worked with a gorgeous property—luxury spa, exceptional team, beautiful menu. Their enhancement conversion rate was sitting around 8%. Not terrible, but nowhere near what was possible given their guest demographic and service quality.

So we started tracking some basic patterns. Nothing complicated—just which therapists were naturally confident with recommendations, what times of day saw higher acceptance rates, which services led most naturally to enhancement conversations.

Within two weeks, the patterns emerged with clarity. Their most successful recommenders weren't necessarily the most experienced therapists—they were the ones who had unconsciously figured out the timing and language that felt caring rather than transactional. We could see exactly when in the guest journey recommendations worked best. We could identify which products guests actually wanted versus which products the team was pushing because of inventory goals or they were their favorites.

Once we had that visibility, everything shifted. We built a framework around what was already working naturally for some team members. We removed the guesswork. We gave everyone language that felt therapeutic.

A month later? 38% conversion. But here, as you know, which metrics matter —their guest satisfaction scores increased, and their team reported feeling more professionally fulfilled. Because they weren't fighting an internal battle anymore about whether recommendations were "right or pushy"

Taking more time at the front end of trust and relationship building, and receiving the beautiful reward of engagement and purpose

The Culture Question Worth Asking

I look for patterns and here's what I keep seeing in the properties I work with: the barrier to recommending more isn't skills or knowledge. It's culture.

Your therapists already notice when a guest needs that eye serum. They already sense when someone would benefit from a CBD enhancement. They're brilliant at reading what people need—it's literally what makes them excellent therapists.

But somewhere along the way, they've internalized a message that offering these solutions is pushy or sales-y. So they freeze up. They run out of time. They convince themselves the guest will ask if they want something.

The guest does NOT know best

It's been a life's work learning how to create cultures where recommendations are seen as guidance, not selling. Where helping someone access the better option is caring, not transactional.

One director I'm working with in Florida—brilliant leader, deeply committed to her team—told me recently: "We've been treating recommendations like something extra we should be doing. What you helped us see is that not recommending is actually incomplete care. That reframe changed everything."

That's the leadership work, right there. Shifting how we talk about recommendations so the team's natural caring instinct and their professional guidance become the same thing.

The Exciting Numbers

My preliminal research shows that effective upselling strategies increase revenue by 10-30% on average. But here's what's really interesting—they also discovered that when recommendations are done well, customer loyalty increases. People don't feel sold to; they feel cared for.

When we got one property's recommendations working naturally, their enhancement revenue went up by $115,000 annually. Lovely, obviously. But they also saw repeat booking rates increase and team engagement improve.

Because here's what nobody talks about: when your therapists are confident in their recommendations, they feel more professional. More expert. More valuable. That shows up in how they interact with guests, how they show up to work, how they talk about their role.

Let me put some context around the revenue piece because I think it helps you see what's possible. If your 10-room property added just one $30 enhancement per day—literally one confident recommendation per day—that's nearly $94,000 annually. With typical enhancement margins around 80%, you're looking at $75,000 in additional profit. Gamechanger.

What Actually Creates Recommendation Confidence

Through my work with some extraordinary teams over the years, I've identified five elements that consistently show up when recommendations flow naturally. I call it the Enhancement Success Formula, and it's what I build with every leadership team I partner with:

Trust + Timing + Value + Confidence + Relevance = Natural Recommendations

Let me break down what I'm seeing work:

Trust isn't assumed—it's built intentionally through how your team shows up in every interaction. The properties that excel here have therapists who've been coached on active listening, genuine curiosity, and creating psychological safety.

Timing is everything. Through tracking recommendation patterns, I can show you exactly when in the guest journey recommendations convert best. It's not random—there are specific moments when guests are most receptive. Once your team knows these patterns, they stop guessing.

Value needs to be communicated as outcomes, not features. My clients who struggle with this are still talking about "the organic ingredients" or "the special blend." The ones who excel talk about "finally releasing that shoulder tension you mentioned" or "keeping your skin glowing between visits."

Confidence comes from preparation and practice. This is where DISC behavioral profiling becomes powerful—your team learns to read how different guests want to receive recommendations. High-D guests want quick, results-focused language. High-I guests respond to enthusiasm and social proof. High-S guests need gentle reassurance. High-C guests want data and logic. Once therapists understand this, their confidence transforms.

Relevance requires personalization. The properties I work with that have cracked this are training their teams to genuinely listen and customize every recommendation to what they're hearing. No scripts—frameworks that allow for authentic, individualized conversations.

When all five elements are present, recommendations don't feel like selling. They feel like completing the circle of care.

The Leadership Behaviors That Make the Difference

I spend a lot of time working with spa directors and hospitality leaders on the leadership side of this equation. You can have the best recommendation framework in the world, but if leadership behaviors aren't aligned, culture won't shift. The directors who see recommending transformation are consistently demonstrating aligned behaviors.

These are my top few favorites:

They've reframed recommendations as therapeutic guidance. In every team meeting, every one-on-one, every coaching conversation, they're reinforcing that recommendations are professional expertise, not sales tactics.

They're tracking patterns to remove guesswork, not create pressure. They use data to identify what's working so they can replicate it, celebrate team members who are naturally confident, and support those who need more framework.

They're modeling the language. When they talk about services and products, they focus on outcomes and benefits. Their team absorbs that pattern and mirrors it naturally.

They're celebrating the right metrics. Not just "who sold the most," but "who had the conversation that led to a guest feeling genuinely cared for" or "who personalized a recommendation so well the guest specifically mentioned it in their feedback."

This is fine-tuning work, aligning your behaviors so your team feels supported, not pressured. Empowered, not guilty.

What I'm Offering to Directors Who Want This Culture Shift

I know you're already juggling a thousand priorities. Scheduling, inventory, staff turnover, guest complaints, revenue targets. Adding "culture transformation around recommendations" to that list can feel overwhelming, or in ranking not the burning fire at the top.

What's ingenious is that it isn't an extra initiative. This is often the leverage point that makes everything else easier.

When your team is confident in recommendations, you see:

• Revenue increases that take pressure off other areas

• Team engagement improvements because therapists feel more professional

• Guest satisfaction gains because people feel genuinely cared for

• Retention improvements because guests are achieving better results

I partner with spa directors and hospitality leaders to create this shift in a way that actually fits their property, their team, and their values. Not generic sales training that misses the therapeutic relationship entirely—psychology-based frameworks built around how your specific team thinks, what barriers they're facing, and what will feel authentic to your culture.

We work together on:

• Understanding your team's specific psychological barriers to recommendations

• Building your customized recommendation framework using the five-element formula

• Fine-tuning your leadership behaviors to support cultural shift

• Implementing tracking that gives you visibility without creating pressure

• Coaching your team through the confidence-building process

It's a partnership. I'm not coming in with a one-size-fits-all program. I'm working alongside you to create the conditions where your team's natural excellence can emerge.

Come on - Take a minute to catch up and talk about the great work you do, do.

Let's Talk About Your Team

Every property I work with has a unique starting point. Maybe your team are brilliant at up-selling/enhancements but freeze during retail conversations.

Maybe you've got one or two naturally confident team members and everyone else is struggling. Maybe you've tried incentive programs that created tension rather than results.

Whatever your situation, I'd love to understand what's happening with your team, what you're hoping to shift, and whether there's a way I can support the culture change you're working toward.

This Q1- I'm offering complimentary 30-minute strategy sessions for spa directors and hospitality leaders who are curious about what's possible. No pressure, no obligations—just a conversation about your team, your challenges, and whether there's alignment between what you need and what I offer.

Book your complimentary strategy session here.

Bring your questions. Tell me what's not working. Let's talk through what culture shift could look like for your property specifically.

Because what I'm seeing consistently with the properties I'm privileged to work with is this: the potential is already there. Your team is already brilliant. Sometimes they just need the framework, leadership support, and psychological permission to let their expertise shine.

Stay strong. You really have got this.

Michela

Dr. Michela Henke-Cilenti specializes in behavioral and sales psychology for hospitality, wellness, and service businesses. She partners with spa directors and hospitality leaders to build cultures where recommendations flow naturally from care, not pressure—using psychology-based frameworks that honor the therapeutic relationship while driving sustainable revenue growth.