One of the easiest ways to increase revenue in hospitality is to get more value from the customers you already have.
You don’t necessarily need more customers.
You don’t necessarily need more advertising.
Sometimes you simply need to give the customers already standing in front of you a better reason to spend a little more.
That is where upselling comes in.
Done properly, upselling can increase your average transaction value, improve profitability and help customers discover products they genuinely want.
Done badly, it can feel pushy and make customers uncomfortable.
The difference comes down to how you do it.
What Is Upselling?
Upselling is encouraging a customer to purchase something additional or choose a higher-value option.
For example:
A customer orders a coffee.
Instead of simply taking the order, your staff member asks:
“Would you like a muffin with that?”
That’s an upsell.
A customer orders a burger.
The staff member asks:
“Would you like to add chips?”
That’s an upsell.
A customer orders a standard spirit.
The staff member asks:
“Would you like to make that a premium spirit?”
That’s an upsell.
The individual increase might only be a few dollars.
But across hundreds or thousands of transactions, those small increases can have a significant impact on your business.
Start With Your Average Transaction Value
Before trying to improve your upselling, find out what your customers are currently spending.
For example:
If you serve 200 customers per day and your average transaction is $14:
200 × $14 = $2,800 per day
If you could increase the average transaction to $16 without significantly increasing your customer numbers:
200 × $16 = $3,200 per day
That’s an additional $400 per day.
Over a five-day trading week, that’s $2,000.
The important thing is that you’re not necessarily finding another 30 or 40 customers.
You’re increasing the value of the customers you already have.
Don’t Try to Sell Everything
One of the biggest mistakes businesses make with upselling is trying to upsell every possible product.
“Would you like a cake?”
“Would you like a drink?”
“Would you like chips?”
“Would you like dessert?”
“Would you like to upgrade?”
Eventually the customer feels like they’re being sold to rather than served.
Good upselling is relevant.
The question should make sense based on what the customer has already ordered.
For example:
Coffee → muffin
Burger → chips
Lunch → cold drink
Main course → dessert
Cocktail → premium spirit
The more relevant the recommendation, the more natural it feels.
Sell the Things That Make You Money
Not every upsell is equally valuable.
You need to understand your margins.
Suppose you have two products:
Product A
- Sells for $8
- Costs $5 to produce
- Gross profit = $3
Product B
- Sells for $8
- Costs $2.50 to produce
- Gross profit = $5.50
Both generate $8 in revenue.
But Product B contributes considerably more gross profit.
Your staff should know which products are commercially important.
That doesn’t mean forcing customers to buy the most profitable product.
It means identifying the products that make sense to recommend and that provide good value to the customer as well as good margins for the business.
Create Natural Upsells
The easiest upsells are the ones that naturally belong with the original purchase.
Think about your menu.
What products go together?
Coffee
Potential upsells:
- Muffin
- Cookie
- Cake
- Banana bread
- Breakfast item
Breakfast
Potential upsells:
- Coffee
- Juice
- Smoothie
- Extra bacon
- Avocado
- Hash brown
Lunch
Potential upsells:
- Chips
- Side salad
- Soft drink
- Juice
- Dessert
- Coffee
Cocktails
Potential upsells:
- Premium spirit
- Second cocktail
- Snack
- Food pairing
Dinner
Potential upsells:
- Side dishes
- Wine
- Beer
- Cocktails
- Dessert
- Coffee
The goal is to create a logical pathway between products.
Use the Display Cabinet
Your display cabinet can do a lot of the upselling for you.
If a customer is ordering a coffee and they can see a beautifully presented selection of cakes, slices and muffins, you’ve already started the sales process.
Your staff then only need to reinforce it.
“Would you like to grab one of our house-made muffins with your coffee?”
This is much easier than trying to sell a product the customer hasn’t seen.
Your display cabinet, menu and counter should all work together.
Train Staff With Specific Suggestions
Don’t tell staff:
“Upsell more.”
That’s not really training.
Give them specific examples.
For example:
Instead of:
“Do you want anything else?”
Try:
“Would you like to add chips to that?”
Instead of:
“Anything to drink?”
Try:
“Would you like a cold drink with your lunch?”
Instead of:
“Do you want dessert?”
Try:
“Would you like to see our dessert options?”
Specific questions are easier for staff to remember and easier for customers to answer.
Make Upselling Part of the Ordering Process
Don’t rely on staff remembering to upsell when they’re busy.
Build it into your normal ordering process.
For example:
Customer: “I’ll have a chicken burger.”
Staff: “Absolutely. Would you like to add chips with that?”
Customer: “Yes.”
Staff: “And would you like a drink?”
That’s a simple process.
It becomes part of taking the order rather than an awkward sales pitch.
Use Your POS System
Your POS system can help make upselling more consistent.
Depending on your system, you may be able to create prompts or modifiers for common add-ons.
For example:
Coffee
→ Add muffin
Burger
→ Add chips
Breakfast
→ Add coffee
Main
→ Add side
This reduces the amount staff need to remember.
It also gives you useful data about which upsells are actually working.
Make Your Menu Do Some of the Selling
Your staff aren’t the only salespeople in the business.
Your menu should be doing some of the work.
Consider highlighting:
- Signature products
- Premium options
- Meal combinations
- Add-ons
- Desserts
- High-margin items
- Specials
For example:
ADD CHIPS +$5
MAKE IT A MEAL +$7
ADD COFFEE +$4
These simple prompts can make customers consider an additional purchase without staff needing to say anything.
Bundles Can Be Powerful
Sometimes the easiest upsell is a bundle.
Instead of selling three separate products, create a combination.
For example:
Breakfast Deal
Breakfast wrap + coffee
Or:
Lunch Deal
Sandwich + chips + drink
Or:
Coffee & Cake
Coffee + slice
The customer gets a perceived value benefit while you increase the total transaction.
But make sure you calculate the numbers.
A discount isn’t automatically a good deal for the business.
You need to understand what the bundle costs you and what gross profit it produces.
Don’t Automatically Discount
Upselling does not mean discounting.
If your strategy is always:
“Add another product and we’ll give you 20% off.”
you may increase sales while reducing your profit.
Instead, look for ways to add value.
For example:
- A premium upgrade
- A complementary side
- A convenient combination
- A larger size
- A popular add-on
- A product with a strong perceived value
The goal is to increase profitable revenue, not simply revenue.
Try Size Upgrades
Size upgrades are another simple form of upselling.
Examples include:
- Small → regular
- Regular → large
- Standard → premium
- Single → double
For example:
“Would you like to make that a large?”
The additional cost to the customer might be $1 or $2, while the additional cost to the business may be relatively small.
Again, check your actual numbers rather than assuming.
Use Premium Options
Customers don’t always want the cheapest option.
Give them a choice.
For example:
House Wine – $9
Premium Wine – $12
Or:
Regular Coffee – $5
Large Coffee – $6
Or:
Standard Spirit – $10
Premium Spirit – $13
You are giving customers control.
Some will choose the standard option.
Others will happily spend more.
That’s fine.
Upselling works best when the customer feels they are making a choice rather than being pressured into spending more.
Teach Staff to Read the Customer
Not every customer wants an upsell.
Your staff need to recognise that.
Someone who is clearly in a hurry may not want to hear about three different products.
Someone sitting down for a relaxed meal may be much more receptive to recommendations.
Good hospitality means reading the situation.
The best salespeople aren’t the ones who talk the most.
They’re the ones who understand what the customer wants.
Use Suggestive Selling
One of the best approaches is to make a recommendation rather than ask a generic question.
Instead of:
“Do you want dessert?”
Try:
“Our cheesecake is really popular today.”
Instead of:
“Do you want a drink?”
Try:
“Our house-made iced tea goes really well with that.”
Instead of:
“Do you want anything else?”
Try:
“Would you like to add chips to that?”
The recommendation gives the customer something specific to consider.
Give Staff a Short List of Products to Focus On
Don’t give your team 50 different upselling combinations.
Choose a small number.
For example:
This Week’s Focus
- Coffee → muffin
- Burger → chips
- Lunch → cold drink
- Main → side
- Meal → dessert
Keep it simple.
Once staff become comfortable with these, introduce others.
Measure Your Upsells
If you want to improve something in your business, measure it.
Track:
- Average transaction value
- Number of transactions
- Add-on sales
- Premium upgrades
- Dessert sales
- Drink sales
- Meal combinations
- Gross profit
For example, if your average transaction is currently $15.20 and you introduce a new upselling process, monitor what happens.
If it rises to $16.10, you’ve increased spend by $0.90 per transaction.
Across 200 transactions, that’s:
200 × $0.90 = $180 additional revenue
Do the same calculation across your normal trading volume.
Small improvements can add up quickly.
Reward Good Upselling
If appropriate for your business, consider recognising staff who do a good job.
This doesn’t necessarily need to be a complicated commission system.
You could recognise:
- Best average transaction value
- Most successful add-on
- Best customer recommendation
- Most improved staff member
- Best sales result
But be careful with aggressive sales incentives.
You don’t want employees recommending products customers don’t want simply to hit a target.
Your first priority should always be good hospitality.
Don’t Forget Existing Customers
Upselling isn’t just for new customers.
Your regular customers can be some of the easiest people to upsell because your staff can learn their preferences.
For example:
“Your usual coffee? We also have those new almond croissants in today.”
Or:
“Would you like to try the new lunch special?”
Personal recommendations feel much more like hospitality than sales.
And that is exactly what you want.
Make It Easy for Staff to Succeed
If you want your team to upsell, give them the tools.
They need to know:
- What products to recommend
- Which products are profitable
- What products pair well together
- What the current specials are
- What is new
- What is running out
- How to describe products
- What language to use
A staff member can’t confidently sell a product they know nothing about.
Train your team to understand the menu.
The Goal Isn’t to Spend More. It’s to Serve Better.
This is the most important part of upselling.
Customers don’t want to feel like walking wallets.
They want good service.
The best upselling happens when the recommendation genuinely improves the customer’s experience.
Someone ordering a burger may genuinely want chips.
Someone having coffee may genuinely want a muffin.
Someone celebrating a birthday may genuinely want dessert.
Someone having dinner may appreciate a recommendation for a good drink.
Your job is to make those options visible.
Look at Your Entire Customer Journey
Upselling shouldn’t happen in just one place.
Look at every stage of the customer’s experience.
Before Ordering
Your signage and displays can promote products.
At the Counter
Staff can recommend relevant add-ons.
While Ordering
Your POS can prompt staff.
At the Table
Staff can recommend drinks, sides or desserts.
After the Meal
Staff can offer coffee or dessert.
At Payment
You can promote loyalty or future purchases.
Every stage is an opportunity to increase value without making the customer feel pressured.
Start With Three Upsells
You don’t need to completely redesign your business.
Start small.
Choose three combinations that make sense for your customers.
For example:
Coffee → Muffin
Burger → Chips
Lunch → Drink
Train your staff to use them consistently for two or three weeks.
Then look at the numbers.
How many were sold?
What was the additional revenue?
What was the gross profit?
Did customers respond positively?
Then improve the process.
That’s how you build a sales system rather than simply telling your staff to “sell more”.
The Hospitality Takeaway
You don’t always need more customers to make more money.
Sometimes you need to make more money from the customers you already have.
Good upselling is not about pressuring customers.
It’s about:
Understanding what they want → making relevant recommendations → offering useful choices → increasing the value of the transaction.
Train your staff properly, make the right products visible, understand your margins and measure the results.
A few dollars added to each transaction can make a surprisingly large difference to the bottom line.
Don’t just focus on getting more people through the door. Make every customer interaction work harder for your business.
