In this episode of Hotel Moment, Brenna Turpin, Marketing Coordinator at Revinate, sits down with Bailey Yeats, Marketing Manager at Revinate, to unpack the 2026 Revinate Hospitality Benchmark Report — eleven years in the making and the most data-rich edition yet. Analyzing 2.8 billion emails, 4.3 million phone calls, 22 million text messages, and 28 million guest reviews from 2025 globally, this report gives hoteliers real behavior-based benchmarks across every major communication channel. The conclusion is clear: data, strategy, and execution separate the hotels that will win in 2026 from those leaving revenue on the table.

● Email still converts: Newsletters benchmark at 33.6% open rates and $1,249 average booking value globally. Voco Belfast hit 60% — nearly double the benchmark — proving what intentional segmentation can achieve.

● Double opt-in ROI: This campaign type delivers over $3,600 in booking value and averages 17 room nights booked per campaign sent, making it one of the highest-returning email types in the report.

● Intent-driven email wins every time: Cart abandonment and cancellation recovery campaigns convert above 5%-6% globally. In North America, cold lead emails convert at 6.5% with average booking values exceeding $3,300, proving follow-ups still matter.

● Voice is high-intent and hugely underleveraged: Inbound calls peak at approximately 16 per room in summer months in North America, and well-trained reservations teams are closing 49 to 53% of qualified leads. Outbound efforts generate $1,164 in incremental revenue per room annually — with Dream Inn Santa Cruz seeing nearly 40% of bookings come from voice.

● Messaging rewards relevance: Hotels globally receive over 1,000 text messages per month on average. In North America, lead engagement sits at 19.5% with opt-outs under 3%, and AI-powered automation (Ivy) handles 31% of messaging volume, freeing staff for high-impact in-person conversations.

● Reviews drive organic revenue: APAC hoteliers average 90 reviews per property — nearly double North America's 48 — and review response rates are strong globally: 58% in North America, 61% in APAC. Active response directly supports search rankings and guest trust.

● Phone capture is the biggest global gap: North America leads the world in email capture at 84%, but phone capture sits at just 53 to 58% globally — representing the single biggest opportunity for multi-channel engagement.

● Small hotels are winning on data capture: Hotels with 100 rooms or fewer are growing their databases fastest, demonstrating that hands-on team approaches outperform automated data collection when it comes to contact completeness.

● Database health connects everything: Email performance depends on clean lists, messaging needs valid contact data, voice conversions rely on calling history, and web capture feeds reputation back into your CRM. Database health is the universal connector for every channel's success.

Brenna and Bailey also preview an upcoming deep-dive series on each channel, with a North America Benchmark Leadership Webinar Series launching March 18th at 10 a.m. PST. 

Read the Hospitality Benchmark Report here: https://www.revinate.com/hospitality-benchmark-report/ 

Tune in to Agenlo’s episode here: https://www.revinate.com/hotel-moment-podcast/revenue-on-the-line-why-the-voice-channel-matters-more-than-ever/ 

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Instructions on how to do this are here.

[03:36] Email is still a high-impact revenue engine — Hoteliers who have written off email as a mature channel may be surprised by what the benchmark data shows. Bailey walks through the campaign types delivering the most consistent returns, starting with a real-world benchmark-breaker. "Voco Belfast had a 60% open rate. That's huge. Our benchmark report found that newsletters lead with engagement at about 33.6% open rates and an average of $1,249 booking value — so Voco is way above average. They're almost double the average open rate." The data makes the case that well-segmented email campaigns are not just an engagement play, they are a direct revenue engine.

[04:33] Cold lead emails and the follow-up case — North America-specific data reveals an opportunity that many hotels are still missing. Brenna shares that cold lead emails in the region now convert upwards of 6.5%, with average booking values exceeding $3,300. The takeaway from Bailey is direct: "The lesson is very loud and clear — well-segmented and timely email campaigns don't just get opened. They drive direct revenue and recapture lost bookings. It was never about spamming your guests' inbox."

[05:55] Myth: The voice channel is dead — The benchmark data dismantles one of the most persistent assumptions in hotel marketing. Bailey presents the numbers: inbound calls peak at approximately 16 per room in summer in North America, conversion rates hit 49 to 53% in peak months, and outbound efforts generate $1,164 in incremental revenue per room annually. Brenna adds the property-level proof: "At Dream Inn Santa Cruz, they had nearly 40% of bookings come directly from voice efforts. That's reservation sales changing the economics of direct revenue." Bailey's verdict: "The channel isn't old school. It still proves to be a high-intent channel, and it is still hugely underleveraged."

[09:46] Reviews are doing more work than you think — The web capture data reframes how hoteliers should think about review management. APAC properties average 90 reviews per hotel — nearly double North America's 48 — and review volumes are growing year over year across all regions. Bailey connects the dots between reputation and revenue: "More positive reviews plus actively responding to reviews equals better organic traffic and more direct revenue. That's what we're all after here."

[11:53] Database health is your hotel's number one performance indicator — Brenna draws the thread that connects every channel in the report. "Data is the foundation of every channel. Email performance depends on clean lists and segmentation. Messaging engagement needs valid guest contact information. Voice conversions rely on captured calling history and context. Web capture feeds reputation and first-party data back into your CRM. Database health is without a doubt the universal connector for the success of all your channels." Bailey adds the global benchmark: North America leads with 84% email capture, while phone capture at 53 to 58% globally remains the biggest untapped opportunity for multi-channel engagement.

Chapters:
00:00 - Intro 
01:24 - Email channel: open rates, booking value, and campaign types 
04:58 - Voice channel: inbound conversions and outbound revenue 
07:52 - Messaging: engagement rates and automation 
09:18 - Web capture: reviews, response rates, and organic traffic 
10:38 - Database health: email capture, phone gaps, and opportunity 
12:11 - Connecting the dots: what the data means for 2026