Guest journey series · Part 3 of 11

Pre-arrival: the window hotels waste

Guests are unusually receptive in the days before arrival, but most hotels only use this window to sell room upgrades. It is also the moment to introduce what the in-room experience will actually look like.

Published July 4, 2026 by TVshuru. Freshness checked July 4, 2026.

Between booking and arrival, guests are unusually attentive. According to Revinate's 2026 Hospitality Benchmark Report, drawn from an analysis of 2.8 billion emails, 28 million guest reviews, 22 million text messages, and 4.3 million calls, pre-arrival messaging is now one of the highest-converting touchpoints in the guest journey, generating an average of $95 per booking in upsell revenue in North America.

Most hotels use that attention narrowly: a room upgrade offer, an early check-in add-on, maybe a spa package. Useful, but it is a missed opportunity to do something guests actually want, which is understand what the stay will be like before they get there.

Pre-arrival is the right moment to introduce the in-room experience itself, not just sell against it. A guest who knows the room television will show dining hours, spa booking, local experiences, and a way to reach the front desk without waiting on hold arrives with one less thing to figure out.

TVshuru's in-room screen is what a pre-arrival message can point to directly. Instead of a generic "we look forward to your stay," a hotel can set expectations concretely: here is how you will order dinner, here is how you request late checkout, here is what's happening at the property this week. The promise made before arrival and the experience delivered after arrival become the same thing.