When you're working in growth at a boutique hotel—especially if you’re using BigCommerce to manage your online bookings and amenities—deciding when and how to retire an old product or service can feel tricky. Maybe you have a room type that isn’t selling, or a breakfast option guests rarely choose. Dropping these can free up resources, but doing it wrong can frustrate customers or even hurt your reputation. When budgets are tight (and they usually are!), you need smart, lean ways to phase out products without wasting time or money.
Here are 10 practical ways for entry-level growth pros in boutique hotels to optimize product deprecation strategies, especially if you’re managing your sales or booking interface via BigCommerce—and all while keeping costs low.
1. Start by Measuring What Really Moves the Needle
Before you pull the plug on anything, figure out which products are underperforming. For example, if your “Deluxe City View” room hasn’t booked more than 5% of the time in the last six months, it might be a candidate for retirement.
Use free analytics tools like Google Analytics with your BigCommerce store to track booking trends. If you’re unsure about what guests think, run a simple survey using free tools like Zigpoll or Google Forms. For instance, you could ask: “Which room types do you prefer?” or “What amenities are important to you?”
A 2023 Hotel Tech Report found that hotels who monitor product usage weekly reduce unnecessary offerings by 20%—saving money and focusing efforts on what guests actually want.
2. Use Phased Rollouts to Test Deprecation Slowly
Don’t just yank a product off the site and hope for the best. Instead, phase out availability gradually. For example, if you want to retire the “Garden Suite,” stop advertising it prominently, then limit bookings to existing customers only before full removal.
This approach is like dimming a light before turning it off; it lets you watch for backlash. If bookings spike or feedback turns negative during the phase-out, you can pause or adjust your plan.
BigCommerce lets you disable products without deleting them outright—perfect for this kind of soft retirement.
3. Leverage Free Communication Channels to Inform Guests
Guests need to know what’s changing, especially if they frequently use a product or service. Use your hotel’s email newsletter, social media pages, and your website’s blog feature (all free tools) to announce upcoming changes.
For example, “Starting July 1, our Rooftop Bar will be closed for renovations, but we’re introducing a new cocktail lounge next fall!”
Clear communication avoids surprises and builds trust, which is crucial when trimming your product lineup.
4. Prioritize Deprecation Based on Cost vs. Revenue
Sometimes, a product costs more to maintain than it earns in bookings or sales. For example, maintaining a hot tub suite may require expensive monthly cleaning and repairs that don’t match the booking revenue it generates.
Create a simple spreadsheet comparing each product’s annual revenue against costs (cleaning, maintenance, marketing). The ones with the worst cost-to-revenue ratio should get priority for deprecation.
This method helps you “do more with less” by cutting off money drains first.
5. Use Customer Feedback to Avoid Surprising Your Best Guests
You can’t always rely on numbers alone. Engage with your loyal customers—those who book regularly or leave reviews. Use free tools like Zigpoll or SurveyMonkey to ask about product importance.
For example, one boutique hotel team found their “Yoga Mats and Classes” offering was used by only 4% of guests, but that 4% included their highest-spending repeat visitors. So, they decided to keep it but promote it better rather than cut it entirely.
Involving customers prevents alienating them and helps you prioritize what really matters.
6. Archive, Don’t Delete, Product Listings for Easy Rollback
When you remove a product from your BigCommerce store, don’t delete it forever. Instead, archive or disable listings so you can bring them back if needed.
Think of it like packing away your winter coats instead of tossing them—sometimes you’ll get unexpected demand, like during a local event or sudden trend.
This strategy avoids the risk of permanently losing a product that could come back in season or after tweaking.
7. Reduce Offerings Gradually to Simplify Upselling
If you have too many room types or add-ons, guests can get overwhelmed and might abandon the booking. Streamlining your products lets you upsell simpler options more effectively.
For instance, instead of offering five different breakfast packages, test keeping only two: “Continental” and “Full Gourmet.” BigCommerce’s built-in product bundling is a free tool you can use here to promote combo offers.
One hotel team saw their upsell conversion jump from 3% to 9% just by reducing breakfast options and focusing on clear pricing.
8. Make Use of Free Automation for Notifications and Inventory
On a tight budget, you can automate parts of deprecation with free or low-cost tools. BigCommerce integrates with free automation platforms like Zapier (limited free tasks) to update your inventory or send alerts to your team and customers.
For example, when a product’s availability drops below a threshold (say only 3 rooms of a type left), you can trigger an email to marketing or a discount notification to customers.
Automation saves staff time and keeps everyone in the loop without extra costs.
9. Keep a Pulse on Market Trends Using Free Industry Reports
It’s tempting to rely only on internal data, but knowing what’s trending in boutique hotels helps you avoid cutting products just because they seem slow now.
Sources like the 2023 Boutique Hotel News and the 2024 Forrester Consumer Travel Trends reports (often available for free summaries) give insights like: “Outdoor patio seating increased guest satisfaction by 15%” or “Guests prefer locally inspired breakfast items.”
This info helps you decide if a product might perform better with some tweaks instead of deprecation.
10. Make Deprecation Part of Regular Growth Meetings
Finally, product deprecation isn’t a one-time thing. Make it a regular agenda item in your growth or marketing meetings.
For example, review sales data monthly and flag the bottom 10% of products for discussion. Use free collaboration tools like Google Sheets or Trello to track ideas and plans.
Regular check-ins keep your offerings fresh and avoid the surprise of a sudden revenue drop.
Which Strategies Should You Use First?
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, here’s a simple sprint plan for a budget-tight boutique hotel team on BigCommerce:
- Start with data: Use Google Analytics and BigCommerce reports to identify underperforming products.
- Communicate: Send a simple survey via Zigpoll to get guest opinions.
- Plan a phased rollout: Disable products gradually instead of deleting them.
- Prioritize by cost: Cut the highest cost-to-revenue products first.
- Set monthly review meetings: Keep this process regular and manageable.
By focusing your efforts on those steps, you’ll save time, reduce customer confusion, and keep your boutique hotel’s offerings lean and profitable—even on a shoestring budget.
Making product deprecation work doesn’t require fancy tools or a big budget—just smart steps, clear communication, and a little patience. You’re already on your way to doing more with less!
