Custom Search

Monday, March 23, 2009

Hospitality Industry Networking


As a hospitality industry professional it is of utmost importance to keep up-to-date with latest industry trends and practices. This isn’t difficult if your hotel or hospitality-related business is based in a large city of a developed country; however, if you are based in a small village on the outskirts of somewhere like Ouagadougou or Timbuktu, then staying ahead of your competition isn’t always easy.

It is for this reason that online social networking sites are vital for communicating with hospitality peers and experts.

Sites like Facebook have become popular with Food & Beverage Managers and Marketers for keeping in touch with clientele. I receive messages and wall posts almost daily from the Sheraton Nanjing Kingsley Hotel & Towers and also the Sheraton Tianjin Hotel. The Starwood Group has been quick to adopt modern methods to attract guests and clients to their bars and restaurants. And it works!

However, what about exchanging ideas and practices with hospitality peers?

Sites like LinkedIN are great for networking with a wide range of professionals. However, my personal favourite for networking within the hospitality industry is WIWIH (Who is who in hospitality) which allows you to discuss anything from the day to day running of a hotel to occupancy and RevPar with industry experts.

I have been using the forums to continue my search for the ultimate hotel booking software.

The extremely active forums will provide inspirational ideas for promoting your hotel and getting ahead of your competition.

Until next time,

Emma

I am still on a search for the best hotel booking system for small to medium sized hotels. If you know of hotel booking software that can beat www.hotelsystems.co.uk for ease of use and functionality then please contact me on eharradine@hotmail.co.uk

No comments: