The resources your hotel can use to improve business right now

It’s no secret how intensely competitive the travel industry is in any field (including ours!), so any tips, tricks, or new resources should be taken seriously. Improving a business requires a constant level of analysis, evaluation, and strategy development.

As a hotelier, the essential time you devote to guests may restrict how much you can spend researching new ways to run your hotel, or new features to implement. Here’s our list of diverse resources you should keep front of mind when trying to learn new business strategies.

Read and subscribe to hotel industry blogs

Blogs contain a wealth of information and knowledge from experts in every field. Thanks to the Internet, there’s an overwhelming abundance of content to choose from, including blogs, eBooks, infographics, and webinars.

1. eHotelier
eHotelier is a good way of staying up-to-date with global news in the hospitality industry. With over 10 posts each week, the publication doesn’t miss the important stories and will help keep your finger on the pulse.

2. Tnooz
Tnooz deals with all things tech related. It will keep you on top of the latest trends and development in the travel technology world, something hotels need more and more of as time goes by.

3. SiteMinder Resources
Okay, so we might be a little bit biased and we know if you’re reading this that you’re already here! But we have more than 450 articles covering everything from hotel marketing through to key distribution strategies. You can search the Resources Centre and join 65,000 subscribers who receive our weekly round-up – you can sign up for free here.

4. HospitalityNet
HospitalityNet offers an in-depth look at the latest industry news, trends and topics on a global scale. It’s especially useful for discovering events, webinars and potential products.

5. Hotelmarketing.com
Hotelmarketing follows the marketing trends for the hotel sector, and also the trends within the industry as a whole. It does a great job of pulling in all the best content from around the web too.

6. Sojern
Sojern is a huge resource for travel analysis, insights, and trends. To understand and plan for what’s happening in your region, Sojern is often a great place to look.

You can find what you need on SiteMinder’s resource centre but here are five other useful industry blogs.

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Attend industry events

Even though you might be time-poor it’s a good idea to put a priority on attending some industry events. They can be extremely valuable for meeting potential partners, providers, and experts that will help launch your hotel on a quicker and better path to profit. Here are some of the best events from around the world. To discover more, take a look on SiteMinder’s event page.

• FITUR – Spain
  FITUR is an annual meeting point for industry professionals to come together and discuss strategies on how to keep tourism moving forward. With numerous exhibitors and innovations on show, it’s the perfect place to see how your hotel can prosper into the future.

• Travel Technology Europe – London
  TTE has been running for 15 years and is one of the leading technology events for hotel and travel professionals. With plenty of guest speakers and exhibitors you’re sure to learn something new.

• The Hotel Experience – New York
  HX covers everything that’s trending and innovative in the hospitality industry, from front-of-house to back-of-house. The event caters to all, including hotel owners, general managers, and property executives.

• INDABA – South Africa
  INDABA is a must visit event for tourism marketing. It showcases a wide variety of products and attracts buyers and media from across the world, helping businesses in the industry achieve success.

• BTL – Portugal
  BTL is a great meeting place for hoteliers looking for a show with a strong and consistent presence. In addition to hundreds of travel and hotel exhibitors from all over the world, the BTL includes theme workshops, destination and cultural presentations.

Watch helpful videos in your spare time

Video is one of the easiest and most interesting mediums to consume so if you want to understand new concepts quickly, or discover strategies you haven’t tried before it’s worth looking for some hotel-related video tutorials or talks. Luckily we’ve already compiled some helpful lists for you to tick off:

• Click here to see the top five TED talks for hotel managers
• Click here to watch the top five marketing tutorial videos for hoteliers

Know the right technology to use at your hotel

Modern technology and software will help you at both ends of your business. On the guest side, the latest technology is expected and if you’re not making their lives easier they’ll make yours harder when they review their stay.

Five examples include:

• High definition televisions (HDTVs)
• High speed internet access (wired and wi-fi)
• MP3 docking station and alarm clocks
• Remote lighting and climate control
• Convenient power, charging, and connectivity sources

On your side, you can benefit significantly from doing away with the pen and paper approach and install smart, cloud-based technology including:

• Channel management software to optimise and widen your distribution with connections to online travel agents (OTAs)
• Direct booking technology such as a website builder and online booking engine to capture more commission-free reservations
• Revenue management technology to help support your pricing decisions and maximise profit during periods of high and low demand