The most-awaited, award-winning event is here. InnSpire Conference and Trade show is back as a three day event that is scheduled to take place in California from Sunday, February 08 through Tuesday, February 10, 2015. The event will witness more than 100 innkeepers, aspiring innkeepers and tourism professionals from around the globe.
CABBI (The California Association of Boutique & Breakfast Inn) emphasizes on education and works towards arranging the best workshops and sessions for accommodation providers. The trade show runs houseful every year with 30+ vendors showcasing their products and services. Hence, this makes it a must-attend event for all in the hospitality industry.
There will be multiple sessions held with topics ranging from traveler’s changing habits, social media best practices, choosing the right PMS, Google trends, changing trends in hotel technology to revenue management and more. Industry experts and professionals from diverse backgrounds will conduct the sessions and interact with the innkeepers. This will provide a strong platform for the innkeepers to learn new things and network with all under one roof.
Must-attend seminars
There will be many educational seminars held in the span of three days but the ones we think will most benefit the accommodation providers are:
Marc Kassouf, owner of Quiet Creek Inn will hold a seminar on why inns of all sizes need a PMS reservation system and how to choose the right one. Marc specializes in marketing, product development, distribution, operations, strategic information management and IT across various sectors. In his seminar, he will talk about the importance of PMS reservation system and address the common issues faced by many innkeepers – how to select the right PMS.
Choosing the right PMS system has always been a big concern for hoteliers. After all, it’s not as easy as buying cookies from a bakery! The software that streamlines hotel operations, facilitates bookings, stores important files, guest details and performs multiple hotel-centric functions is a tough choice to make when it comes to buying. Many hoteliers and innkeepers spend weeks to months on analyzing the features of the PMS to see if it fits their requirements. You need to be well-versed with the functionalities of the PMS before buying and the purchasing decision should not be based on the investment but on the capability to generate significant ROI.
Brian Bayea, TripAdvisor’s trade relations manager will talk about traveler’s changing habits where he will discuss the factors that most influence travel decisions of today’s travelers. He will talk about the rising usage of mobile devices among travelers who use it to research, buy and book services. The session will end with him discussing about TripAdvisor’s learnings and next phase of online travel.
Raj Patel, founder & CEO at Innsight will talk about how to use social media as a promotional tool in the hospitality industry. Followed by his session will be another session by Stephanie Johnson, digital marketing social media specialist who will throw light on advanced social media best practices.
John Spear, General Manager of Hotel Drisco & Vice President of Woodside Hotels will focus on revenue management for small property owners and managers. In his session, he will introduce the attendees to the tools large hotel chains use to manage their revenues which can be easily adapted by the small property owner and manager.
There are multiple benefits of attending the InnSpire Conference & Trade show. The large-scale event houses innkeepers and vendors from various realms who get a platform to connect and network with like-minded people from the industry. It is said that “88 percent of people feel that trade shows and conferences are an “important part of the product sourcing and buying process” and 91 percent feel that the events are “essential for comparing products and meeting the vendors in person”. (Source: Skyline Exhibits and EXPO Magazine).
Hoteliers, it is a must-attend event for those seeking information and product related advise in the hospitality industry. Book your seat now by logging on to www.innspireconference.com and don’t forget to share your experience with us.