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Luncheon Program
Date: March 17, 2009 Topic: Go Green... or Go Home, Hoteliers No Longer Have a Choice Location: InterContinental Hotel Panel Discussion Date: April 21, 2009 Topic: IDS & GDS Location: Wilshire Grand Hotel 
Tuesday, March 17, 2009 Go Green... or Go Home, 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM InterContinental Hotel 
HSMAI is again demonstrating the profound value of your membership. This time with the "Green Initiative" and our ability to save you time and considerable expense to research the available resources, solutions / products, while exercising ?due diligence?. We have brought together a team of professionals with insightful practical experience and a dynamic assortment of resources to bring a ?Green Initiative? to your property utilizing affordable methods with tactical expertise, all in one location! Attendees will be provided information in one day that would otherwise take many hours, days, even weeks, to research and organize!
Rebecca Huetter
Thompson Beverly Hills Michael Hoffs Holiday Inn LAX Kathy Weiss Fullerton Marriott Shelly Seaton-Jin Shangri-La Hotels Carla Dispalatro Hotel Maya Long Beach Jan Hollis Mission Inn Riverside Barry Podob Le Parc Suites Michelle Mucha Marriott Norwalk Lynda Sullivan Mondrian  Billy Mendez,
General Manager How did you hear about HSMAI? Why did you join HSMAI? Job duties: Other comments: 
FEATURED ARTICLE  This is No time for Hotels to Cut Back on Sales and Marketing | By David M. Brudney, ISHC, February 2009Never in all of my 44 years in the business have I seen so much anxiety among hoteliers, owners and asset managers. - Not without cause, hotels across the nation have taken draconian steps to deal with the current economic downturn that include layoffs, 35 hour weeks, consolidation of departments, hiring, management salary and bonus freezes, reduction of 401K contributions, closing F&B outlets, and suspension or elimination of existing services and amenities. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend  HSMAI Releases “Meetings Mean Business” Resources To Help Address “AIG Effect”24 February 2009 | MCLEAN, VA -- The need to communicate the value of meetings to those planning meetings, to those influencing decisions on where and if to meet, and to business and government leaders, has never been greater. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend ECONOMIC INSIGHTS The Economic Tailspin Flattens Hotel Satisfaction in Q4 with Cuts in Staff and Services26 February 2009 | SAN RAFAEL, Calif. -- Despite the budget cutbacks, in 2008 Customer Satisfaction was up for hotels (+0.9) and airlines (+1.5) but down for car rental companies (-0.9) compared to 2007. Among hotels, the luxury segment showed the biggest improvement (+1.4), with Le Meridian, Loews and The Ritz-Carlton posting the biggest year over year gains. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Ernst & Young LLP Report Identifies Ten Key Trends To Shape The Industry In 2009 25 February 2009 | NEW YORK -- Global hotel markets are expected to continue to feel pressure from contracting economies and reduced leisure and business travel across much of the world in 2009. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Larkin Hospitality Finances Four Hotels Despite Credit Crunch24 February 2009 | DALLAS, TX -- Larkin Hospitality Finance, a national hotel investment firm specializing in financing hotel properties, announced today that it recently closed four separate loans totaling $16.6 million for their clients. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Travel And Corporate Hospitality Feel Pinch | FT.com23 February 2009 | Employers have cut spending on business travel and client entertaining as they look for other ways of reducing costs to stave off damaging redundancies, a study reveals on Monday. View Article | Send to a Friend Canadian hotels not immune to downturn | hotelnewsnow.com18 February 2009 | While Canada’s stable financial system may insulate the country’s hotel industry from the harshest effects of the global economic meltdown, hoteliers won’t escape unharmed. That’s what two of the industry’s leading economic and performance experts concluded during the opening session at the Hotel Association of Canada’s 17th Annual Conference at the Hilton Toronto last week. View Article | Send to a Friend FEATURED REPORT  Turning Points, When Will The Lodging Industry Grow Again? | PKF VideoPKF Hospitality Research recently released a video featuring Mark Woodworth, President of PKF Hospitality Research, and Jack Corgel, Ph.D, Senior Advisor, PKF Hospitality Research, and Robert C. Baker Professor of Real Estate, Cornell University. In the video, Mr. Woodworth and Professor Corgel analyze the lodging industry’s current location in the business cycle, how long the downturn will last, and when the turning point in this recession will occur. The video incorporates content presented by Mr. Woodworth at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit in San Diego on January 26, 2009. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend HOTEL HIGHLIGHTS & OPENINGS Hilton Garden Inn® Toronto Downtown Opens Doors and Welcomes Guests 26 February 2009 | BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Hilton Garden Inn, one of the fastest growing brands that is part of the Hilton Family of Hotels, today announced the opening of the 224-room Hilton Garden Inn Toronto Downtown, in Ontario, Canada, representing another addition to the brand’s growing collection of more than 400 Hilton Garden Inn hotels across North America, Europe and Central America. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Best Western New Kuta Condotel Bali To Celebrate Soft Opening In April 200927 February 2009 | Bangkok -- Auspiciously located on Dream Land Beach at Kuta, the hotel boasts of 278 tastefully appointed guest rooms with world-class facilities. Best Western New Kuta Condotel will be the first property of Best Western open in Bali Indonesia. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend New Crowne Plaza in Tampa, FL, to Open in Early March26 February 2009 | IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON: IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)], the world's largest hotel group by number of rooms, today announced that the Crowne Plaza Tampa Westshore will open in early March, following a complete interior and exterior multi-million dollar transformation. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Hilton Hotels Corporation Announces Addition of Three Puerto Rico Resorts to Its Luxury and Lifestyle Portfolio 25 February 2009 | BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Hilton Hotels Corporation announces the addition of three of some of Puerto Rico’s most renowned luxury hotels to the company’s luxury and lifestyle brands portfolio. El Conquistador Resort & Golden Door Spa and El San Juan Hotel & Casino join the Waldorf Astoria Collection on Feb. 24, 2009 and April 7, 2009 respectively, while Condado Plaza Hotel & Casino will be welcomed by Conrad Hotels & Resorts on March 12, 2009. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Golden Tulip Hospitality Group Signs Development Agreement To Launch Golden Tulip Russia24 February 2009 | Lausanne -- Golden Tulip Hospitality Group, has signed a development and representation agreement with IFK Hotel Management, a Moscow-based hotel management company. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Hilton Garden Inn Indianapolis Airport Hotel Opens 22 February 2009 | Beverly Hills, Calif. -- Schahet Hotels Inc. and Hilton Garden Inn® is pleased to announce the opening of the Hilton Garden Inn® Indianapolis Airport, in Indianapolis, Ind. The opening represents another addition to the brand’s growing portfolio of more than 400 Hilton Garden Inn locations across North America, Europe and Central America. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend First Doubletree by Hilton in Eastern China Now Open near Kunshan and Shanghai 22 February 2009 | HUAQIAO, China -- Hilton Hotels Corporation has announced the opening of Doubletree by Hilton Huaqiao/Kunshan, the first Doubletree by Hilton branded hotel in East China. The newly built, 397-room hotel is located in the new Huaqiao Central Business District, which is strategically located between Shanghai and Suzhou -- regarded as two of China’s top five economies. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Starwood Hotels & Resorts Announces Five New Projects in China 19 February 2009 | Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT), the largest international upscale hotel operator in China with 47 existing properties, announces the addition of five new hotels to its growing portfolio. The new signings include the first St. Regis resort in Sanya; the first St. Regis hotel in Chengdu, Sichuan; the first Sheraton hotels in Jiangyin and Dalian; and a second Sheraton resort in Huizhou, Guangdong. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend BUSINESS/MEETINGS A Special Update For Independent Hotel Owners and Operators | By John Sears26 February 2009 | As you may be aware, in our industry dominated by the major hotel chains there is limited research data available for independent hotels. One of the key advantages that the big chains have is their ability to use company wide data along with industry and local statistics to make informed decisions. Owners, operators, lenders, and investors of independent hotels benefit from the data and information we possess and we invite you to make use of. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Travel & Tourism In 2009 - The Rise Of The Value-Oriented Traveler | Ufi Ibrahim26 February 2009 | Despite the economic downturn, Ufi Ibrahim of the World Travel & Tourism Council believes that the desire of people all over the world to travel will not abate. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Putting the Past to Use: A Hotel Forecasting Tool for the Current Downturn | Erich Baum & Steve Rushmore - HVS26 February 2009 | HVS, with 11 domestic offices and 14 worldwide, has a massive database of historical operating data. As we entered the current downturn, it occurred to us to look at the actual data for hotels that experienced major rooms revenue losses from 2000 to 2002, in order to see what we could learn about the other categories. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Meetings, Events And Incentive Travel: Critical To American Jobs, Communities And Businesses 25 February 2009 | In adopting a zero-tolerance policy toward suspected corporate excess, policymakers have been demonizing companies for legitimate travel to meetings and events and for rewarding high performing employees with travel. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend INTERNATIONAL European Mixed-Use Resort Development in 2009 | By Philip Bacon, HVS26 February 2009 | How to create a lasting mixed use resort that meets the needs of tomorrow? Who are the customers and investors of tomorrow? What are the trends in legal structures? Do you have the Right Stuff for a successful mixed use resort development? View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts Rated Overall Top Scorer and Best Luxury Hotel in Market Metrix Hospitality Index 26 February 2009 | Singapore -- Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts has achieved victory in customer satisfaction for being the top scorer across all hospitality segments and overall winner of the luxury hotel category with the highest score of 92.6, in the 2008 Annual Market Metrix Hospitality Index (MMHI). View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Key European Markets: RevPAR Forecasts | HotelNewsNow.com26 February 2009 | HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee -- Forecasting hotel performance in uncertain economic times is never easy. No person knows exactly what occupancy and room rates will be in 12 months, much less next month, but historical trends show us what has happened in the past under similar circumstances and we can make assumptions based on that data. View Article | Send to a Friend Asian Travel Demand Slows, Bright Spots Remain 24 February 2009 | Berlin -- As the final numbers on Asia’s 2008 tourism performance are tallied, preliminary results from different sources suggest that the winners in terms of inbound tourism included Indonesia with 17% and Macau with 10%. Southeast and South Asia tied for best performing sub-region, with average increases of 4% each. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Global Hoteliers Expect Tough Year Ahead | Horwath HTL Global Hotel Market Sentiment Survey Shows20 February 2009 | Hoteliers throughout the world are unanimously expecting declines in business performance for 2009 according to the Horwath HTL Global Hotel Market Sentiment Survey. In the face of the global economic downturn, it is not surprising the results of Horwath HTL’s survey indicate a tough year ahead in 2009. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Europe: Drop in Rack Rates Confirms Economic Slowdown | MKG Reports19 February 2009 | The world’s economy slows down, impacting hotel industry rack rates. A primary basis for pricing policies, rack rates are a strong indicator of the current state of the hotel industry and of the operators’ forecasted activity for the coming months. The annual rack rate compilation by MKG Hospitality at the end of 2008 confirms European hoteliers’ concerns and the various strategies implemented to cope with the economic slowdown. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend FEATURED DOWNLOAD  How social networking is changing the hospitality marketplace | By John BuchananRarely have two words—social networking—created such a commotion in business. Or so much confusion. Hailed as the next big thing in marketing, the nascent discipline of social networking—or the use of reviews, blogs, and other forms of user-generated, interactive content as a way of getting closer to customers—is often misunderstood. Instead of realizing that it really means the empowerment of consumers to an unprecedented extent, too many companies see it as a new way to get their marketing message out. But regardless of underlying motive or how little they know about how the game is actually played, everyone wants in. “Everybody is jumping on the social networking bandwagon,” says Adrienne Lenhoff, president of Southfield, Michigan-based Buzzphoria, a social networking firm spun off in October 2007 from a public relations firm she also heads.
TRAVEL INTERNET MARKETING FOCUS Social Networking Sets Its Sights on an Older Demographic | EyeforTravel.com19 February 2009 | Of late some of the top airlines have been in news for setting up or planning travel communities. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend 50% Increase in Bookings Due to Website Revamp19 February 2009 | No summary available. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Expand Your Target Market Internationally to Regain Online Revenue18 February 2009 | As the global economy continues to fluctuate, more than ever, hospitality professionals are being forced to search for new revenue generating ideas. One way to increase your revenue is to recognize the untapped revenue that can stem from new international target market groups. Targeting new international markets can help you gain market share over your competitors. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Do You See A Price War In Your Future? | By Ravi Mehrotra19 February 2009 | Revenue Management professionals are currently on a diet of news that cautions them to “maintain rate,” “don’t repeat the mistakes of 2001” and “don’t get involved in a price war.” Thinking back to 2001 and 2002, says Ravi Mehrotra, president and founder of IDeaS Revenue Optimization – maybe you were working in hospitality but not in revenue management, or maybe you weren’t even involved in the hospitality industry. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Generic Search On The Internet Can be Elusive For Hotels | By Neil Salerno 16 February 2009 | Today, more than ever before, hotels need the exposure and marketing power that only the Internet can provide from a cost-effectiveness standpoint. Your website may look great, but can Internet searchers find it through generic search? Obviously, your website needs to be seen before it can begin to do its job. This requires a good search engine plan to expose your site to Internet visitors. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend REVENUE MANAGEMENT FOCUS Expedia Simplifies Hotel Partners’ Access to Online Distribution and Marketing Tools25 February 2009 | No summary available. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Survey Says.... Set and Forget!25 February 2009 | A recently completed global survey of thousands of individual properties and resellers by Allotz.com clearly shows the industry is hungry for a genuine solution to inventory management. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Yield Management in 2009: How to Keep Your Hotel Up and Running in a Downturn | By Shannon Sampson20 February 2009 | Yield management has always been a good idea for hotels, but one that recessed with years of record demand and record profits. Now that the downturn has many hotels fighting for survival, we need to bring yield management back to the foreground. Industries worldwide shuddered as financial markets plunged in 2008, and the aftershocks are expected to linger well into 2009. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend 2009 Online Marketing Predictions23 February 2009 | The New Year brings positive energy and progressive thinking to our industry, and we feel strongly that this will be a year of change and reward. With so many productive strategies already in the online playing field and on the horizon, businesses and hotels are positioned to expand their online marketing efforts in cost effective ways to engage customers and capture new markets. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Thrive. Don’t just survive. Top 12 Revenue Management Initiatives for 200920 February 2009 | As we hit mid-point of the first quarter, the lodging outlook is bleak. Both PKF and PricewaterhouseCoopers lowered their 2009 RevPAR targets again at the end of January. Smith Travel Research is reporting preliminary January RevPAR down 15-17% nationwide. Lodging stocks continue to be a roller-coaster. While we cannot deny these facts, we can choose our response. In revenue management, this is not the time to just hunker down and survive. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Yield Management in 2009: How to Keep Your Hotel Up and Running in a Downturn | By Shannon Sampson20 February 2009 | Yield management has always been a good idea for hotels, but one that recessed with years of record demand and record profits. Now that the downturn has many hotels fighting for survival, we need to bring yield management back to the foreground. Industries worldwide shuddered as financial markets plunged in 2008, and the aftershocks are expected to linger well into 2009. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Smart Revenue Management Techniques For 2009 | By Leora Lanz20 February 2009 | HVS shares tips for effective revenue management techniques as hotels ride the 2009 economic wave. Try to stay afloat; capture market share; be ready when the upswing returns. With all the key industry indices down, 2009 is turning into one big challenge. So where’s the good news? Our industry is cyclical and the good times will return. Don’t give up! Use this time as an opportunity to be smart with effective revenue management strategies. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend RESORT MARKETING FOCUS European Mixed-Use Resort Development in 2009 | By Philip Bacon, HVS26 February 2009 | How to create a lasting mixed use resort that meets the needs of tomorrow? Who are the customers and investors of tomorrow? What are the trends in legal structures? Do you have the Right Stuff for a successful mixed use resort development? View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Marketing to Succeed in Difficult Economic Times | By Madigan Pratt12 February 2009 | Every sector of business, including hospitality, faces momentous challenges stemming from the global recession. Occupancy is suffering, and all indications are that the deterioration will persist for quite some time. The latest Blue Chip Economic Indicators Report, a composite forecast of 52 economists, projects the worst recession since World War II with an upturn not beginning until late 2009. Some predict it may take longer. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend HOTEL DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING CRM and Loyalty Special25 February 2009 | Can it be argued that most travel companies today are not delivering personalised experiences based on customer needs? From IBM’s perspective, its VP of Travel and Transportation, Raul Arce feels there is a void as far as customisation is concerned. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend New Survey Reveals Destination Preferences of Affluent Leisure Travelers25 February 2009 | Orlando, Fla. -- Urban destinations continue to top the list of vacation destinations preferred by affluent leisure travelers, with New York City and Las Vegas receiving top mentions according to the just-released Ypartnership Portrait of Affluent TravelersSM View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Train Your Voice Reservations Agents To Handle Today’s Value-Driven Deal-Seekers | By Doug Kennedy25 February 2009 | How interesting it has been as an industry veteran to see the Internet website emerge as a major distribution channel over the last decade. For years we saw website bookings increase dramatically while reservations call volume declined, leading some to wonder if the hotel of the future would still need a reservations department. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Industry Leaders From Best Western, Southwest Airlines and MasterCard Address Recession's Impact on Business Travel 18 February 2009 | Travel industry executives representing Best Western International, Southwest Airlines and MasterCard Worldwide recently convened for the third annual Business Travel Summit for a discussion of the recession's impact on business travel. The roundtable, moderated by business travel expert Chris McGinnis, also provided tips for companies and individual business travelers to reign in expenses in a down economy. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Travel Community Issues Guidelines for Use of Meetings and Events by Recipients of Emergency Government Assistance 10 February 2009 | Leaders from key organizations representing the meetings, events and incentive travel industries united to issue guidelines on acceptable business travel practices to companies that have received emergency government lending. The guidelines, built upon existing corporate best practices, are designed to ensure transparency and accountability and protect the one million American jobs supported by corporate meetings and events. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Meeting Planners Gain Leverage | By: Robert Mandelbaum23 January 2009 | What a difference a year makes! Back in the summer of 2007, meeting planners were resigned to the strong market conditions that gave hotel sales managers the advantage when negotiating event contracts. Planners accepted that they would have to pay high room rates and stringent cancellation and attrition penalties. Fast forward to the summer of 2008 and the negotiating pendulum has shifted dramatically. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend SALES & MARKETING FACULTY Cornell Hospitality Quarterly Article Explains Investment Shortfall in Hotel and Restaurant Stocks 19 February 2009 | An analysis of four decades of hospitality industry stock returns shows that investors have attempted to time the market—and missed. As explained by Cornell professor David Weinbaum, the timing of investment flows has been inverse to stock performance. Weinbaum's analysis of hotel investment and hospitality industry investing, " View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Dr Russell Arthur Smith Appointed Interim Dean Of Cornell Nanyang Institute of Hospitality Management (CNI). 19 February 2009 | Dr. Russell Arthur Smith has been appointed Interim Dean for the Cornell Nanyang Institute of Hospitality Management (CNI). For the past four years he has served as the Vice Dean for CNI and was a member of the original Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU) negotiating team, appointed to establish the CNI, in collaboration with Cornell University. The institute hopes to recruit a permanent Dean by 2010. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Ecotourism leader to share insights at Cornell Hotel School 18 February 2009 | Anne Loehr will be the featured speaker in the Conversations with Entrepreneurs series to be presented this Thursday, February 19th, by the Leland C. and Mary M. Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship at the Cornell School of Hotel Administration. Loehr will present from 4:15-5:30 p.m. in 196 Statler Hall. She will have dinner with selected students after the event and will meet with students, staff and faculty the next day. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Students learn about information technologies in the hospitality industry through job shadowing | projo.com11 February 2009 | The hospitality industry might not be the first business that comes to mind when thinking about information technology. But at a hotel such as the Hyatt Regency Newport Hotel & Spa, information technology is widely used throughout the business, from taking reservations to keeping track of which rooms have been cleaned. About 30 students from the William M. Davies Jr. View Article | Send to a Friend COLUMNS Don’t Eat In Bed: Tips For Making The Most Of Room Service, The Costliest Way To Enjoy A Meal | By Daniel Edward Craig27 February 2009 | For weary travelers, there’s nothing more appealing than having a hot, scrumptious meal delivered to our hotel room. Room service brings out the kid in us. We get to do things we can’t do at home: eat in bed, watch TV, and leave our dirty dishes in the hallway. Yet the experience rarely lives up to expectations. Meals take forever to arrive, food is cold and soggy, and prices mysteriously double after we place the order. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend “Fraud? I’m Lucky. People Don’t Steal In My Organization.” | By David Bleser24 February 2009 | Bernie Madoff. R. Allen Stanford. Arthur Nadal. All of these individuals are alleged to have been the ringmasters of several recently uncovered frauds. When one thinks about it for a moment, are we really surprised that these frauds were perpetrated for years? View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Lessons from the Field | How to make more sales calls than any other way or Trade Shows can be invaluable if... | By John Hogan20 February 2009 | A growing number of people have contacted me by email recently expressing frustration with declining occupancies and revenues. The need is very real for hoteliers in every market segment across the globe to grasp how to apply a moving set of best practices in addressing these very real concerns. Those practices continue to include executing the fundamentals of sales and accurate communication. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Trendspotting The Silver Lining | By Yeoh Siew Hoon17 February 2009 | I've been having a couple of thoughts about the current times we find ourselves in, from various conversations I've been having with the industry, and here's how I see things panning out. 1. Cost is driving everything. Business travellers - the ones that are still travelling - are trading down and changing their habits. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Hotel Mobile Marketing | A Hotel Guest Story From The Near Future | HoteleMarketer.com17 February 2009 | Here’s a peek at the hotel guest experience in the near future. With mobile phones becoming an increasingly important marketing and CRM channel, improving technology and awareness will soon allow hotel marketers to enhance the hotel guest interaction, in a very similar way to what’s described below… Hotel Booking and Research Sam wants to book a hotel for an overnight stay in a nearby city in a weeks time. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend THE LATEST ENTRIES FROM TOP HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY BLOGS This Blog consolidator provides summaries of entries from Blogs by industry insiders and publications, including USA Today Hotel Hot Sheet, HotelChatter, Revenue Management Forum, and Tourism Internet Marketing. It will appear in each issue of the eConnect Industry Trends Update and is always accessible on the HSMAI Foundation's eConnect site. If you have a Blog to recommend for inclusion, please use the online form to do so or to provide feedback on this new feature. Lose your job and get free nightsThe Concept: Travelers who’ve been let go recently can still take the vacation they probably need. When they book at Recreo in Costa Rica, they get a free night if they and a...  Tuesday, March 10 - Posted on USA Today Hotel Hotsheet | Kitty Bean Yancey The Plaza's Oak Room in fluxHmm, it seems as if the legendary Oak Room of Manhattan's revamped The Plaza Hotel is still trying to find its niche. Its current incarnation, unveiled after the renovation t... Monday, March 9 - Posted on USA Today Hotel Hotsheet | Kitty Bean Yancey How to Sell In a Buyer's MarketWebinar Recap: A shift in control from hotels to the hands of consumers has taken place in the hospitality industry amid current economic conditions. The demand for increased... Monday, March 9 - Posted on HSMAI News and Views Hotel Blogs participates in a white paperJitendra Jain, an online marketer at Starwood Hotels & Resorts has gathered different people to give their thoughts on the online hotel industry for 2009. Hotel Blogs partici... Monday, February 23 - Posted on Hotel Blogs 2.0 | Guillaume Thevenot Stein Hotels become Franklyn HotelsThe European small luxury hotel chain goes global and decides to rebrand their group Franklyn Hotels & Resorts. This new brand aims to appeal better to International consumer... Monday, February 23 - Posted on Hotel Blogs 2.0 | Guillaume Thevenot Been there #27 - Ping Pong South Bank13/20Ping Pong South BankFestival Terrabce, Southbank Centre, Belvedere London, SE1 8XXPing Pong is one of the most popular dim sum restaurant chain with no less than 12 rest... Sunday, February 22 - Posted on Hotel Blogs 2.0 | Guillaume Thevenot Evolving Travel IntentionsWebinar Recap: Peter C. Yesawich, Ph. D, president and CEO of YPartnership discussed recent research on consumer travel intentions, as revealed in Ypartnership's National Tra... Friday, February 20 - Posted on HSMAI News and Views Advertise Aggressively in a Recession - Part IINeed more proof it pays to advertise in a recession? General Mills cites supporting its well known brands with increased advertising (up nearly 20% in the second half of 2008... Wednesday, February 18 - Posted on Hospitality Marketing Blog.com | Madigan Pratt Advertise Aggressively in a RecessionThe article “Marketing to Succeed in Difficult Economic Times” mentions how Wharton Professors recommend increasing advertising to build share and revenue in recessionary tim... Monday, February 16 - Posted on Hospitality Marketing Blog.com | Madigan Pratt Marketing to Succeed in Difficult Economic Times“Every sector of business, including hospitality, faces momentous challenges stemming from the global recession. Occupancy is suffering, and all indications are that the dete... Friday, February 13 - Posted on Hospitality Marketing Blog.com | Madigan Pratt All Blogs ECONNECT RSS FEEDS  Stay on top of what's happening in your city and the industry. As an HSMAI member, you can now customize your eConnect news and information to include daily
news from your choice of more than 40 city Business Journals. The HSMAI Foundation's eConnect research
and resource site now gives you the choice of adding news feeds (via Real Simple Syndication, or RSS)
that are updated throughout the day from Business Journals as well as the top hospitality industry and
consumer publications. Just click here, log in to eConnect if you aren't already, and choose from the
list of available feeds. Click here to learn more...
HSMAI UPDATE
HSMAI Releases “Meetings Mean Business” Resources To Help Address “AIG Effect”24 February 2009 | MCLEAN, VA -- The need to communicate the value of meetings to those planning meetings, to those influencing decisions on where and if to meet, and to business and government leaders, has never been greater. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Thrive. Don’t just survive. Top 12 Revenue Management Initiatives for 200920 February 2009 | As we hit mid-point of the first quarter, the lodging outlook is bleak. Both PKF and PricewaterhouseCoopers lowered their 2009 RevPAR targets again at the end of January. Smith Travel Research is reporting preliminary January RevPAR down 15-17% nationwide. Lodging stocks continue to be a roller-coaster. While we cannot deny these facts, we can choose our response. In revenue management, this is not the time to just hunker down and survive. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend HSMAI's Affordable Meetings Mid-america Launches Online “Match” Program And Personalized Agendas18 February 2009 | Exhibitors can now collect new sales leads even before the doors open to the Ninth Annual HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings® Mid-America at Chicago's Navy Pier, April 1-2, 2009. New to Affordable Meetings, NetworkNow!, an online attendee/exhibitor matching program will help foster new relationships between buyers and sellers by capturing and matching relevant buyer interest to exhibitor product benefits. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend HSMAI Global Names New Asia Pacific Managing Director17 February 2009 | The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) announces Bernadette Dennis, director of BD Concepts Pty Ltd, as the new Managing Director of HSMAI Asia Pacific. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend HSMAI's Affordable Meetings® Mid-America Offers Attendees Cost-effective Solutions For The Tough Economic Market5 February 2009 | The demand for affordable meetings is increasing, especially with continued budget cuts due to the current recession. Today planners are dependent on reliable and affordable partners as they are still tasked to produce high-quality events while often working with a smaller budget. Planners will find these partners and other affordable solutions at the Ninth Annual HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings® Mid-America at Chicago's Navy Pier, April 1-2, 2009. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend FEATURED EVENTS  Managing Business Results/Managing Revenue | HSMAI University 2 - 6 March 2009 HSMAI is offering a prestigious new professional certification, the CHBA - Certified in Hospitality Business Acumen. Pre-qualification requirements include experience in the industry as well as a certificate of completion of these two unique training courses offered by HSMAI University and Johnson & Wales University-Denver, 'Managing Business Results' and 'Managing Revenue'.Denver, CO  HSMAI Hotel Sales Strategy ConferenceMaximizing Revenue and Resources in a Changing Economy 31 March 2009 Save the dated for the 3rd HSMAI Hotel Sales Strategy conference,. The conference, organized by HSMAI's Hotel Director of Sales & Marketing Special Interest Group, is designed to add even greater value for hotel sales staff attending HSMAI's Affordable Meetings Mid-America, which follows on April 1-2, 2009. Chicago, IL  HSMAI's Affordable Meetings Mid-America 2009 1 - 2 April 2009 HSMAI's Affordable Meetings® is a unique trade show and learning opportunity for meeting and event planners which takes place annually in three locations across the country.Chicago, IL  9th Annual Resort Conference 3 - 5 May 2009 No summary available.Palm Beach Garden, FL HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings® West 200910 - 11 June 2009 HSMAI's Affordable Meetings® West is the ideal forum where planners, properties and suppliers come together to do business – attracting motivated planners from all sectors of the industry who attend looking for quality resources to enhance their meetings and events. San Jose, CA  HSMAI Revenue Management & Internet Marketing Strategy Conference25 June 2009 Save the date for the Revenue Management & Internet Marketing Strategy Conference, which will be co-located with the annual HITEC show. Presented by HSMAI's Revenue Management and Travel Internet Marketing Advisory Boards, the conference will feature the latest trends in two of the most importance disciplines in sales and marketing today. Anaheim, CA All HSMAI EventsAll Upcoming Industry EventsFEATURED HSMAI UNIVERSITY PROGRAMS 
HSMAI University programs for 2009 are aligned with HSMAI's Special Interest Groups to offer specialized content
to support business needs in revenue management, Internet marketing, hotel director of sales & marketing and
resort marketing. Every aspect of the content and support material included in the HSMAI University program has
been specifically designed and developed for those involved in sales and marketing, including an inventory of
subject matter appropriate to individuals with responsibilities ranging from entry-level to advanced.HSMAI-U offers workshops and seminars in various cities, and "Webinars" incorporating 60-minute presentations conducted "live" via the web with audio conference linkage. Upcoming HSMAI University Programs:
HSMAI University Webinars are recorded and archived. To learn more and purchase archive copies, please click here. HSMAI's eConnect Industry Trends Update twice-monthly newsletter is an exclusive benefit of membership in HSMAI. It is a compilation of news briefs from around the media on the state of the hospitality, travel and tourism industry, with access to in-depth articles, columns, reports and multimedia on eConnect: a one-stop portal to global information and resources on hospitality sales and marketing topics provided by the HSMAI Foundation. Click on item headlines below to read the entire article. We welcome your comments and suggestions regarding this newsletter at info@hsmai.org, or use the online form.
Let's face it: most of us tried to succeed in business many times before we saw much success. Very few of us turn real profits the first time around. While your success story is one of the most powerful marketing tools around, it may also help to tell your customers about the difficult road that got you here. Especially on the Internet, real-life "how I got here" stories play extremely well, because your customers can identify with your struggles. Don't be afraid to tell them you got here by trial and error. Don't be embarrassed to explain all the wild notions you tried before you settled on your successful business idea. Chances are your customers have been to many of the same places you have been. Letting customers in on your past business blunders makes them feel more comfortable with you...and more likely to buy. Tell your story in a bio, sales materials, or an "our history" page. Tell your customers the steps (both forward and backward) that led to your eventual success, and they'll have more faith in you.
Your mail in Mozilla Thunderbird, Outlook, Windows Mail, Outlook Express, Eudora or whichever email program you prefer is, unquestionably, great — unless, of course, you are not at the computer holding your mail but still want or need to access it. What options do you have for retrieving your messages at multiple different locations and computers? You Have an IMAP Account If you access your mail using IMAP, you are all set and done. All your mail is stored at the server. To access your mail from another computer using IMAP:
You can get a free IMAP account with many a web-based email service (including Gmail and AIM Mail). Many services can retrieve mail from POP accounts — and thus provide ubiquitous IMAP access to the account's mail —, too. |
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