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   Evening Program
Date: June 23, 2009 Topic: Best Practices in a Tough Economy Location: The Queen Mary Social Event Date: July 15, 2009 Topic: TBA Location: TBA 
Wednesday, May 27, 2009 Change Brings Opportunity 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM 
Catering and F & B Service is HSMAI’s focus for our May event. We are excited to bring more value to your membership again with a marketing / operations expert in food and beverage service, catering and event planning with a tremendous legacy we can all envy; that would be Frank O’Dea [bio], Senior VP of the famous Wolfgang Puck and an executive member of NACE, National Association of Catering Executives.
Kelda Nelson
Radisson LAX Manya duHoffmann NoMad Hotel New York City Gary Kohler Crowne Plaza Ventura Mia Fairbanks Loews Santa Monica Lenard Dobrowolski Doubletree Ontario Nicky Gore-Jones Sheraton Delfina Kevin Anawati Hotel Palomar Westwood  Christi Evans,
Global Director of Group Sales How did you hear about HSMAI? Why did you join HSMAI? Job duties: Other organization I'm involved in: Hobbies and/or Special Interests Tell us about your immediate family: Other comments: Christi Evans Bio: Christi joined K Hotels in 2008 as the Global Director of Group Sales bringing with her 5 years of Hospitality Sales experience. Christi’s duties include world-wide Group Sales, lead distribution and relationship management and Mid-West Development. Before assuming her current role at K Hotels, Christi was Group Sales Manager for Thompson Hotels- The Hollywood Roosevelt. During her time with Thompson Hotels, Christi grew the group sales revenue by over 1.5 million dollars annually. She also assisted in the re-launching of The Hollywood Roosevelt in 2006 and served as the interim- Director of Sales for 4 months. Prior to Thompson Hotels, she was Group Sales Manager at La Costa Resort and Spa. Christi received a B.A in Business Communication from Point Loma Nazarene University. She also studied International Marketing and Economics at Macquarie University, Australia, and has traveled extensively The South Pacific. Christi grew up in Carlsbad, California and currently resides in Los Angeles. She is based and offices out of K Hotels corporate headquarters in Beverly Hills. 
FEATURED ARTICLE
 Maybe, just maybe … the bottom | By Mark V. Lomanno | hotelnewsnow.comTennessee—While the breadth and the depth of the current economic downturn have turned occupancy and average room rate performance into mush, we have begun to see signs that the bottom of the cycle might be near. While there certainly is no guarantee that this indeed is the case, because there are many ways to actually measure what the bottom actually is, we are reasonably confident that the most important variable in this lodging downturn, demand growth, or the lack thereof, has troughed. The lodging industry’s demand decline was accented by two sharp, deep drops in the number of rooms sold. The first of which began early in the fourth quarter of 2008 lasting until December, when there was a short-lived improvement. This initial shock was caused by the fall of Lehman Brothers and was further exacerbated by the now-infamous AIG meeting debacle. These two events affected all aspects of travel, but initially the greatest impact was felt in leisure and business transient travelers. View Article | Send to a Friend ECONOMIC INSIGHTS  STR releases updated projections for 2009 and 201029 April 2009 | STR projects a 9.8-percent year-over-year decline in revenue per available room for 2009, and it expects a 1.5-percent increase in 2010, according to the latest data released from the Hendersonville-based company. A difficult environment resulted in a 17.7-percent RevPAR decline in the first quarter of 2009 and led to the company revising its forecast. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend AMEX Research: Domestic and International Airfare Increased in 2008 as Hotel Rates Decreased29 April 2009 | American Express Business Travel today released data and analysis of its North American-based domestic and international air, hotel, and car rental prices paid for the full 2008 year and first quarter of 2009, as economic conditions heavily impacted a change in average prices paid for business travel. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend U.S. Hotel Construction Pipeline Decelerating Rapidly 29 April 2009 | In Q1 2009, the US Construction Pipeline decelerated rapidly and now stands at 4,918 projects / 619,431 rooms. Compared to the Pipeline peak in Q2 2008, this is a drop of 16% by projects and 21% by rooms, a substantial fall-off for a three-quarter period. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend STR Global releases global hotel performance results for the Americas, Asia/Pacific, Europe, and Middle East/Africa regions for March 200928 April 2009 | The Americas region reported declines in all three key performance metrics when reported in U.S. dollars for March 2009, according to data compiled by STR and STR Global. Occupancy for the region dropped 11.2 percent to 55.7 percent; average daily rate dropped 10.5 percent to US$100.94; and revenue per available room dropped 20.5 percent to US$56.18. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Luxury Market Recovery? Not Yet, but Signs Point to Long, Slow Crawl Back23 April 2009 | For the first time in nearly two years, there is evidence that the recession may be moderating. However, luxury goods marketers should not celebrate yet; the evidence also shows that affluent consumers are changing their patterns of consumption, and these changes may outlast any economic downturn. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Global Survey ‘Checks Out’ Hotels | synovate.com22 April 2009 | According to a new consumer survey on hotels released by leading global market research firm Synovate, one in ten people globally will only stay at a hotel if it has a green policy, more than half of all travelers like to try new hotels and Americans feel that the hotel toiletries are ‘part of the experience’. Sheri Lambert, Synovate's U.S. View Article | Send to a Friend FEATURED REPORT  STR global hotel performance for March 2009The Americas region reported declines in all three key performance metrics when reported in U.S. dollars for March 2009, according to data compiled by STR and STR Global. Occupancy for the region dropped 11.2 percent to 55.7 percent; average daily rate dropped 10.5 percent to US$100.94; and revenue per available room dropped 20.5 percent to US$56.18. Among the key markets, three markets reported increases in occupancy: Mexico City, Mexico (+5.5 percent to 59.5 percent); Ottawa, Canada (+0.8 percent to 62.8 percent); and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (+0.3 percent to 70.4 percent). Nassau, Bahamas, reported the largest occupancy decrease (-23.0 percent to 63.2 percent).
HOTEL HIGHLIGHTS & OPENINGS Luxury hotels in balancing act with price, image | cnn.com28 April 2009 | A year ago, employees at Boiron, a medical manufacturing company, wined and dined at the Ritz-Carlton Golf & Spa Resort overlooking the picturesque bay in Rose Hall, Jamaica, for their annual retreat. This year, employees are saying goodbye to luxury as company President Ludovic Rassat moved the event to a more sensible location: the Sheraton Suites Philadelphia Airport. View Article | Send to a Friend Hotel guests who pay ahead can get ahead | miamiherald.com28 April 2009 | Add commitment issues to the list of woes facing South Florida hotels these days. With job security seeming as luxurious as a poolside daiquiri, many travelers are holding off vacation plans until they're certain they can afford to get away. That hesitation usually pays, since last-minute deals are easy to find. View Article | Send to a Friend The Prototype Guestroom for Home2 Suites by Hilton Utilizes a 70% Recycled Modular Carpet Tile Flooring 27 April 2009 | Home2 Suites by Hilton™, the new mid-tier extended-stay hotel concept targeting savvy and value-wise extended-stay guests, is utilizing state-of-the-art post-consumer recycled content carpeting by InterfaceFLOR™, the largest modular carpet tile manufacturer in the world, to outfit its model prototype at the Memphis, Tenn. headquarters. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Court Enjoins Hilton, Ross Klein and Amar Lalvani in Connection with Litigation Filed by Starwood25 April 2009 | Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) announced today that Judge Stephen C. Robinson, United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York, entered a Preliminary Injunction in connection with litigation filed last week by Starwood against Hilton Hotels Corporation and former Starwood executives Ross Klein and Amar Lalvani. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend W Hotels Unveils Waterfront Wow with the Grand Opening of W Hoboken 24 April 2009 | W® Hotels Worldwide, the hotel category buster and industry innovator, today unveils its latest insider escape with the grand opening of the highly anticipated W Hoboken hotel and The Residences at W Hoboken. This sleek riverfront property has been designed by New York-based Gwathmey Siegel & Associates, providing a contemporary cool environment for both international jetsetters and local loyalists. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Washington Hotels Hold Their Own as Industry Lags | washingtonpost.com23 April 2009 | The hotel industry expects another difficult year as loans come due and occupancy rates drop, but the Washington area is expected to bear up somewhat better than other parts of the country. At a meeting of hotel investors in Washington yesterday, industry researchers said they expect to see more hotels here and across the country defaulting on loans, going into foreclosure and seeking to restructure their debt. View Article | Send to a Friend John Q. Hammons' Legacy To Developers | hotelsmag.com23 April 2009 | What can hotel developers learn from John Q. Hammons, a master of the industry who personally developed more than 200 hotel projects? What were the keys to his success and what changes in the project development structure could help other companies follow Hammons example? For decades John Q’s strategy has been to concentrate on emerging, second-tier locations that offer opportunities for the developer to carve out protected market niches. View Article | Send to a Friend BUSINESS/MEETINGS AH&LA Sends Letter To President Obama Opposing Government Business Travel Cutbacks27 April 2009 | The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) delivered a letter to President Barack Obama today in response to his Administration’s announcement that the Veterans Administration is reducing its business travel expenditures to find budget savings. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Green Groups Don’t Have To Sleep on Dirty Sheets – Even on Earth Day22 April 2009 | The Knowland Group, the world’s leader in hotel group intelligence, finds that meeting planners do not actually require their attendees to accept hotel-offered green options! Practices, such as forgoing daily laundering, can not be individually enforced by planners, Knowland found, after calling environmental groups from within the extensive Knowland database of meeting and event planners. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Corporate Travel Manager Roundtable: Managing The Great Recession | btnonline.com21 April 2009 | McGraw-Hill senior manager of global travel administration Mona Jageman, Shell Oil U.S. View Article | Send to a Friend Corporate Travel: Hotel Compliance Rising But Lagging | btnonline.com21 April 2009 | Traveler compliance with preferred hotel programs, though improving, still trails other policy aspects, and buyers are reporting emerging challenges in recent months as competing hotel deals that beat negotiated rates tempt travelers to book outside the program. "Compliance with preferred hotel programs is still not what it needs to be," American Express Global Advisory Services vice president Frank Schnur said. View Article | Send to a Friend NBTA Launches Sports Travel Task Force14 April 2009 | The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) has begun discussions with key leaders of the sports travel world. At a recent meeting at the NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis, IN, a group of 11 travel leaders met to discuss the business of sports travel management. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend INTERNATIONAL W Hotels Transforms the Middle East Hotel Market with the Opening of W Doha Hotel & Residences29 April 2009 | W Hotels Worldwide, the hotel category buster and industry innovator, marks its entry into the Middle East with the opening of the highly-anticipated W Doha Hotel & Residences. Designed by London-based United Designers, W Doha merges traditional Arabian imagery with the contemporary cool design of the W brand and modern creativity of United Designers. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend London Market Update | March 2009 | By James Chappell 29 April 2009 | To say the market has been extremely tough over the last few months would be a massive understatement. We can see the effects that the banking crisis is having, the wider implications of an economic slowdown in the UK and the knock on for our own industry. As clients you have been very supportive of us in the past, either when we were The Bench or HotelBenchmark and now as STR Global and we want to try and help as much as we can. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend PwC: Road to recovery is long and winding for UK hotels28 April 2009 | indicators show UK hotels, of all shapes and sizes are in for a rough ride over 2009, with nearly 200 per cent more hotel companies becoming insolvent in Q1 2009 than in the same quarter last year. Up to this point we have mainly seen smaller, standalone hotels, with only a few exceptions of hotel companies where debt levels have become unsustainable as demand and profits have declined. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Occupancy declines hit Thai markets, rates are steadier | STR Global reports28 April 2009 | Data from STR Global, the leading provider of market information to the global hotel industry, highlights the plight of local markets in Thailand and puts the effect of the country’s recent political disruption into a regional context. The ongoing political unrest in Bangkok has affected the country's hospitality industry, which already has to deal with worsening global economic conditions. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Europe: The curse of interesting times || By Andrew Sangster | hotelnewsnow.com28 April 2009 | Just how low is the economy going to go? After its usual lag, the hotel industry now is suffering the full effects of the recession globally.In late April, one of the world’s foremost economic forecasters, the International Monetary Fund, predicted the recession is going to be the worst one since the 1930s. Nowhere appears immune. View Article | Send to a Friend March 2009 European Chain Hotels Market Review | Tri Hospitality28 April 2009 | London’s new affordability keeps occupancy high Lower room rates are helping keep London hotel occupancy high, according to the latest European HotStats survey by TRI Hospitality Consulting. Out of ten major European cities, London occupancy came top with an average of 76 per cent for the first three months of 2009, but its average room rate came in fifth place at €140.40. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend How New Hotels Can Transform Emerging Markets | By Laura Kalcevic24 April 2009 | In a recent assignment, HVS was asked to project the likely market behavior of a proposed luxury hotel in Zihuatanejo, Mexico. Presently, the Zihuatanejo market features two luxury and two upscale properties, with up to four new projects being proposed in similar or superior service categories. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend FEATURED DOWNLOAD  A changed landscape | Deloitte Executive Report: Winter/Spring 2009The tourism, hospitality and leisure industry is facing unprecedented challenges. Our latest report highlights ways in which companies can help reposition their business to face the downturn and be in the best possible shape to take advantage of any potential upturn, and also looks at the longer term outlook for the Middle East, and at the role of Sovereign Wealth Funds. The Middle East – strong foundations in difficult times – tourism is both a driver and a beneficiary of economic growth in the Middle East. What now? | Aviation – hitting stormy weather – how is the airline industry faring in the current climate | | Economic woes threaten hotel performance – a global review of hotel performance in 2008 | Uncertain times call for a sharper focus – few people were able to predict the speed and scale of the economic fallout that has followed the credit crunch. We flag up the best ways to drive down costs while pushing up efficiency | Exploring sovereign territory – Sovereign wealth funds have become a major force over the past three years but will this continue?
TRAVEL INTERNET MARKETING FOCUS Interview with Ted Schweitzer, VP e-commerce, La Quinta29 April 2009 | Marketers need to prioritise their marketing initiatives across several dimensions. These are – the amount of return on the marketing spend, certainty (the likelihood of the amount of return), timing (estimating when the return would be accrued) and sustainability (for how long there can be a steady stream of profit). According to View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Largest Ever Twitter Giveaway About to Launch in Dubai27 April 2009 | The social networking website Twitter has become one of the fastest growing communities over the past year, seeing a 974% increase in 2008 alone. Leaping from being the 2,953rd most popular website in the UK last year to 291st in mid January 2009, Twitter is fast becoming a contender for the social networking hub of choice. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend On-Demand Webinar Examines Ways to Better Merchandise Your Hotel Online27 April 2009 | Listings on online travel agencies (OTAs) and third-party travel websites present hoteliers with opportunities to engage travel consumers at every step in the travel shopping process, from research and comparison through to booking. Many hoteliers aren’t getting the maximum value from their hotel listings because they aren’t leveraging the power of online merchandising strategies. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Orbitz to Cut Hotel-Booking Fee | wsj.com23 April 2009 | Orbitz Worldwide Inc. plans to announce Wednesday that it will reduce the service fee it charges travelers to book hotel rooms on its Web site through July 15, upping the ante after recent online travel-agency moves to cut the fee on airline-ticket bookings. View Article | Send to a Friend Social Media's Only Rule: Don't be Boring | chiefmarketer.com22 April 2009 | There's a growing conversation about the "rules of social media" and the consequences marketers face should they violate them. But there's only real rule of social media: don't be boring. So long as you do not bore your audience, you are free to try anything. That goes for individuals and brands alike. The idea that a certain set of rules governs social media is both limiting and silly, especially as social media is evolving on a daily basis. View Article | Send to a Friend Don’t bother me … I am CMSing! | By Patricia Brusha22 April 2009 | I sat down at my computer Friday morning and after much resistance, hesitancy and denial, I opened a Twitter account and took the plunge. I have to say I had not really been able to figure out the purpose of tweeting until I attended the Twitter panel last week at the Online Revealed Conference in Niagara Falls. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend PhoCusWright Analysts Identify the Top 10 Travel Technology Trends for 200915 April 2009 | With 2009 in full swing, PhoCusWright takes a fresh look at the technologies and innovations that have the potential to drive change in the travel, tourism and hospitality in its annual publication, PhoCusWright’s 2009 Technology Trend Predictions. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Morgans Hotel Group Announces the Launch of Recess Sessions 14 April 2009 | No summary available. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend
REVENUE MANAGEMENT FOCUS Revenue Management And Internet Marketing Disciplines Converge At HSMAI Conference28 April 2009 | An evolution is happening in the hospitality industry with the increasing convergence of the revenue management and Internet marketing fields. On June 25, 2009, hospitality professionals will gather at the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) Revenue Management & Internet Marketing Strategy Conference in Anaheim, Calif. to discuss how these two disciplines are evolving. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Four steps to setting accountability: building revenues | By Dr. John Hogan, CHE CHA MHS 29 April 2009 | Building revenues is a challenge facing almost all businesses today. Success in building revenues is not the only reason to discuss the concept of ACCOUNTABILITY, but it is a logical place to consider in times of economic uncertainty. By design, this will be a short column – it can be so because the ability to set accountability can be stated in four steps. Determination, Goal Setting, Concentration and Perseverance. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend [MULTIMEDIA] The Rainmaker Group Announces revolution SM 1.6 Revenue Management 27 April 2009 | The Rainmaker Group, the world leader in automated profit optimization software and services to the gaming hospitality industry for total customer value, announced its implementation of the industry’s first automated, fully integrated promoted demand and multiple forecasting model revenue management solution. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend UK hoteliers experience further falls in March | PKF Reports27 April 2009 | Hotels across the UK experienced further falls across occupancy, room rate and rooms yield in March, according to monthly figures released today by PKF Hotel Consultancy Services. Direct year on year comparisons are hard to make when Easter falls in different months, which is the case between 2008 and 2009, but nonetheless the figures suggest that the economic downturn continued to affect the capital. View Article | Send to a Friend SAS® and IDeaS more valuable than ever in gaming and hospitality21 April 2009 | SAS and IDeaS customers are benefiting significantly from the August 2008 acquisition of IDeaS. As proof of the two companies' perfect fit, SAS -- the leader in business analytics --immediately began working with IDeaS to enhance and expand IDeaS Revenue Management solutions. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend
RESORT MARKETING FOCUS Ninth Annual Resort Conference Goes Virtual In 20092 April 2009 | It's no secret that the resort community has been hit particularly hard during the current economic downturn and in the aftermath of the incentive travel backlash. Many of HSMAI's members and operations professionals in this segment are finding it increasingly difficult to leave their properties to attend educational seminars or meetings. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Optimistic Mood Prevails As Hotel, Tourism Officials Gather At Caribbean Investment Conference In Bermuda22 April 2009 | A total of 296 attendees, including bankers, investors, developers, hoteliers and tourism officials, expressed optimism last week as they gathered in Bermuda for the annual Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference (CHTIC), a cooperative event organized by the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) and the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO). View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Resort downturn accelerates during troubled economy | By Martha Lomanno | hotelnewsnow.com22 April 2009 | Since 2005, resort properties throughout the United States have been experiencing declines in all three key hotel performance measures, as demand has decreased significantly. In light of the current economic state, this decline has become more severe. Teamed with the large supply increases throughout the resort segment, occupancy and revenue per available room seem to be declining further—though hopefully only for a short time. View Article | Send to a Friend HOTEL DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING Does green marketing lead to greenbacks? | emarketer.com20 April 2009 | Everyone knows that the price of going green is usually steeper than the alternative—in almost any product category. So with the recession putting the squeeze on consumer spending, are marketers becoming less enthusiastic about pushing environmentally correct products? View Article | Send to a Friend Generate More Revenue By Making Training Everyone’s Job | By Doug Kennedy14 April 2009 | During the past few years of record profits many hotels and hotel companies have invested heavily in ramping up their in-house and corporate level training resources. Now that we are in a down market, one can easily see which organizations truly comprehend and believe in the value of ongoing training versus those who view it as window dressing. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend SALES & MARKETING FACULTY New Hampshire Students Named Sixth Annual LMP Competition Champs28 April 2009 | High school hospitality students from Kennett High School in North Conway, New Hampshire took home the national title in the sixth annual American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (EI) National Lodging Management Program (LMP) Competition held April 16-18, 2009. The three-day event at the Orlando Airport Marriott challenged students to the real-life work experiences in a hotel. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend The Future of Sustainable Tourism... Presentation By Dr Rachel Dodds, Ryerson University23 April 2009 | I had the pleasure of listening to Dr Rachel Dodds of Ryerson University, Canada give a presentation on the Future of Sustainable Tourism as part of Victoria University’s Tourism Future Makers or Future Takers series. Rachel is one of the leading experts on the subject and provided an insight of what is happening now and what is to come. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Cornell Study Finds Restaurant Goers Like Innovations in Early Dining Stages23 April 2009 | A comparison of eleven technologies commonly used in restaurants found that restaurant customers find virtual menus with nutritional information to be the most valuable of new technologies, followed closely by online reservations, kiosks for ordering, and pagers for table management. The study, "Customer Preferences for Restaurant Technology Innovations," by Michael J. Dixon, Sheryl E. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Cornell Roundtable Focuses on Human Resources Opportunities21 April 2009 | Although changes in U.S. labor law dominated the discussion in the HR Executive Roundtable, held in Orlando in March 2009, participants also examined the need to reposition their firms for future growth opportunities. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Brian Williams to Go 'Beyond the Boardroom' with Jonathan Tisch at 2009 NYU Hospitality Conference7 April 2009 | In a reversal of roles, Brian Williams, anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News, will be interviewed by Jonathan M. Tisch, chairman and chief executive officer of Loews Hotels, at the 31st Annual NYU Hospitality Industry Investment Conference. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Hotel Ezra Cornell Dons Vegas Theme7 April 2009 | What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas; however, that was not the case this weekend as various leaders of the hospitality industry parted from Sin City to impart their insights to students during the 84th annual Hotel Ezra Cornell. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend
COLUMNS Website Content Management For Hotels…Boon or Boondoggle? | By Neil Salerno 28 April 2009 | Imagine having the ability to change and update the content of your hotel's website on your own; change text, add information, that would be great. At the onset, it sounds terrific. No more waiting for your site developer to make the changes and additions you requested. You can maintain information on your site, right at the property level. Simply choose someone to type in the changes. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Staycation: new trend or blip on the radar | By Bob Cotton | hotelnewsnow.com24 April 2009 | Will 2009 see the start of a new trend in stay-at-home tourism, or will it be just a blip in the annual growth of international travel? International tourist arrivals have been rising regularly since 1995, but at 924 million, they registered their lowest annual growth in 2008 since 2003—1.7 percent. Most developed tourism countries are registering declining arrivals. Spain’s February arrivals decreased by almost 16 percent. View Article | Send to a Friend The Time Is Now To Grasp Market Share... Yours For The Taking | By Ragsdale Hendrie24 April 2009 | Now is the time to expand your market share by initially telling your Customers that they are better than sliced bread. Those who love you need to be caressed with adulation, and they will tell others. This is a simple proposition here. The light at the end of the tunnel is flickering; it is no longer pitch dark. Pop those heads out of the bunkers, take inventory and take charge. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Travel is Changing …What Will Hotels Do to Keep-Up? | By Neil Salerno 21 April 2009 | The bursting of the economic bubble altered why and when people travel and has intensified the way they choose where to stay. But, fortunately, a few things haven't changed. Travel has slowed, but it hasn't stopped. Location and perceived value are still the most important criteria in the hotel selection process and reducing rates is still a terrible idea and does not create new business.. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Understanding What We Measure And Making It Count! | By Dr. John Hogan, CHA MHS CHE15 April 2009 | I recently wrote a column that is part of a continuing series. This particular column was titled A “Bakers Dozen” of Strategies for Hotel Controllers and it offered 13 thoughts for the person who is charged with being the financial manager of the hotel. 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.  Bartering to tide over the recessionAdam Smith, the Scottish philosopher noted in his seminal work "The Wealth of Nations" that "the propensity to truck, barter and exchange one thing for another is common to all men, and to be found in no other race of... posted on New York Hospitality | By Vijay Dandapani  Cutting through the noise of guest reviews: a radical propositionMany hotels have hundreds of guest reviews on sites like TripAdvisor. They often range from detailed, high quality reviews from doting fans to angry tirades from cranky guests. How is a traveler supposed to sort through all this noise? Do you trust ... posted on Hotel Marketing Strategies Blog  The Social ReefThis storyboard is a great description of the social web. It clearly shows how this space is undergoing rapid changes and is very fluid. As usual Jeremiah Owyang has found a way to make non-experts understand a topic based on useful analogies. posted on Marketing on the Smart Web | By Joe Buhler  140 Characters Conference; Exploring the Disruptive Nature of TwitterTwitter represents a technology platform, sustaining ecosystem, and evangelical community that facilitate not only a behavioral transformation in how we communicate and define online relationships, but also represents a fundamental shift in how we ... posted on PR 2.0 | By Brian Solis  Twittering for dealsWho said money can’t buy friendship? Or followers? More and more companies are using social media to interact with customers and build a loyal online community every day. Retailers and travel industry suppliers alike are cleverly utilizing social ne... posted on Luxury Travel & Lifestyle Trends | By Karen Weiner Escalera  What does swine flu mean for the travel industry?[Posted by Diane Clarkson] If you watch CNBC, you may be uncertain about how to interpret the potential economic impact of swine flu. One side of the argument is that the pandemic could reverse the gains the economy has hinted... posted on Diane Clarkson at JupiterResearch  Is your web analytics all report & no action?I’ve already got web analytics on my site, thanks Given that the team behind Tracking Tourism have recently become Scotland’s first Google Analytics Authorised Consultants (and are one of only six firms in the UK with this accolade to our name), it ... posted on Tracking Tourism: The Tourism Research Blog | By Vicky Brock Useful web-based productivity software for hoteliersSeveral people have commented on how they like the suite of web-based tools we use at Gradigio, and asked for suggestions on how they could implement a similar system in their hotels. So while this post isn’t about marketing per se, it contains som... posted on Hotel Marketing Strategies Blog  Creative Hotel MarketingI have ranted here before about the lack of creativity and the "me-too" approach to hotel marketing programs related to special causes, ocassions and events like Earth Day. Today, I have a bouquet for the St Julien Hotel & Spa in Boulder, Colorado. ... posted on HOTELS Magazine Editors' View Point | Jeff Weinstein | By Jeff Weinstein Cost cuts in a recession: cutting one's nose to spite one's face?The Wall Street Journal reports on how employers continue to make cuts despite a belief that an upturn is near at hand leaving a few enlightened analysts wondering whether these reductions will prove costly when the recession ends as unhappy... posted on New York Hospitality | By Vijay Dandapani  Being Green During A RecessionI am continually asked the question "do you think the economic crisis will have an effect on green initiatives." There are many things that can be done by an operation that do not involve a financial investment. The establishment of green teams is a... posted on Eco-Speak | hotelsmag.com 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
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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 Revenue Management And Internet Marketing Disciplines Converge At HSMAI Conference28 April 2009 | An evolution is happening in the hospitality industry with the increasing convergence of the revenue management and Internet marketing fields. On June 25, 2009, hospitality professionals will gather at the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) Revenue Management & Internet Marketing Strategy Conference in Anaheim, Calif. to discuss how these two disciplines are evolving. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend HSMAI Honors Chapter Excellence at Annual Leadership Conference24 April 2009 | The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) honored 15 of its chapters with "Chapter Best of the Best Awards" in the 2008 Frank W. Berkman Chapter Awards Program at the 2009 Annual HSMAI Leadership Conference at the Westfields Marriott in Chantilly, Va. April 13-15, 2009. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend HSMAI Launches New Austin Chapter20 April 2009 | A new chapter of the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) formed on April 7, 2009 in Austin, Tex. with an inaugural meeting held at the Four Seasons Hotel. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend Exhibitors, Planners Optimistic At HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings® Mid-america17 April 2009 | Feedback at the Ninth Annual Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International’s (HSMAI) Affordable Meetings® Mid-America Exhibition and Conference at Chicago’s Navy Pier April 1-2 was upbeat despite the current economic climate. “We heard from both exhibitors and meeting planners that there was a lot of quality business conducted on the show floor,” said Robert A. Gilbert, CHME, CHA, president and CEO of HSMAI. View Article | Print Article | Send to a Friend FEATURED EVENTS  Annual Resort Conference Webinars 4 - 13 May 2009 It's no secret that the resort community has been hit particularly hard during the current economic downturn and in the aftermath of the incentive travel backlash. Many of HSMAI's members and operations professionals in this segment are finding it increasingly difficult to leave their properties to attend educational seminars or meetings. 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.
The old saying goes you can't get a free lunch. Surprise customers with a truly free item or service. It is a terrific way to get new prospects and leads that can initiate long term sales and business relationships. Back in 1996 when I was starting my business on the Internet, I offered a free report on how to promote your business. While I haven't offered that report in years, I still get requests for it almost every day. People LOVE free stuff. Your free product or service should be something that relates to the things you sell. If you sell advice, give away a report. If you sell a service, give away a free check-up or consultation. Or give away a small item that compliments the kinds of products you sell. Give it away with no strings attached. Make it clear that accepting your gift will never lead to any obligation. It's not a discount or an introductory offer, but a completely free gift.
On The Move? Be the switch voluntary or not, dreaded or eagerly anticipated, changing email programs is usually a challenge. To make sure it is not also a struggle accompanied by frustration and loss of data, you'll want to take your existing contacts, filters and, most importantly, emails with you in a smooth manner. If your past email program is Mozilla Thunderbird and your future Outlook Express or another Windows email program, your starting point is good. Thunderbird has stored your messages in mbox files which can be opened in a text editor and are easily converted to other email programs. Let's find out how. Export Mail from Thunderbird to Outlook Express and Other Email Programs To import messages from Mozilla Thunderbird into Outlook Express (and, consequently, other email programs):
If your Local Folders folder has any sub-folders with mailboxes you want to keep, repeat the process for each of these folders. |
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