Not-to-be missed GM workshops
Ahead of The Great GM Debate, workshop leaders present their thoughts on the industry issues most dear to them and set the scene for a host of lively debates.
Boosting Ancillary Revenue
Workshop leader: Raki Phillips, area director, sales and marketing for Fairmont Hotels & Resorts in the UAE
Interestingly enough when you ask anyone about ancillary revenues, from airline partners and hoteliers to directors of sales and marketing from various industries, more often then not you’re met with a vague look. This is a revenue stream that is not commonly analysed in the hospitality sector, but can have a great impact on the bottom line.
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Did you know that for some airlines, ancillary revenues accounts for 5% of their overall revenues; and that proactive ancillary measures can lead upwards to 20%?
For us in the hospitality industry, ancillary revenues go beyond simple room or food and beverage up selling to a culture where one’s team is trained properly, anticipates guests’ needs and are empowered to drive additional revenues.
It begins with creating experiences for guests who are well travelled and business savvy to revitalising your in-room offerings and harnessing social media platforms to drive marketability and revenues.
It also means taking a comprehensive approach towards total hotel revenue management. In this workshop we’ll explore many questions, including:
• How to get started?
• The importance of training and of technology towards ancillary revenues.
• What to look out for during your next P & L (profit and loss) meeting.
• Where do you draw the line between upselling and giving it away for free?
Making Social Media work for you
Workshop leader: Martin Kubler, founder, Iconsulthotels
Getting started in social media is deceptively cheap and easy; winning isn’t. In this workshop, we’ll separate truth from fiction and find out what works, for whom it works, and when it works.
We’ll find out that there’s more to social media than Facebook and Twitter and take a look at ‘social media best practice’ in the region. Whether you’re looking to take on social media in-house or to hire a specialist service provider, this workshop will equip you with the knowledge to ask the right questions and to avoid being taken in by ‘social media gurus’.
Regardless of whether your hotel is already active on social media sites or is only just starting out, the workshop will show you how to optimise your hotel’s social media presence, how to integrate social media into daily operations and long-term business strategies, and what to do if things go wrong.
The questions we’ll be debating in the session include:
What’s hot and what’s not?
• Is the Facebook “bubble” about to burst after years of popularity?
• The rise of Google+
• To blog or not?
• If you could only be on one social media site, which one should it be?
How to perform a digital health check for your hotel?
• Find out where you stand with social media in less than one hour
• What’s your “reach”? How many people are you actually talking to?
• It’s not all about numbers! Why large numbers of followers on your site do not equal quality social media engagement.
• Social Media in your hotel: Whose responsibility should it be to look after it?
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