This week’s conferences in Oslo and Stockholm featured an introduction to Revenue management confirmed the need for an international certification within that field – regardless your chain affiliation or nationality. The programme, originally developed in the U.S., is currently adapted and tailored for European needs, to be launched on this website in a couple of weeks.

The global financial recession has brought about challenges we need to address, as tourism and business travels alike have taken a downturn, calling for increased focus on maximising business opportunities and revenue management.

We also need to take a closer look at marketing, and to establish how to get the most out of each penny spent, thereby improving margins. Interestingly, we see how the two Special Interest Groups Revenue management and Travel Internet marketing overlap in that respect, which is why we’ve decided to launch the two first. But we acknowledge national differences, introducing both national and pan European SIG’s.

However, we go even farther:

With seminars and the Certified Revenue Management Executive programme we wish to enable our members to optimise income for just their businesses, and it really doesn’t matter where you are, as webinars will be used extensively, both in this particular area of interest and others. What better way to maximise income, than to save both time and money?

All webinars will be held in English and in a number of European languages.

Thanks a lot to all those who have contributed to a memorable and instructive week – and to HSMAI Global’s president and CEO Bob Gilbert, who toured the Norwegian and Swedish capitals with us this week.

A peaceful and enjoyable weekend to one and all!

Ingunn Hofseth
President and CEO
HSMAI Europe

A conference was held in Oslo this week, focusing on Special Interest Groups and Revenue management, also featuring two sessions on Travel Internet marketing, Resort marketing, an environmentally sustainable hospitality industry, and theme-based adventures. The conference drew an interested crowd from all parts of the industry, eager to set up SIG’s, initially within the fields of Revenue management and Travel Internet marketing.

Ingunn Hofseth, president, HSMAI Europe and HSMAI Chapter Norway.

“I’m thrilled that HSMAI Global’s president and CEO Bob Gilbert took the time to attend, both in Oslo and Stockholm,” HSMAI Europe’s president and CEO Ingunn Hofseth says, adding “There’s little doubt that Revenue management SIG’s are in demand, as we saw in Oslo on Wednesday”.

Huge U.S. success

Marion Hughes, vice president for business development in Intelligent Hotels, gave a lecture – and supervised workshops – on revenue management, supported by HSMAI Global’s president and CEO Robert A. Gilbert, who shared the American experiences with an interested audience, focusing on the financial situation and the importance of establishing acceptance for the ROI (return on investment) pertaining to marketing expenses. He also pointed out that revenue management and travel Internet marketing are closely linked, and, as such, quite often overlap, in terms of special interests and their groups.

Bob Gilbert, president and CEO of HSMAI Global, reported a huge success with SIG's in the U.S. Mobile photo: Jarle Petterson

“The SIG concept has been very well received in the Americas region,” Bob told us. “This has been a huge value proposition, with somewhere in-between 700 and 1200 members per special interest group, and you know, HSMAI members are free to opt into all SIG’s for free. Turns out that lots of people want to learn, and we’re only happy to comply”.

“Crucial to the SIG concept are the various groups’ advisory boards, consisting of leading professionals within their respective fields of expertise,” he says. “And the user evaluations have been nothing short of fantastic. We have sponsored whitepapers, strategy conferences, web-based toolboxes and work on numerous platforms, both through the Internet and in more conventional settings”.

Much to gain on unfiltered customer response

When it comes to social media and opening up for member and user dialogue, the HSMAI boss is surprisingly open-minded:

Bob Gilbert spoke to an interested audience in the Oslo Congress Centre on Wednesday 18 November. Mobile photo: Jarle Petterson

“From a hospitality perspective, I think we’ve only benefited from the unfiltered feedback these new media offer. Whether a company decides to act on that response or not, is entirely up to them, but it provides a whole new set of opportunities. Also, it’s changed the paradigm of marketing completely, although, granted you have to give up some of the control, but gain so much more,” he says.

“We shouldn’t fear criticism. Criticism is good. And you know, sometimes, issuing an apology, if criticism is due, can earn you lots and lots of customer trust”.

When asked about the chief challenges facing the hospitality industry today, Mr. Gilbert replies unhesitatingly:

“The threat of new standards on all levels of travel and hospitality, especially in the corporate market. Travel and conference expenditures have been kept at a minimum throughout the global recession. We see this in all regions of the world, and I think we need to address that challenge, the sooner the better. If the industry allows that level to establish itself as the new normal, we’re all in deep trouble,” the global president and CEO concludes.

European Revenue Management Executive certification on the way

The author of this article also gave a lecture on travel Internet marketing, for an equally interested audience, eager to make use of the opportunities offered through blogs, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube – and the plethora of social media outlets available today.

“I’m happy to say that a special interest group for travel Internet marketing is en route already,” says Ingunn Hofseth, who, by the way, has become quite the Internet socialite herself over the last couple of months. “But that’s not all,” she says. “In a matter of weeks we’re ready to launch a European certification programme on Revenue management, entitling the graduates to use the CRME (Certified Revenue Management Executive) designation, which has proved a great success in the Americas region, and which fills a void in the European hospitality industry’s follow-up studies,” Ingunn concludes, promising more news on the matter in two weeks.

Top photo: Norwegian HSMAI members from all parts of the industry listened carefully as Marion Hughes and Bob Gilberts shared their experiences with Revenue management in Oslo on Wednesday 18 November. Mobile photo: Jarle Petterson

HSMAI’s European division faces a busy month with one-day conferences on SIG’s (Special Interest Groups) in the capitals of Poland, Norway and Sweden this November, with a golden opportunity to revive the Swedish chapter, as well as the chartering of a chapter in Poland.

The Hilton Warsaw, venue for the Warsaw SIG conference in November.

In addition to an introduction to the SIG concept, all conferences will offer a walk-through of HSMAI’s Revenue Management programme.

HSMAI global’s president and CEO Mr. Robert A. Gilbert will give an introduction at the Oslo and Stockholm conferences, whereas Mr. Tomasz Janczak gives same at the Warsaw conference, taking place at the Warsaw Hilton.

All conferences also feature Ms. Marion Hughes’ insights in Revenue Management. She currently makes her home in New York City as Vice President, Business Development for Intelligent Hotels, a global leader who have developed and deployed intelligent revenue strategies for a wide range of hotel groups, including Leading Hotels of the World, Preferred Hotels and Resorts, Small Luxury Hotels of the World, Loews Hotels, Le Meridien, Relais & Chateaux, Millennium Hotels and Resorts, Capella Hotels, Holiday Inns, Ramada Hotels, Choice Hotels, Marriott, Hilton International, and Mexicos Grupo Posadas.

Oslo Congress Centre at Youngstorget in central Oslo. Photographer: Kjetil Ree/Wikimedia Commons

Marion has worked for a European luxury hotel group managing sales and marketing for 6 of their hotels and overseeing 14 sales executives. She has extensive experience from working in online distribution and has held a global marketing role in a key European Travelocity business unit.

The conferences will be opened by HSMAI Europe’s CEO and president Ms. Ingunn Hofseth, also CEO and president of HSMAI Chapter Norway.

The participant fees in Warsaw include one year’s HSMAI membership, with access to the SIG’s in question – as well as future SIG’s and other HSMAI activities and benefits (the article continues below video clip).

The conferences take place in the Warsaw Hilton 17 November, Oslo Conference Centre 18 November and the Clarion Hotel Stockholm 19 November.

The Clarion Hotel Stockholm.

The Oslo conference also features the launch of SIG’s within the following fields of interest:

• Revenue Management
• Resort Marketing
• Travel Internet Marketing
• Environmentally Sustainable Travel-Business

As Norway already has a fully operational chapter, participants are also offered an introduction to theme-based adventures, by Innovation Norway’s travel director Mr. Per-Arne Tuftin. The Travel Internet Marketing session is conducted by journalist and social media specialist Ms. Ingeborg Volan of Sermo Consulting.

Register now!

Please read further details – and register – on these pages:

• The Warsaw conference (PDF)
• The Oslo Conference (web page in Norwegian)
• The Stockholm conference (PDF)