Cornell Hospitality Research Summit Will Feature Hands-on Strategy and Tactics for Using Social Media

Registration is now open at http://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/research/chr/events/chrs/.

CHRS social media sessions will present strategies for interacting with consumers on social media, trends and tools for social media, data mining from social media, and legal issues surrounding social media. The summit agenda is posted at http://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/research/chr/events/chrs/documents/CHRSAgenda6.28.10.pdf. 

Anil Aggarwal, Chairman and CEO of Milestone Internet Marketing, will present “Social Media Strategies for Hotels,” examining how social media channels are influencing consumer decisions on selecting hotels, and how hotel managers can set up their social media strategies to maximize the gain from these channels. In addition to determining measurement methods, the session will look at critical social media sites for hotels and how to incorporating social media elements onto your hotel’s website.

Looking at trends and tools in social media, Lorraine Sileo, VP of Research for PhoCusWright, will present research showing current measurement tools and look at future uses for social media research. The PhoCusWright “Social Travel Study” analyzes the key categories of social media and will help hoteliers focus benchmarks for measuring activity volume, advocacy, and positioning.

Taking a look at social media strategy for the food-service industry, Steve Levigne, VP of US strategy and insights, will explain McDonald's social media strategy, which is intended to gain insights into customer needs.

Forbes Travel Guide is about to launch its Web 3.0 travel platform, which combines social media with search engine optimized travel content. Shane O’Flaherty, President and CEO, of Forbes Travel Guide, will give a demo of the site, which is aimed at bringing the voice of the hospitality world back into the online conversation and place them as experts in conversation about travel, rather than operating in a reactive mode.

Based on J.D. Power and Associates’ web intelligence, Stuart Greif, VP and GM, global travel and hospitality, global services and emerging industries division, of J.D. Power and Associates, will explain how hotels can mine timely data from the travel discussions that take place in conversations and reviews on the internet. Greif will analyze the topics of greatest interest to consumers and note emerging trends, using examples from the lodging industry. He also will explain how hotels and hospitality providers may present more effective message to travelers.

Michael Wooden, SVP of market development for ACS, a Xerox company, will look at how to “Reap the Rewards of the Next Revolution in Hospitality Customer Experience.” Noting that social media have shifted the dynamic between your business and customers, Wooden discusses the core social media competencies, along with the benefits and challenges of integrating social media technologies with customer relationship management. Most particularly, Wooden will focus on how to transform guests into brand advocates and increase online sales conversions (to reduce call-center volume).

Professor and Academic Director Peter O'Connor, of the Essec Business School (Paris and Singapore), will explain how to wade through the social media maze of blogs, social networks, folksonomies, and wikis with a goal of determining the best practices used by international hotel companies as they react to and exploit social media. He’ll present the best and worst of how hotels have interacted with consumers on Facebook, MySpace, Bebo; micro-blogging on Twitter; photo-sharing sites Flickr and Picasso; video-sharing sites YouTube and Dailymotion; and TripAdvisor and Yelp.

Although managers think of social media mostly in terms of customer interaction, social media have also caused a monumental shift in recruiting practices and legal issues. Cornell human resources, Associate Professor, J. Bruce Tracey will discuss the pitfalls and possibilities for social media in HR with hospitality attorneys Gilman Gregg, partner and co-chair of Davis & Gilbert LLP, and Carolyn Richmond, partner and co-chair at Fox Rothschild LLP. 

To view the full list of speakers, please visit: http://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/research/chr/events/chrs/speakers.html. 

Event sponsors are Charley's Grilled Subs, HOTELMARKETING.COM, HotelNewsNow.com, and Hsyndicate. Additional sponsorship opportunities are available. Contact Jennifer Macera, [email protected], for more information.


About The Center for Hospitality Research
A unit of the Cornell School of Hotel Administration, The Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) sponsors research designed to improve practices in the hospitality industry. Under the lead of the center's 79 corporate affiliates, experienced scholars work closely with business executives to discover new insights into strategic, managerial and operating practices. The center also publishes the award-winning hospitality journal, the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly. To learn more about the center and its projects, visit www.chr.cornell.edu.

Center Senior Partners: Hilton Worldwide, McDonald's USA, Philips Hospitality, Southern Wine and Spirits of America, Inc., STR, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, and TIG Global

Center Partners: Davis & Gilbert LLP, Deloitte & Touche USA LLP, Denihan Hospitality Group, eCornell & Executive Education, Expedia, Inc., Forbes Travel Guide, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Fox Rothschild LLP, French Quarter Holdings, Inc., FX Real Estate and Entertainment, Inc., HVS, InterContinental Hotels Group, Jumeirah Group, LRP Publications, Marriott International, Inc., Marsh's Hospitality Practice, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Proskauer Rose LLP, SAS, Smith Travel Research, SynXis (a Sabre Holdings Corporation), Thayer Lodging Group, Thompson Hotels, Travelport, WATG, and WhiteSand Consulting

Center Friends: 4Hoteliers.com • American Tescor, LLC • Argyle Executive Forum • Berkshire Healthcare • Cody Kramer Imports • Cruise Industry News • DK Shifflet & Associates • ehotelier.com • EyeforTravel • Gerencia de Hoteles & Restaurantes • Global Hospitality Resources • Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) • hospitalityInside.com • hospitalitynet.org • Hospitality Technology Magazine • Hotel Asia Pacific • Hotel China • HotelExecutive.com • Hotel Interactive • Hotel Resource • HotelWorld Network • International CHRIE • International Hotel Conference • International Society of Hospitality Consultants (ISHC) • iPerceptions • JDA Software Group, Inc. • Lodging Hospitality • Lodging Magazine • Milestone Internet Marketing • MindFolio • Mindshare Technologies • Parasol • PhoCusWright Inc. • PKF Hospitality Research • The Resort Trades • RealShare Hotel Investment & Finance Summit • Resort and Recreation Magazine • RestaurantEdge.com • Shibata Publishing Co. • Synovate • The Lodging Conference • TravelCLICK • UniFocus • USA Today • WageWatch, Inc. • WIWIH.COM