There are infinite digital resources positioned to assist consumers in all aspects of the travel continuum - from dreaming and researching to booking to traveling and sharing; therefore, ensuring your brand is part of the social conversation is well worth the required effort. The opportunity exists to amplify your brand message by engaging guests and potential guests via social media throughout their journey - every step of the way. READ MORE

Reviews and social conversations happen about you every day whether you pay attention or not. The great social shift allows guests to share with us in more ways than ever before. This shift has created a great opportunity for hotels to actively learn from and engage with their guests. How you listen and how you measure success, will greatly influence your success in the social space. READ MORE

Management compensation packages in the hospitality industry have traditionally been based on factors such as market share, financial performance, guest comment cards or surveys and staff satisfaction. But today, new measurements are being added that take into account the factors that drive real booking decisions today, such as TripAdvisor's Popularity Index, online review ratings, management response rates and social media engagement. READ MORE

China is currently the most social media connected country in the world. Not only do a handful of primary networks each have hundreds of millions of registered users, but their influence over Chinese consumers is also substantially higher than in other markets. As well, the country has seen rapid expansion in smartphone users, largely stemming from the growth of its educated urban populations. Knowing this landscape and its unique conditions will therefore be very important for future marketing purposes. READ MORE

The key to assigning social media management is to identify the company's goals - will it be used as a marketing and branding tool, a sales tool, a public relations tool or a customer service tool? When managed effectively, a social media program can and should combine all of the above. Once the goals have been defined, there will be a much clearer picture about who is best equipped to manage it - an established employee, a newly-created social media manager position or an outside consultant. READ MORE