Do you have a LinkedIn account? Not yet? You’re missing a powerful networking tool…but don’t worry, it’s not too late! LinkedIn is a kind of Facebook for professionals. It is an international social network where you fill in your profile as for a CV , then add your friends and professional colleagues as “connections” (like the “friends” of Facebook). Take a look at my profile for example (click here).
And how could you, as a Hotel Manager, benefit from Linkedin? Here is my short introduction to the topic:
Make new professional contacts
Have you tried to reference your hotel on Expedia, but despite numerous requests placed through their website you still have no answer? Do you wish to work with a particular tour operator, but haven’t received any replies to your approaches? Would you like to invite the executive assistants of local businesses to a luncheon at your hotel to introduce them to the property? Are you organising a road show in a city and need to meet with the main event agencies?
Everyday you need to come into contact with different professionals, yet it is generally not a quick and easy process to contact the right person… With LinkedIn, it’s easier! The wonderful ‘advanced search’ tool allows you to research contacts using various filters such as the name of the business, the location, the job title or the area of expertise. Note, however, a few keypoints to keep in mind:
- In your searches you will only come across people that are linked to you in 1st, 2nd or 3rd degree and the members of any groups you have joined. 1st degree connections are the ones that have accepted your invitation to connect (like your “friends” on Facebook), the 2nd degree are the equivalent to ‘friends of friends’ and so on.
- You can only send private messages to your first degree contacts.
- Officially, you cannot send an invitation to connect to someone you don’t already know in real life.
For these reasons, if you wish to use LinkedIn in a proactive way, you should start by:
- Sending invitations to connect to all your contacts (near or far) to have as many 1st degree connections as possible, which will then give you access to a larger number of profiles.
- Join the main groups relevant to your sector or to your interests. You can join up to 50 groups. Many will accept you automatically (if you have had your Linkedin account for over 3 days and have at least 10 connections) and others will require the manager of the group to approve your “request to join” request.
From there you can access even more profiles when researching, meaning you can send invitations to connect with people that you haven’t necessarily met in person; as long as you don’t spam the network it will be fine. Send your invitation with a clear explanation as to why you are requesting to connect and wait for an answer (he who dares, wins!)
There is also another alternative: You can subscribe to a Premium LinkedIn account, whereby you pay a monthly rate that offers you more possibilities such as access to more profiles when researching.
Recruit future talents
With the method explained above, you can easily research, contact (and hire!) potential candidates by using search filters.
You can also post job offers in different groups and in the ‘job offer’ area. I started a Linkedin group when I was still a student which is called ‘Internships in Hotel Management’. There are around 400 new members joining the group on a weekly basis (today there are over 23.000 members). Feel free to publish your internship offers there 😉
Get expert advice on a subject
Are you looking for a good PMS? Perhaps a list of the top tour operators in Brazil? Or the next professional exhibition located in China? Ask your network directly: send a private message to the connections that may have the answer, or publish a message on the relevant groups.
LinkedIn is a gold mine, where many professionals are already connected across the world; yet I have noticed how, for the moment, few people actually use it to its full advantage. Be a part of the well connected hospitality professionals!
Are you a Hotel professional? Start your Linkedin profile today by adding me on LinkedIn: Florie Thielin, and why not as well Holly Cooper Chima (my polyglot ambassador who kindly translated this article!).
We’ll accept you with pleasure 😉
Translated by Holly Cooper Chima
Read further about the topic:
- Ways the Hospitality Industry Can Take Advantage of LinkedIn – Debbie Miller, 2013
- A LinkedIn Prospecting Guide For Hotel Sales Managers – Tom Costello, 2013
- How The Carlton Hotel leverages LinkedIn for business development – Emily Molitor, 2013
- How Hotels Can Benefit From LinkedIn – John Terra, 2013
- How to use LinkedIn to generate sales leads – Josiah MacKenzie, 2010