LinkedIn for Hotels: The Full Guide

Did you know that 260 million users are logging into LinkedIn each month?

Home to about 600 million users, the platform`s untapped potential could work wonders for your accommodation property.

Drawing on our experience, Philip Calvert`s actionable tips and numerous research publications on the subjects, we`ve crafted a practical LinkedIn guide for you and your property. Let`s dive in:

What`s LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is the largest professional network with more than 610 million users that are spread in more than 200 countries and territories around the world.

Starting in co-founder Reid Hoffman`s living room back in 2002, the platform was officially launched in 2003. Currently led by CEO Jeff Weiner, LinkedIn`s business is diversified with revenues from membership subscriptions, advertising sales, and recruitment services.

LinkedIn`s main elements

1. Identity & Reputation – a platform, where you can build a unique personal and/or corporate image of your brand.
2. Networking – reaching out to people of interest to you and your business. A chance to grow your network and showcase your services to a wider audience.
3. Learning opportunities – free and paid courses that are available inside the platform.

Why your property needs LinkedIn?

Looking at the numbers:

LinkedIn keeps growing its user base that`s amounting to more than 600 million members at the time being. 40% of the platform`s monthly users access it daily, as the Foundation`s statistics say.

But there’s more: 61 million of the LinkedIn users are senior level influencers, whereas 40 million can be described as major decision-makers.

The question is: how can your accommodation property benefit from LinkedIn?

Let’s find out how the platform can help your business:

• Research existent and potential clients of your accommodation property.
• Build relationships with prospects and influencers in the hospitality sector.
• Network, build & strengthen relationships with current and future clients.
• Improve your overall marketing presence.
• Support your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) efforts (it’s recommended to use as many keywords as possible in your profile descriptions).
• Crowdsourcing feedback and ideas from your peers and customers. Giving and receiving value from your network.

Any examples?

Both your employees` profiles and company`s pages are effective channels to collaborate and network, as well as target specific market segments. For instance, you and your employees can upload photos, videos, SlideShare presentations (LinkedIn`s in-house presentation tool), infographics, and testimonials that show your property`s identity.

Tip: Encourage your employees to create and maintain active personal profiles that link to and share updates about your accommodation property.

Expert LinkedIn Tips for your property

Let’s start with the basics:

It’s important to fully complete your personal profile (the same goes for your employees` profiles).

“Your profile is not your resume. It’s your online reputation. Use it to demonstrate the value you bring.” – Philip Calvert, LinkedIn Expert & Speaker. 

How to make your profile stand out?

1. Use relevant keywords

Make a list of the main keywords that relate to your business.

If you`re in the hospitality business, think accommodation property, Oregon (your location), family vacation, etc. Sprinkle keywords across your profile`s sections – Headline, Summary, and others.

For instance?

James Johnson

General Manager for…Hotel in North Oregon Coast. Offering vacation rentals for families.

2. Show a professional and friendly photo in profile and header

LinkedIn profiles with photos are 11x more likely to be seen, according to statistics.

3. Tell a consistent and engaging story in your summary (and sprinkle it with keywords)

Tell the human story of your accommodation property. How did it all start? How did you feel/what was your driving force at the time? Tell an emotional real-life story/experience you had while doing what you do.

4. Upload media and presentations in the Experience Section

Perhaps, you`ve recently held a hospitality event or conducted research related to the latest trends in the sector? Include links to your presentations, articles, and research papers. Showcase as much expertise as possible.

5. List your volunteer experience and the causes you care about

It may be the case that you care about human rights and animal welfare.

Have you recently participated in any projects dedicated to these causes? Show it on LinkedIn. It’s a win-win for both your business and the cause – it shows you in good light and inspires your network to help (or maybe they already care about and participate in similar projects?). Wouldn’t hurt to show the world what you care about, don`t you think?

6. Translate your profile in another language that`s relevant for your business

Let’s say you run a hotel in Greece whose main visitors come from Norway. It makes sense to have a LinkedIn profile in Greek, English, and Norwegian. Thus, your customers can learn more about your services and location in their native language. And this will differentiate you from your competitors.

7. Update all awards, certification and recent projects

Recently led a hotel management conference you are proud of? Include it in your credentials or list it as new job experience. Your contacts will get an automatic update from LinkedIn and you`ll establish yourself as a leader in the field.

It’s all about the network…

Establish a networking strategy. Who`re your clients, prospect and potential partners? Where can you find them? Try to start a conversation.

Here’s how to do it:

Search by relevant keywords and shared interests/connections.

Let`s say you work in hospitality and like yoga. Use the LinkedIn filters and find other like-minded professionals. Alternatively, look for people working in your industry who studied in the same school/university as you.

Wonder what`s the key to success?

Look for common things.

Once you`ve found shared interests and experiences, approach the person – always send a note when sending a friend request. Make it about them.

Any examples?

Hi James…

Saw you`re a yoga enthusiast working in tourism – just like me. Have long been a fan of what you do in the hospitality industry. I’d love to connect and talk about tourism (and how yoga keeps you inspired).

Best…

Keep talking

Be active on LinkedIn. Like, comment and share on other people’s posts. Add value to your LinkedIn community and show genuine interest in them and what they do.

Send them a voice and/or video message. Offer them help/referral, endorse their skills or give them a testimonial. It’s pure psychology: when you give, people feel they need to give back to you.

Bonus tipс: 1) Write articles/publish Live videos on the LinkedIn platform. The algorithm will prioritize them (as LinkedIn wants people to stay there) and you will be able to show to the world how awesome your accommodation property is. 2) Share your content in relevant LinkedIn groups.

Benefit from Company Pages

Apart from personal LinkedIn profiles, the platform allows you to create a company page. To be able to create a company page for your accommodation property, you`ll have to meet the following requirements:

• Be listed as an employee of the company
• Have a company email added and confirmed on your LinkedIn account.

Now that you`ve set up your company page, let’s see how to make it work for your accommodation property.

LinkedIn`s Best Tips for company pages

1. Know your audience and share relevant and helpful content

If you run seaside camping, for example, your audience might benefit from helpful tips and insights into the camping life.

Tip: Make a video/article series, answering common questions about the camping life.

2. Go beyond stock photos

Nicely designed branded images and user-generated content can work wonders for your LinkedIn company page. Always make sure that the images you share match your messages. Use visuals to highlight your values and give an insight look into your accommodation property.

Tip: Ask your guests to share pictures of their happy moments at your property.

3. Highlight your brands with Showcase Pages

The LinkedIn Showcase Pages feature allows you to highlight your distinctive brands and products. For example, companies like Microsoft and Cisco have created Showcase Pages for their different products. That helps them deliver more targeted messages to the specific audiences that might be interested in their offerings.

Tip: Create different pages for your services: Romantic Packages, Ski deals, etc.

Need more actionable tips? Gain inspiration from the best LinkedIn Company Pages for 2018.

Over to you

LinkedIn is a great resource to help you establish your accommodation property brand. The opportunities are endless: from gaining recognition through networking and striking mutually beneficial connections.

So, why not stepping into the LinkedIn world to make it work for your business.

Find inspiration in the best practices, experiment and share what worked/didn’t work for your property.