LinkedIn is a great social platform for building your professional network, engaging with career-focused social content, and learning from various experts in their respective industries. The website also provides several helpful resources for hoteliers, such as posting available jobs, advertising services for their businesses, and giving detailed data analytics for social posts. However, one of the most valuable and impactful tools on LinkedIn is LinkedIn Groups. The reason is that the LinkedIn Group feature is multifaceted and provides hoteliers with numerous benefits. Many of these benefits from LinkedIn Groups aid in building your social reach and discovering insights that may assist with refining hotel operations. 

For hoteliers, joining a Linkedin Group could even lead to increased bookings if leveraged correctly. 

Acquire New Information:

One of the primary reasons to join a LinkedIn Group is to learn more about the hospitality industry. There are multitudes of groups dedicated to specific aspects of the hotel industry, such as hotel technology, the guest experience, and even online guest reviews for hotels. Some of the best and brightest professionals in the industry give their first-hand expertise and share incredible knowledge that you can only find in a forum like LinkedIn Groups. Obtaining new ideas and perspectives from these experts surrounding these topics is exceptionally beneficial for improving your hotel properties because you can evaluate their thoughtful contributions and implement their strategies into your own. Regardless of portfolio size, there are meaningful takeaways to be found in these groups for all hoteliers. 

Community & Connections:

As many hoteliers endure common challenges such as staffing shortages and lagging business travel numbers, seeking belonging and connection is more crucial than ever. Becoming a member of a LinkedIn Group comes with a feeling of community and familiarity. On an emotional level, sharing similar difficulties with fellow hoteliers through either the comment sections or by creating your own posts will alleviate stressors and help you decompress. You may even come across input from someone that enables you to solve an issue at your properties. Knowing you share commonalities with others is a fantastic way to get through hard times and maintain good mental health. 

Share Your Perspective:

Another excellent reason to get involved with a Linkedin Group is to share your experiences and viewpoints. You may not realize it at times, but you might be the expert on a particular subject, and contributing your knowledge on the matter could be very helpful to someone else. By consistently participating in public discussions, you can become a thought leader on specific topics and a credible source of information. Additionally, if you frequently engage in groups that communicate directly with travelers, you can help educate them on industry news or relevant details about your hotel brand for example. 

Expand Your Content Reach:

Hotels and hotel management companies constantly try to find innovative ways to reach guests through social and brand content. Luckily, LinkedIn Groups offer another channel to support these efforts by connecting you with people most likely to be interested in them. If you are trying to promote new renovations at your properties or increase bookings, post your social media content in these groups if they approve of it. Social media content flourishes in social groups, so don’t forget to post them in the groups after posting on your brand’s accounts. 

Top 5 LinkedIn Groups for the Hotel Industry: 

If you are looking for some of the best LinkedIn Groups for hoteliers, check out these five groups that will start you off in the right direction. 

1. The Hotel Group 

The Hotel Group is one of the largest and most active groups on Linkedin with over 275,000 members from all over the world. THG is focused on creating an environment where members feel comfortable sharing their expertise and discussing every aspect of the hotel industry.

2. Hotel Industry Professionals Worldwide

World’s Largest Group of Hotel Professionals on Linkedin with over 165,000 professionals from across the globe members of it, for the purpose of networking, sharing knowledge, discuss business associations, seek career advice & explore job opportunities.

3. ILHA Hospitality & Travel Forum: Hotel, travel, cruise, resorts, food, beverage and lodging

ILHA Hospitality & Travel Forum is LinkedIn’s largest hospitality and travel industry group. Managed by the International Luxury Hotel Association https://theilha.com   This is a group for members to connect and share industry trends on topics including: hotels, resorts, spa, wellness, food, beverage, technology, design, development, investment, sustainability and more.

4. Hotel Technology and Software

The 1st hotel technology and software group on LinkedIn in 2008 and the most tightly moderated. Focused on hospitality executives,  employees and investors of hotel and hospitality companies, hotel IT, technology or software or service suppliers and new start-ups across the globe. 

5. The Review Response Group For Hoteliers

This group is founded on the premise of helping hoteliers better interact with their guests by connecting with them through online review responses. Hotels receive hundreds, if not thousands, of online guest reviews directed at their properties daily, and hoteliers want to know the best tips and tricks to write a professional and unique response.