Social Networking

The French country cafe may have increased its to-go and catering sales by leveraging a solution that integrates online, mobile, phone-in and Facebook ordering channels, but that's not the only benefit that they are experiencing.

Boutique & Lifestyle Lodging Association will offer GuestCentric's integrated e-Commerce platform as part of its distribution solution to optimize online bookings for BLLA member properties that choose to use the system.

Social networking use in hospitality may be catching on, but many hotels and restaurants still aren't cashing-in. The ones that are have shared insights in how to leverage virtual gifts, real reservations, and souped-up loyalty programs to tie ROI into their social networking initiatives.

A Cornell University study finds that not only does technology help hotels and restaurants to extend their concept, but often technology is the concept. Here are just a few examples.

Open Hospitality's Facebook suite features guestroom booking capabilities as well as an e-marketing CRM solution.

A professional website and a modern reservations system can increase online bookings, yet the viral behavior of social networking is helping hoteliers to reach millions of people directly without being intrusive.

Increasingly tech-savvy and eco-conscious clients will drive continued change in meetings and events management in the year ahead, according to Publicis Meetings USA.

David Reinhardt from The Next Web explains how the combination of social media, smart phones and location awareness will affect social media use.