GENERAL SESSIONS

Tuesday, March 30

Keynote Speaker: Dennis Snow, customer service expert and
author of Unleashing Excellence: The Complete Guide to Ultimate Customer Service

Creating World Class Service: When dealing with difficult or unreasonable guests
We have all had to deal with those guests who are difficult or come up with unreasonable requests.  Recharge your batteries and jest for dealing with this type of guest by coming to hear Dennis offer his insight and philosophies from his years of experience from ride operator to customer service executive at Disney. 

World-class innkeeping service is not simply a matter of smiling innkeeper employees who say "please" and "thank you." Everything your guests see, hear or touch impacts their experiences. Dennis with share his wisdom that "everything speaks." He will highlight how delivering world-class service requires careful orchestration of the entire guest experience with a focus on dealing with difficult guests or unreasonable requests. This inspiring general session with take you on a journey of discovering the key points of contact that make or break the guest experience, will show you how to elevate a guest experience from the ordinary to the extraordinary, and the service processes that make service excellence "business as usual" - all the while offering strategies for keeping your cool.

Wednesday, April 1
The State of Innkeeping:  From 30,000 Feet to your Backyard
Explore the most pressing external and internal issues facing the business of innkeeping with a  cross-section of notable industry executives discussing issues, performance, trends, and opportunities critical to the success of B&Bs.  This session will highlight how innkeepers will learn from industry leaders what the economic downturn means for our industry and what are the big things individual businesses can do to protect themselves.

Thursday, April 2
Mastering On-line Reviews and Reputation Management
This general session will include a panel of experts from a cross-section of stakeholders in the ongoing debate over on-line reviews.  The experts will include leaders of on-line review sites, a libel expert, and your colleagues who have personally experienced the good, bad and ugly and describe how they dealt with it.  Join us for what is sure to be a "hot" discussion about reputation management and the impact it has on your B&B.  You do not want to miss this one.