Staying connected to each other during the COVID-19 pandemic when everyone is in quarantine has been a massive challenge for the hospitality industry. But even during this unplanned downtime, hospitality professionals can still work towards professional goals and improve themselves for when business picks back up.
There are tons of ways for you and your team to improve your skills during quarantine, from online courses to free certifications to webinars, and more. We explore a handful of those options below.
Discover 15 ways you can improve your skills during quarantine:
Certifications and online courses
Professional certifications are an excellent option for you to improve your skills during quarantine. There are many certifications available to professionals within the hospitality industry, and since the pandemic began, some of the accrediting bodies have started providing certification training, and in some cases the certifications themselves, free of cost. If you can, make an effort to take advantage of these opportunities. And the same thing goes for online courses. Whether geared toward the hospitality industry or more general courses, there's tons of applicable content out there that you and your team will utilize well after the crisis ends.
1. Cvent Supplier Network Certification
One option available to you and your team is the Cvent Supplier Network Certification. The certification is designed for hospitality professionals to help improve your venue’s online presence, create winning proposals, and improve RFP conversion rates. The even better news is we're offering Cvent Supplier Network certification - which is typically $375 - for free for a limited time.
With a few hours of preparation, you’ll be ready to ace the CSN certification exam. We’re also offering on-demand training videos and live training experts who will conduct a complete course review and answer all of your questions.
"The course was a great refresher on how to utilize Cvent tools like managing RFPs, updating your profile, and pulling reports. The entire certification only took about 2.5 hours," shared Kristi Bradley, Senior Manager, Field Marketing, Marriott International.
2. Certification training from AHLEI
In light of the impact COVID-19 has had on the hospitality industry, the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute is offering "the opportunity for hospitality professionals to make good use of their time at home to develop skills that can help take (their) hospitality career to the next level." The offer is available through May 31, 2020, and it also applies to hotel employees who are currently furloughed or laid off as long as they were employed as of March 1, 2020.
Free certifications AHLEI is currently offering include:
- Certified Hotel Administrator (training only) - While AHLEI is not offering the certification exam for free with the training, they are enabling enrollees to “review the necessary knowledge essential to overseeing all functional areas of a hospitality establishment as a general manager or operations executive.” The topics covered in the training include room management, human resources, financial management, marketing and sales, and more.
- Supervisory Skill Builders - These training courses are for entry-level hospitality employees and hospitality supervisors and cover a large variety of topics, including conflict management, staffing and scheduling, communication, and team building. There are nine courses totaling 18 hours.
- Hospitality Manager: Leadership - This 2 1/2 hour course is suitable for everyone from entry-level hospitality employees to hospitality supervisors and general managers. The course is designed to teach hospitality professionals "how to lead a team by building a positive workplace culture, aligning day-to-day operations with organizational goals, using emotional intelligence to connect with employees, and more."
3. Online course from EHL
Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne is offering a free online course — Essentials of Managing Underperforming Properties — through May 2020. The course is “designed for you to develop an understanding of managing and implementing turnarounds."
During this 5-hour course, enrollees will review The Model of Decline and learn how to manage and disrupt it. The course is specifically designed for hospitality professionals, hotel owners, or anyone in adjacent industries affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Let us help you improve your skills during quarantine
4. Video lessons from Typsy
Global hospitality platform Typsy on April 14 announced the launch of its COVID Support Plan, designed to offer "unrestricted, free online access to its industry-leading platform and Netflix-style library of 650+ hospitality video lessons." It will be available for individuals, businesses and schools until September 30, 2020.
Typsy CEO Jonathan Plowright released a statement on the initiative, which read, in part:
"Being able to offer free access to Typsy at this time allows us to support not only our existing customers, but we can also help many more people whose lives and businesses have been disrupted by the effects of COVID-19. Community has never been more important than it is now, and providing online learning is a positive and accessible way to help people stay productive, connected and engaged with their employers and the hospitality industry."
5. Google Analytics courses
Google offers free online analytics courses to anyone interested in gaining a more in-depth understanding of search engine optimization and Google itself, which is a powerful part of every marketing mix. SEO for hotels is extremely important, and Google Analytics training will enable you to determine actionable items that can be put into effect immediately, helping your property or organization both now and in the future. There are three main options — Google Analytics for Beginners, Advanced Google Analytics, and Google Analytics for Power Users.
6. LinkedIn Learning courses
With thousands of lessons available, LinkedIn Learning is a great way for you and your team to improve your skills during quarantine. It's a paid service, but you can start taking courses by signing up for a free month. And while the majority of the courses aren't geared toward hospitality professionals directly, there's still tons of useful information that can be applied to the industry, from interpersonal communication courses to courses on ways to unlock your team's creativity. We go into greater detail about a few specific courses below.
- Time Management Fundamentals - This 3-hour course is highly popular, and in it, business coach Dave Crenshaw "lays the theoretical and practical foundations for managing your time and becoming more productive." You and your team members will learn how to get more done in less time while avoiding distractions and obstacles you may face. The course comes with two project files and nine chapter quizzes to assess learnings.
- Learning Zoom - The pandemic has forced many teams to disperse, and since they cannot meet physically at this time, they have instead been meeting virtually, and one of the most popular meeting providers is Zoom. Learning to utilize Zoom to its greatest potential is crucial to staying connected, both internally and externally.
- SEO Foundations - As we mentioned above, SEO is crucial for hotels, especially during these tough times. In this 3 1/2 hour training course, students will learn how to read and understand a results page, implement SEO strategies, conduct keyword research, build internal and external links, optimize page content and much more. The course comes with one project file and 10 chapter quizzes.
Webinars to improve your skills during quarantine
Webinars not only provide information, but they also encourage engagement, and since they can be recorded, your team can watch and share content as needed after the event is over. Utilize them to keep your team members connected to the industry and each other.
There are many organizations providing valuable content for those in the hospitality industry during the crisis. These thought leaders have supported you and your team in the past and continue to do so through statistic-driven industry insights and professionally-guided conversations and presentations that will keep you knowledgeable about everything happening.
7. The Cvent Source: Group Business Insights
Although some states are starting to phase reopening plans, there’s no doubt that the hospitality industry continues to navigate through this period of uncertainty. Now is the time to prepare your approach for a rebound to your meetings and events business. On Friday, May 15, we'll be hosting the next webinar in our monthly series, which is dedicated to providing insights on the group business landscape. This series of webinars is based on data from the Cvent Supplier Network (CSN), overall meetings and events trends, and observations from proven third-party experts in the hospitality space. We’ll also include inspiring stories about the good works and great ideas currently driving the hospitality community forward.
Highlights from the CSN sourcing data include:
- A deeper dive into differences by market size and location
- How proposed rates from hotels have changed over the past 60 days
- Updates in sourcing trends over the past 30 days
8. Minimising the Wider Impact of COVID-19 on Your Business – HOSPA
The Hospitality Professionals Association will be hosting a webinar on Wednesday, May 13, 2020, giving attendees access to insights from the HOSPA board, including “the effect of COVID-19 on the hospitality sector" and "advice and tips on minimizing the impact on your business.”
The session will be moderated by HOSPA CEO Jane Pendlebury and will feature Michael Heyward, principal of Heyward Hospitality Solutions; David Pryde, head of IT at the Strand Palace Hotel; Peter Jones, specialist in strategic management in hospitality and food services; and Rob Maloney, membership officer of HOSPA.
9. Hotel Manager Essentials for Uncertain Times: Marketing, Sales, and Sourcing – Cvent
In this webinar, which is scheduled for Wednesday, May 13, we’ll provide best practices during a downturn – from composing the best RFP responses to monitoring your competitive set and more. We’ll deliver a step-by-step guide and actionable tips to help you not just recover, but thrive, in the months and years ahead.
Books and e-books to improve your skills during quarantine
In addition to all the aforementioned opportunities, there's also a plethora of reading material to help you and your team improve your skills during quarantine. There are many e-books on the market specifically designed for those in the hospitality industry.
10. Growing Your Hospitality Group Business for Dummies
This e-book, published by Cvent in collaboration with Wiley Publishing, is specifically designed to provide insight and guidance to the hotelier looking to attract meeting and event planners. In the e-book, hotels and destinations will learn:
- Different types of planners and the challenges they face
- The experiences that planners and attendees want
- Strategies for reaching more planners
- Tools that help manage and maximize customer relationship
- How to use data to monitor and improve group business performance
11. The Hotel Manager’s Guide to Marketing During Uncertain Times
Also created by Cvent, this e-book takes a deep dive into the importance of establishing a strong digital marketing strategy for your hotel. The guide will help hospitality professionals discover:
- What planners expect from hotels
- How to leverage CVBs and DMOs to build confidence in your property and destination
- How to use digital marketing to stay visible and relevant
- Key website and social media essentials to keep in mind
- Tips and tricks for resilience and recovery
12. How to Win Friends and Influence People
This Amazon best-seller isn't directed to hoteliers specifically, but instead focuses on leadership skills that are applicable to any person in any industry. With more than 15 million copies sold, Dale Carnegie's classic will help you learn how to:
- Manage and inspire people
- Improve your powers of persuasion
- Increase your ability to get things done
- Win new clients and customers
- Increase your earning power
- Be a better salesperson or executive
- Handle complaints and avoid arguments
- Be a better speaker
13. Check in-Check out: Managing Hotel Operations
This book has been revised multiple times to keep up with the industry and the ever-evolving trends therein. It is considered one of the leading guides to managing hotels and covers a multitude of topics, including green operations and reservation strategies.
Written by Dr. Gary K. Vallen, a professor in the School of Hotel and Restaurant Management at Northern Arizona University, and Dr. Jerome Vallen, the founding dean of the College of Hotel Administration at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, this book is designed to teach hoteliers and hospitality industry professionals how to effectively and efficiently operate and maintain a profitable hotel. It is required reading for many students and could be a great resource to you and your team during the pandemic.
14. Be Our Guest: Perfecting the Art of Customer Service
This book is all about ensuring that your guests have the best experience possible. Going through the "Disney approach" to customer service, this book explores ways to encourage brand loyalty and repeat business. The book "specializes in helping professionals see new possibilities through concepts not found in the typical workplace, revealing even more of the business behind the magic of quality service." You and your team will benefit from reading through the many out-of-the-box ways that Disney has used over the years to secure their brand and how you can utilize those same tactics to help during the crisis.
15. 100 Tips for Hoteliers: What Every Successful Hotel Professional Needs to Know and Do
This book takes a how-to approach on running a successful hotel. It “guides you from the inception of a hotel to its opening and operation, offering practical tips for each stage of the journey.” Everyone from hospitality students to current hotel managers can benefit from this text. It will be a great benefit to you and your team, keeping you engaged and providing best practices for when you're back at work.
Use these tools to improve your skills during quarantine!
The pandemic has altered many parts of our lives, and hoteliers and their teams have had to make massive adjustments to the new normal. Staying connected and engaged with your team has never been more important, and taking advantage of these opportunities will not only boost engagement now, it will also pay dividends in increased productivity in the long run.
