1000 hoteliers at HMC 2018

One conference – tens of hours with experts, a thousand hoteliers, a million of positive emotions. This is a short overview of the Hotel Marketing Conference 2018, Poland’s largest conference of the hospitality industry, held in Poznań on 4 and 5 October.

It started getting busy one day before the conference in the Poznań International Fair area. In the early morning, the Profitroom team entered the last stage of preparations. It is quite a challenge to organise a conference for 1000 hoteliers from Poland and abroad.

The positive reviews of participants following HMC are the best proof that we succeeded in reaching our goals. Profitroom organised an event which was not only the largest, but most of all an exceptional industry-specific event.

Find out what happened during the two days of the conference, including the 10th anniversary gala.

More knowledge

The first day was filled with inspiring lectures. Hoteliers, equipped with start-up packages, met at the Earth Hall of the Poznań International Fair to listen to speakers such as Bartłomiej Rak from Socjomania who talked about communication in social media and Maciej Straus who shared his thoughts on why it is worth discovering and defining an added value for your hotel. Marcin Dragan, the founder of Profitroom, took hoteliers on a journey into the difficult past and the promising future of the hospitality industry. The event also featured discussion panels with excellent experts. Prof. Henryk Mruk was surely one of those who captured the hearts of the audience, as the first part of the conference ended with sincere laughter and loud rounds of applause.

For me, HMC is not only a PR and entertainment event. I learnt a lot both last and this year, and came back to Kraków with plenty of thoughts and new ideas. Besides, and this is truly valuable, HMC offers a great opportunity to talk to and exchange views with other hoteliers. Tomasz Polak, Director of CONRAD Hotel

A huge portion of knowledge on the industry and a boost of positive energy! NH Hotel, Poznań

For more reviews and photos, go to Hotel Marketing Conference.

During the breaks, the participants attended numerous attractions. There was a novelty waiting next to the Earth Room – escape rooms designed with hoteliers in mind by the Przygodownia company. The attendees got an opportunity to disarm a bomb and try to escape a hotel room. Another attraction which was very popular with the guests was the HMC wall and Instagram frames, thanks to which a lot of representatives of the hotel industry could record their presence at the conference in an original form.

Coffee breaks were also a perfect opportunity to meet at the stands of Profitroom and the event partners: Diversey, iLumio, Brill AV Media, Letica, Willa Win, Nespresso, Przygodownia, and Espago.

More years

After a several-hour long break, the hoteliers and Profitroom employees met at the Gala celebrating the 10th anniversary of the first online booking, which was run by Maciej Kautz, similarly to the first part of the event.

The lights turned off, it got silent and all the guests at the Earth Hall watched the names of hotels displayed on the screen, which eventually turned into the logo of Profitroom, which places hoteliers at the heart of its activities. What happened 10 years ago and why the “Simply more bookings” slogan defines Profitroom’s mission in the best way possible? Marcin Dragan provided answers to these questions during the Gala. Profitroom’s Mateusz Zieliński, Joanna Kulesza and Bartosz Sulecki also talked about their experiences during the meeting. Piotr Lewandowski representing Hotel 3 Trio, the first client of Profitroom, also attended the event.

That was quite a superb event you’ve put up! Thank you for integrating our industry all across Poland! (…) it was full of content, networking and fun! HotelLike

HMC is a must-attend event. You’ll find there knowledge, product, innovations, trends and most of all – people. Skipper Hotel

The most surprising moment of the gala was a sudden wave of text message tones. All the participants received a message with a link to a website on which you could find out for yourself how technology is working for the benefit of hoteliers – displaying information on the number and value of bookings recorded since morning. Featuring short videos recorded exclusively for the occasion, the hoteliers themselves spoke in greater detail about the way state-of-the art solutions provided by Profitroom helped their businesses.

The culminating point of the Gala featured a special thanks from Krzysztof Grzęda, CEO of Profitroom, to all the staff. “It is an honour for us to work together with the best. Thanks to you, it’s already been decade for us developing a technology which has changed our industry for the better. Thank you”.

“Simply more to come” – these words concluded the Gala and opened doors to a promising common future. The evening would not have been so great without good music – a concert by Poparzeni Kawą Trzy added that extra bit of dazzle to the 10th anniversary of Profitroom.

If the above report is not enough for you, watch the video and feel just as if you were there in the Earth Hall!

More experience

The second HMC day included lectures and workshops divided into four thematic blocks: Revenue, Marketing, Reception and Interactive. The guests could learn how to optimise sales, attract more website traffic, use advanced Google tools, and ensure good communication as part of efficient hotel services. There was also a prize draw within the “Hoteliers to Hoteliers” contest, consisting in the exchange of vouchers with a value of PLN 2 thousand each.

Loads of interesting and useful knowledge, and huge inspiration. Kielczanka

Substantive lectures, great atmosphere, very nice participants and valuable new contacts. Hotel Villa Baltica

For more memories (photos and films) from HMC 2018, go to the Profitroom fanpage.