Schedule subject to change. Check back for more information.
Sat, Jan. 28, 2023
| 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. | Innkeeping as a Profession Workshop |
Sun, Jan. 29, 2023
| 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. | Innkeeping as a Profession Workshop |
| 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. | InnSpire Welcome & General Session Say Yes! Christine Trippi, The Wise Pineapple This year’s opening general session speaker will teach attendees about the art of saying YES in only four simple steps, and how to become a Wise Pineapple™ by being confident, empowered, and leading from the heart. InnSpire attendees will learn to: • Be Confident: Learn the secret sauce to always saying YES, delivering the ultimate guest experience, and setting up your frontline to love and own their day! • Be Empowered: Reach your goals and dreams with the Four Levels of Commitment. • Lead from the Heart: Rekindle your passion to serve with a higher purpose to change the world one YES at a time. |
| 4:40 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. | Concurrent Education Sessions |
| Taking Control of your Hotel’s Online Presence Presented by Stephanie Smith, CEO & Digital Matriarch, Cogwheel Marketing In this session, you’ll walk out with actionable digital marketing take-aways for your hotel team to implement starting now. The presenter will guide you through the customer journey and cover the basics of how to get more exposure for your hotel. She’ll also provide tips and tricks designed for non-technical people. | |
| The ADA – Are you compliant? Presented by Chris Taylor, Owner and CEO, ADA Compliance Consultants, Inc. Chris Taylor, owner and CEO of ADA Compliance Consultants Inc. will educate innkeepers, not scare them, on the American with Disabilities Act (ADA). He will review how it affects you as a business/property owner. He will explain how to do a brief self-analysis addressing typical problem areas, exceptions, and older properties that don’t meet ADA standards. Plus, he will dispel the myths of “grandfather clauses” and the assumption that California and Federal codes are one in the same. He will also address how to protect your inn against “drive by” ADA lawsuits and take advantage of tax credits and deductions for performing ADA upgrades. | |
| 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. | Opening Reception in the Vendor Marketplace |
Mon, Jan. 30, 2023
| 7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. | Breakfast |
| 8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. | Roundtables |
| 10:15 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. | Concurrent Education Sessions |
| Exploring and Improving the Guest Journey Presented by Richard Aday, CEO & Principal Engineer, ThinkReservations The guest journey is a driving force of your business. It drives increased revenue, reduced operations, and higher customer satisfaction. This session will explore every step of the guest journey and discuss the most effective solutions in providing a high-quality experience. Join Richard Aday as he walks you through various technical tools and solutions that can transform the way your guest experiences your business. | |
| Simple Emails that Convert to Sales Presented by Christine Trippi, The Wise Pineapple Stop getting ghosted – this session discusses how to follow-up on emails. Are you starting your email with “Thank you for your inquiry” or ending it with “I look forward to hearing from you.” This session will give you tips that will help you get your emails read, replied to, and converted into sales. | |
| 11:30 p.m. – 12:30 p.m | Concurrent Education Sessions |
| How to Leverage Storytelling into Your Marketing Presented by Brandon Flint, Founder, Story Directive and Beginning/Aspiring Innkeeper This session explains what makes a great story and how stories can help you in your marketing effort. You will learn what types of stories work best for hotel marketing and how to get your stories in front of potential customers. You will also learn how to use video and how to utilize it in conjunction with storytelling to maximize the viewer’s experience. | |
| Public Relations Strategies for a Digital World Panel Moderated by Ranee Ruble-Dotts, Founder and Creative Director, Paper Moon Creative This lively panel will explore how the rise of digital publishing, social media, and influencers has become a P.R. strategy game-changer for boutique hotels and B&Bs. Moving beyond traditional glossy magazines and newspapers, consumer travel decisions are increasingly influenced by a broad, ever-changing spectrum of digital media sources. A panel of professional travel journalists and influencers will share best practices for working with travel media to reach target audiences online. We’ll cover trends, pitching tips, formulating agreements, managing expectations, and how to vet requests from individuals who claim to be influencers but are not. | |
| 12:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. | Marketplace Opens & Lunch is Served in the Marketplace |
| 2:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. | Mini-education sessions |
| How to Minimize Your Taxes with Your Real Estate Investment Presented by Geraldine Serrano-Specialty Tax Consultant, Veritax Advisors Every real estate investor should know about the tax strategy cost segregation. It’s a strategy that can dramatically accelerate depreciation expenses and lower tax bills! Depreciation is a non-cash expense, which means you don’t have to spend money to get the tax deduction. The problem is that all real property depreciates over long periods of time – up to 39 years, giving the investor only a tiny bit of depreciation expense every year. Cost segregation dramatically accelerates depreciation expense now. The average commercial property owner can depreciate between 20% and 30% of the cost of the property! Cost segregation works on all kinds of real property – whether acquired through a 1031 exchange, a new purchase, new construction, or an inherited property. You can even do cost segregation on buildings that have already been depreciating for up to 20 years! | |
| Hospitality Performance Overview: Direct focus on California and Smaller Independent Properties Chase Oeser, Regional Sales Manager with STR Join presenter Chase Oeser, Regional Sales Manager with STR, as he provides an overview of the current State of the Hospitality Market. In this session, he will take you through the hospitality industry’s national performance, the state of California, and smaller property performance in the area. We will also have an opportunity to compare previous years performance to gauge the industry’s recovery pre and post pandemic. | |
| 3:00 p.m. | Teatime in the Trade Show |
| 4:15 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. | Sunset Education Sessions |
| How Hotels Can Survive the Staffing Shortage & Thrive in the Future Sacramento Room Presented by Brandon Gip, Canary Technologies The hospitality industry has had a great 2022. Occupancy is back and ADRs are above pre-pandemic levels. However, just as soon as the COVID-19 crisis seemed to be waning, the industry was hit with a staffing crisis. Employment is still down 17% compared with 2019 levels. This presentation will provide an overview of tactics hoteliers can use to deliver a great customer experience with fewer staff. | |
| #SocialMediaSuccessStory: How to Win at Social Media Through Authentic Brand Storytelling Presented by Sara Beth Ashbaugh, Director of Brand, Communications & Marketing, Woodside Hotel Group With the ever-evolving social media trends, platforms, and algorithms, managing your hotel’s social accounts can be intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be! Now more than ever, your guests are turning to social media to research and plan their travels, seeking an authentic look at your hotel’s guest experience. This session will cover the current landscape of social media and how to share your hotel’s unique brand story in a way that resonates with today’s travelers. We’ll also discuss best practices for managing your hotel’s social media platforms, including tips and tricks to make it easy, stress-free, and fun. | |
| 4:30 p.m. | Trade Show Closes |
| 5:00 p.m. | Dine Around Walnut Creek |
| 8:00 p.m. | Night Cap |
Tues, Jan. 31, 2023
| 8:00 a.m. – 9:15 a.m. | Breakfast and General Session (Contra Costa Room) Tips, Tricks, and Techniques from a Professional Chef Feast on delicious breakfast dishes with cooking demos from Chef Mark Berkner as he guides you through preparing and plating breakfast for your guests. With over 40 years of experience in professional kitchens, Mark will share cooking tricks, culinary techniques, and tips on how to save money. The demos will give you and your staff skills to use tomorrow. Mark and his wife, Tracey, own and operate Taste Restaurant & Wine Bar, Volcano Union Pub + Inn, and Rest, a boutique hotel. He was previously an Executive Chef for Marriott Hotels & Resorts in San Francisco and Denver. In addition, he has been the San Joaquin Delta College Culinary Arts Department Chair since 2007. |
| 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. | Concurrent Education Sessions |
| Embracing LGBTQ+ Market Presented by Cathy O’Connell, Co-Founder, COJ Events This presentation will guide venue leaders in best practices to welcome LGBTQ+ clients to their venue, either as leisure guests or when these couples are reaching out to plan their wedding or special event. We will take a deep dive into what makes an LGBTQ+ couple feel like they are welcomed and embraced at your venue, including initial client email interaction, verbiage used on communication forms, guest arrival experience, appropriate vocabulary, and how guests are treated at your venue. | |
| California Submarket Trends and Values Presented by Kathryn Proctor, CHB, President, Lodging Brokers Network View the ranked data on how California submarkets performed over the last year and what is projected for 2023. Explore how current cap rates and valuation parameters vary across the state, receive the latest update on interest rates, and the implications for your inn’s value. Delve into what California inn buyers are looking for, what is happening within the inn acquisitions market, what buyers expect regarding cash flow and how they are feeling about buying in 2023 and beyond. | |
| 10:45 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. | Concurrent Education Sessions |
| How to win with Google Travel Presented by Lisa Kolb, President & Co-Founder, Acorn Marketing Google Travel is overtaking Google Search in the lodging industry. This means you must understand how to navigate the travel world just as you had to navigate Google Search in the past. If you don’t know what Google Travel is, or how it is impacting your bottom line, we invite you to this session where you will learn the ins and outs and how to maximize your visibility beyond traditional search! | |
| CABBI Idiot’s Guide to Selling your Inn Panelist include: Rakesh Taneja, Owner, Elk Cove Inn & Spa, Marc Kassouf, Group General Manager, Stay Idyllwild, Kathryn Proctor, CHB, President, Lodging Brokers Network Bruce Abney, Former Owner El Morocco Inn & Spa and Karen Lynch, Lynch Hospitality Consulting & Former Owner of Inn on Randolph Did you know that the best time to start thinking about selling your inn is the moment you buy the property? You don’t want to miss this hot topic, whether you’re looking to sell now or 20 years from now. Our distinguished panelists of current and former innkeepers and experts will share their pearls of wisdom on how to prepare to sell your inn, and how to get the most for your investment when you do exit. Each expert will cover topics ranging from different types of exit strategies, preparing your inns for sale, what to expect while you are in escrow, what you need to do before the close of escrow, and the all-important succession planning. We will then open the panel up for Q&A. Come pick the brains of those who have bought and sold inns many times and help set yourself up for a successful sale. | |
| 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. | Closing Lunch with Keynote Speaker Best Practices for Impressing Guests What makes a stay at a boutique hotel or B&B truly extraordinary for guests? As the editor of CABBI’s travel blog, Ranee Ruble-Dotts has logged visits to over 150 boutique hotels and B&Bs in California. She’s experienced the good, the bad, and the ugly… as well as some genuinely dazzling properties. Armed with tales from the road, she’ll share her insights in a candid conversation with CHLA’s President + CEO, Lynn Mohrfeld. They’ll cover a range of topics including customer service, unique amenities, design trends, technology, and the small touches that go a long way in winning over guests and creating loyal fans. |
Schedule subject to change.