Hospitality People and Social Networking – The weird and wonderful.

There are plenty of blog post that explain social networking and how to develop a strategy.  This post is NOT one of them.  In this article I wanted to share two recent experiences that to me define the wonderful and weird world of social networking.

A weird experience– LinkedIn

A few weeks ago a contact from LinkedIn suggested we meet for a coffee. This would be the first time we met in person.  We had made contact via LinkedIn through common contacts and because we have similar research and consultancy interests.  As I was waiting by the tube station we had arranged to meet, a much younger gentleman that looked nothing like my contact approaches me and asks…”are you Ioannis?” I couldn’t quite hear him with all the hassle and bustle but he repeated “are you Ioannis from LinkedIn?”  At that point all possible scenarios race through my mind… I am trying to figure who this guy is and whether my memory is so poor, that I have arranged a meeting with a different person than the one I thought I did…  In the few seconds that I am trying to decide what is going on the poor lad sees my blank expression and we both take a step back to regroup…

It turned out he was meeting a contact of his named Johannes (who he met through LinkedIn) at the precise time and place I was meeting my contact…  The way he pronounced Johannes sounded just like my name and adding LinkedIn in the conversation added to the whole confusion.  It turns out he is in the recruitment industry and we exchanged cards, we laughed at the odds of something like that ever happening and he is now one of my newer contacts… How he thought I was Johannes? Well, neither of them had photos in their profiles so they did not know what they looked like. 

A wonderful experience - HotcatUk

This Sunday past the creator of this social networking site organised an extraordinary Sunday lunch at Koffman’s.  I had been to at least three events organised by HotcatUk and each one of them was a great event, but this was a very special one.  Set in Koffman’s private dining room 15 Hospitality professionals enjoyed a superbly designed 4 course meal, created by the Father of Celebrity Chefs, Pierre Koffman. No matter how hard I try to describe each dish I will do it no justice so let’s just say that the wonderful menu together with the excellent wine allowed for virtual connections to become much stronger through the sharing of a superb meal experience. (This is where I must say a big thank you to both Jose and Pierre for a truly amazing day).

And I think this is where HotCatUK has managed to differentiate itself by organising and hosting superb events that allow its members to meet one another and enhance their relationships. It is after all a hospitality focused network, organised by hospitality professionals who have hospitality in their blood!

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There is a lot of speculation whether social networking is here to stay, or whether it is simply a trend that will wither away.  No matter what I believe it is a tool that when used in moderation it can provide you with a support mechanism that could show benefits in the long term. 

The difficulty is in choosing which ones work for you and how much time you invest in each one, although these days you have software (with often free versions) that can allow you to manage all your networks from one location.  You will just have to experiment and see which ones work for you, let me just say that I have been a member of at least 6 such sites and have seen the early death of at least one hospitality specific social networking site. 

In the end it is not about how many sites you use or how many contacts you have but how many meaningful contacts you can engage with, without becoming a “friend collector”.  In my mind hospitality people are “people’s people” and social networks can be a great tool in your arsenal of meeting new and interesting people or keeping in touch with old friends.

*Update: If you wanted to find more about the lunch at Koffmans including the menu visit HERE