As the owner or manager of a hotel, you should consider attending some of the top hotel management conferences in 2017. These conferences are open to professionals working in the hospitality industry who want to learn more about working with guests, keeping guests happy and running a hotel or motel. Though some conferences take place in the United States, you’ll also find some at hotels and convention centers around the world.

The Lodging Conference

The Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa will host The Lodging Conference October 30 through November 2, 2017. According to its official website, more than 80% of those who attend this conference are business owners and managers. Its founders limit the number of people who can attend as a way of keeping class sizes down. That smaller number also helps guests meet and form connections with other guests and speakers. Many of its speakers are professionals who run hotel chains and upscale hotels.

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International Luxury Hotel Association

If you work in or own a luxury hotel, you might attend the conference put on by the International Luxury Hotel Association. Also known as ILHA, it puts on its annual conference in Washington DC around the end of September. The 2016 conference focused on wellness travel and how to make guests feel more comfortable when traveling to spas or for medical reasons. Speakers can include authors, hotel managers and hotel owners. The conference often includes a number of networking opportunities and meet and greets that let you mingle with other hotel managers.

Hotel Motel Restaurant Association Trade Expo

Scheduled for March 5 and 6, 2017, the Hotel Motel Restaurant Association Trade Expo will take place in Ocean City, Maryland at the Ocean City Convention Center. As a trade show, it lets you walk through several large spaces and see items for sale that might be perfect for your hotel. Vendors sell everything from restaurant equipment and furniture to bed linens and bathroom fixtures. You’ll also have the chance to chat with those companies about cost and features. The trade show includes some networking events during the weekend too.

International Tourism and Hospitality Management Conference

If you want to attend hotel management conferences outside the United States, check out the International Tourism and Hospitality Management Conference. This event takes place towards the end of October in Sarajevo, but the organization has not yet announced the exact dates for the 2017 conference. It focuses more on global tourism than other conferences do. You might attend lectures on urban tourism, marketing specific destinations or new types of tourism such as golf tourism or adventure tourism. This conference also includes helpful lectures on niche marketing and tourism that can teach you how to make your smaller hotel appeal to more travelers.

Global Hospitality, Tourism Marketing & Management Conference

The Global Hospitality, Tourism Marketing & Management Conference in Seoul, Korea is another great conference for those with an interest in global marketing. It typically takes place on the first full weekend in July. You can attend lectures and sessions dedicated to management issues, including how to advertise and find the right people for open jobs, using organizational behavior methods and applications when working with employees and managing your budget. Other lectures may focus on topics like sustainable hotel practices and marketing methods.

You can learn a lot about the hospitality industry through blogs, magazines and even professional journals. Attending conferences can help you learn even more and from professionals working in hotels around the world. The top hotel management conferences let you get out of your comfort zone too as you attend events across the nation and around the globe.