Joining a Panel as an Expert

Two Ways to Join

Panel membership is by invitation only. There are two ways you might be invited to join a panel:

Admin Direct Invite

Hospitality Net may send you a direct invitation if you already have an author profile in the HN network. You'll receive an email introducing the panel and inviting you to join.

The email will show:

• Who invited you (admin name)
• Which panel you're invited to
• A brief description of the panel's focus
• An Accept Invitation button

Click the button to accept or decline. If you don't respond within 2-3 days, you'll receive a reminder email.

This process is simple because your account and author profile already exist—you're just adding panel membership.

Council Invite Link

A Panel Council Member may share a unique invite link with you via email, LinkedIn, or other channels. This link is personalized to their panel but can be used by anyone.

The invite link process requires a few more steps because you may be new to Hospitality Net and need to create both an account and an author profile.

Using an Invite Link

When you click a Council Member's invite link, you'll see a landing page that shows:

• The panel name (e.g., "Join HN Go Live Panel")
• Who invited you (Council Member's name)
• A description of what the panel discusses
• A note that expert views are published on Hospitality Net

Step 1: Sign In

Click Continue to proceed. You'll need to sign in with your existing Hospitality Net account or create a new one using your email address.

If you're creating a new account, follow the standard registration process. If you already have an account, simply log in.

Step 2: Complete Your Profile

After signing in, you'll see a profile completion form. If you're using an existing account, this form will be pre-populated with your current author and organization details. If you're new, you'll need to fill it out.

Your Profile section:

• Headshot - Click the circle to upload a professional photo (required)
• First Name and Last Name
• Job Title (e.g., "Chief Marketing Officer")
• Bio - Describe your expertise and experience (500 words max, rich text formatting available)
• LinkedIn Profile (optional) - Your LinkedIn profile URL

Your Organization section:

• Organization Name
• Organization Website

Click Submit Join Request when you're ready.

Step 3: Wait for Approval

You'll see a confirmation message explaining that an administrator will review your request and either approve or deny it. You'll receive an email once your request has been processed.

Approval Process

After you submit your join request, a Hospitality Net administrator reviews your profile and decides whether to approve your membership.

If Approved

You'll receive a welcome email with the subject "Great news! Your request to join [Panel Name] has been approved."

The email includes:

• Confirmation of your panel membership
• A Go to Your Dashboard button
• Information about what you can do: view and respond to viewpoint invitations, track contributions, update your profile

If Denied

You'll receive an email explaining that your request wasn't approved. The email may include a reason for the decision (if the admin provided one).

If you believe the decision was made in error or want more information, you can reach out to Hospitality Net through the contact information provided in the email.

After You Join

Once approved, you'll have access to the World Panel section in your dashboard. Look for Expert Panel: World Panel in the left sidebar.

Your World Panel dashboard shows:

• My Panels - All panels you're a member of (as Expert or Champ)
• Viewpoints Awaiting My Response - Viewpoints you've been invited to respond to but haven't submitted yet
• My Recent Views - Your last 10 published expert views

You'll start receiving viewpoint invitations when Champs create new discussions for your panel. These invitations arrive via email, typically 7 days before the viewpoint's publication date.