Community Guidelines

Community Guidelines – Hospitality Finance Network
Last updated: 19/11/2025

These Community Guidelines explain how we expect members to behave on the Hospitality Finance Network (HFP Net) website, LinkedIn page, and any related channels.

They’re here to protect you, your career, your employer, and the integrity of the profession.

1. Purpose of the Community

HFP Net exists to:

Connect hospitality finance professionals globally
Share practical knowledge, tools, and experiences
Discuss challenges honestly, without fear or judgement
Support each other’s careers and professional growth

This is not a place for gossip, attacking brands or individuals, or sharing confidential information.

2. Who This Community Is For

HFP Net is designed primarily for:

Directors of Finance / Cluster DOFs
Financial Controllers / Assistant Controllers
Chief Accountants / Accountants (AP, AR, GL, Cost, Income Audit, Stores)
Finance & BI Analysts, Revenue-focused finance roles
GMs / Owners / Asset Managers interested in hotel finance
Students and early-career professionals who want to grow in hospitality finance

Others (consultants, vendors, recruiters, technology providers) are welcome as long as they respect these guidelines and the community’s purpose.

3. Core Principles

Everything in this community should align with these principles:

Respect & Professionalism – Treat everyone as you would a colleague in your own hotel or office.
Practical Value – Share experiences, tools, and ideas that others can actually use.
Confidentiality & Discretion – Protect sensitive information about properties, owners, brands, and colleagues.
Integrity – Be honest about what you know, don’t misrepresent yourself or your experience.
Inclusivity – We welcome professionals from all countries, brands, and backgrounds.

4. Professional Conduct

4.1 Be Respectful

No personal attacks, insults, harassment, or bullying.
Disagree with ideas, not people.
Avoid aggressive or sarcastic behaviour that makes others afraid to participate.

Not acceptable:

“Only an idiot would manage payroll like this.”
Name-calling, mocking someone’s English or writing style, or belittling junior roles.

Acceptable:

“I see it differently because…”, “In my experience, this approach worked better because…”

4.2 No Discrimination or Hate

You must not post content that discriminates against or targets individuals or groups based on:

Nationality or ethnicity
Gender or gender identity
Religion or beliefs
Sexual orientation
Age
Disability or health conditions

We’re an international community. Differences are expected and respected.

4.3 Professional Tone

This is a professional network, not a casual social media feed.

Occasional humour is fine – disrespect is not.
Avoid excessive profanity or offensive language.
No explicit, violent, or adult content.

5. Confidentiality & Sensitive Information

This is critical for hospitality finance professionals.

5.1 Don’t Share Confidential or Proprietary Information

Do not share:

Specific room rates, contract rates, or confidential commercial terms
Owner agreements, management contract details, or brand contract clauses not publicly available
Internal financial statements with identifiable property/owner/brand details
Guest data or staff personal information
Any documents clearly marked “Confidential”, “Internal Use Only”, etc.

If in doubt, summarise the concept instead of posting the original document.

5.2 Keep Properties and Individuals Anonymous for Sensitive Cases

When discussing a real situation:

Avoid naming the exact hotel/resort if the topic is sensitive.
Avoid naming individuals (colleagues, owners, GMs).
Use neutral phrases like:
- “a city hotel in Europe”
- “a luxury island resort in the Indian Ocean”
- “a previous property I worked in”

The goal is to learn from the situation, not expose people or companies.

5.3 Comply with Your Employer’s Policies

Your employment contract and your company’s confidentiality rules always come first.

If your company would not allow you to share it, don’t post it.
You are responsible for ensuring your posts do not breach any legal or contractual obligations.

6. Content & Contribution Guidelines

6.1 Make It Practical

We value content that others can use right away, for example:

Checklists (month-end, stock take, internal controls)
Templates (simple budget models, variance analysis layouts)
Real examples of how you solved a problem (without naming confidential details)
Lessons learned from system implementations, audits, pre-openings

Avoid sharing content that is purely promotional or vague with no real value.

6.2 Be Honest About Your Experience

Don’t claim qualifications or job titles you don’t hold.
If you’re sharing a view outside your direct experience, that’s fine – just be transparent:
- “I haven’t implemented this personally, but I’ve seen it work in other properties.”

6.3 Cite Sources When Relevant

If you are sharing content based on published material:

Mention the original source or author where possible.
Don’t copy long sections of copyrighted content (e.g., from paid courses, books) into posts.

6.4 Use Clear & Professional Language

Keep posts readable; short paragraphs and bullet points help.
Avoid ALL CAPS and text-speak like “u”, “ur”, etc.
English is the default language; you may post in other languages if clearly tagged and relevant to a region, but English helps the most people.

7. Job Posts, Recruitment & Self-Promotion

7.1 Job Posts

The community encourages hospitality finance job opportunities.

When posting a job:

Use clear titles: “Financial Controller – [City, Country]”
Specify: location, type of property, brand/independent, key responsibilities, basic requirements.
Indicate how to apply and application deadline.
Be honest about the role and conditions; no misleading offers.

Job posts should only be in:

The dedicated Career Hub section on the website
Agreed job threads on LinkedIn (if provided by HFP Net)

7.2 Recruiters & Agencies

Recruiters are welcome if they:

Focus on hospitality finance roles
Provide genuine vacancies
Respect members’ data and privacy
Avoid spamming or sending unsolicited private messages to many members at once

If you are a recruiter, be transparent:

Use your real name, company, and contact details.
Don’t misrepresent a role or hide key facts (e.g., location, level).

7.3 Self-Promotion & Commercial Content

We know many members also provide consulting, training, or software.

This is allowed within limits, as long as:

Your primary contribution is helpful content, not constant advertising.
Any commercial interest is clearly disclosed:
- “Disclosure: I work for a company that provides this software/service.”
You don’t repeatedly push the same product or service in unrelated threads.

Spam, mass promotions, or “DM me for my service” on every post will be removed.

8. Use of AI, Templates & “Borrowed” Content

Many finance professionals use AI tools and templates.

You may use AI (including tools like ChatGPT) to help draft posts, but you are responsible for ensuring the content is accurate and ethical.
Don’t present AI-generated content as a “proven method” if you haven’t tested it.
Don’t share proprietary templates that belong to your current or past employer. Create generic versions instead.

9. Privacy & Direct Messages

Treat private messages as confidential unless both parties agree to share.
Don’t share DM screenshots publicly without explicit permission and anonymisation.
Do not use DMs for harassment, repeated unsolicited sales pitches, or unprofessional conversations.

If you receive an inappropriate DM:

You are encouraged to block the sender and report the behaviour to the community admins (with screenshots if possible).

10. Moderation & Enforcement

HFP Net may appoint moderators/admins to help maintain a healthy environment.

10.1 What Moderators Can Do

Moderators may:

Edit or remove posts or comments that violate guidelines
Move posts to the correct section (e.g., jobs moved to Career Hub)
Issue warnings to members
Temporarily mute or suspend accounts in serious or repeated cases
Permanently remove users for severe or ongoing breaches

We will try to be fair, consistent, and transparent, but final decisions on moderation rest with the HFP Net admin team.

10.2 Examples of Content That May Be Removed

Posts revealing confidential property/owner/brand data
Personal attacks or abusive comments
Discriminatory or hateful content
Unverified accusations against individuals or companies
Pure spam or repeated self-promotion
Explicit or adult content
Any content that appears fraudulent or misleading

11. Reporting Problems

If you see something that concerns you:

Use the platform’s report function, or
Contact the HFP Net admin team via the Contact page or official email, with:
- Link to the problematic content
- Brief description of your concern
- Screenshots if relevant (for DMs or deleted content)

Please don’t engage in public arguments; let moderators handle it.

12. Legal & Compliance

By participating in the community, you agree to:

Follow these guidelines
Comply with applicable laws in your country and the country where your employer/property is located
Take responsibility for the content you post

HFP Net does not provide legal, tax, or audit opinions. Content shared by members (including admins) is for general information and discussion only and should be adapted to your specific situation with professional advice where needed.

13. Updates to These Guidelines

These guidelines may evolve as the community grows.

When significant changes are made, we will highlight them on the website and/or LinkedIn page.
Continued use of the community after changes means you accept the updated guidelines.

14. In Short

Be kind and professional.
Protect confidentiality.
Share practical, honest experience.
Promote responsibly, not aggressively.
Help others grow, and ask for help when you need it.

If you’re unsure whether something is appropriate, ask yourself:

“Would I be comfortable if my GM, owner, brand, or future employer read this with my name attached?”

If the answer is no – don’t post it.