Hello!  

Writing to you now after visiting five colleges in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York with my 17-year old daughter and 91-year old mother.  No doubt, it is a crazy time to be looking at schools, most are still not offering tours and there are fewer students than normal on campuses, so very hard to get the vibe!

However, our college tour was a great excuse to try new brands and properties: we stayed in The Graduate in Providence, and we loved the concept–school themed hotels in coellege markets! The brand started in 2014 now there are 35 hotels in the US and UK. They've thought through so many fun touches from DND signs that look like university banners, a bar made of Number 2 pencils, to room keys designed like student IDs.

In Massachussets, we stopped in Amherst and Williamstown, but chose to stay at The Porches, across from Mass MOCA in North Adams, a fabulous modern art museum with retail, offices and restaurants in a re-purposed textile factory that is worthy of more than the few hours we had. The Porches is a 47-room inn made of the homes of the former factory managers.  Ten minutes away in Williamstown is the Clark Institute, if you're an art lover and not been to this area, put it on your list!

From there, we went to Ithaca and this was my first time back to my alma mater, Cornell, in about 15 years.  The change has been incredible, not only to the facilities but also how classes are taught and campus life in general. Here we stayed at a new Hilton brand, Canopy, we liked the modern, efficiently designed rooms.  After a busy week on the road, here's the news...

• The Delta Variant of COVID-19 is highly transmissable, making vaccination even more crucial. In the Wall Street Journal today's headline is "Delta variant upends world's pandemic response" citing increased cases even in the UK and Israel, despite high vaccination rates, due to spreading in those not vaccinated.  
• The Olympics are underway!  While it is so sad that there are no spectators and tourists in Tokyo, we can still enjoy the incredible profiles of athletes, particularly this story of sacrafice, sibling rivalry and support by the Wall Street Journal, Lessons From the Parents Who Raised the World's Top Soccer Sisters.
• For industry news, in the US, this week marked another peak for hotel occupancy since October 2019, with overall rate hitting 71% according to STR. 
• #Metoo result:  famed chef and restaruanteur Mario Batali and his partner Joseph Bastianich settled a sexual discrimination lawsuit with $600,000 going to 20 employees who were sexually harrassed at their restaurants.

Here's what happened on hertelier:

• SCOOP for round-up readers!! Cold calling is one of the most dreaded but also one of most important business skills. We asked Alia Bostaji, associate broker at Colliers, who has not only overcome her fear of cold calling, she's mastered it. Read her tips in Master the Art of Cold Calling: Part 1 and Part 2.
• Our most popular column from last week, was Nancy's on why you shouldn't let people "pick your brain" for free.  If you didn't have the chance to read it, the article explains why women need to advocate for themselves!  If you have any work or life issues you need help with, email columnist Nancy Mendelson at nancy@nemglobal.com.  

Thank you for your support–reading, liking, and sharing our stories of women rocking the hotel industry!  If you have a friend or colleague that you think would enjoy hertelier please forward this email; anyone can sign up by clicking here or the button below.

Final travel tip––go see Little Island (photo below) in New York City when you get the chance!  Such an incredible transformation and great way to enjoy Manhattan and the skylines. 

Have a great week, 

Emily