Dear Round-Up Readers,

This week has been an interesting one, with lots of wonderful tributes to women across the world on Tuesday for International Women's Day, yet it remains hard to get very excited about anything with the war raging in Ukraine.  The news stream is devastating and heartbreaking, so I encourage you to read this helpful article in Forbes, which explains "vicarious trauma," and why our anxiety is at an all-time high, though comparatively, our lives are "fine."  I remain in awe of some of the amazing efforts individuals and our industry are doing to help.  Here are some resources and relevant articles:

• Hospitalitynet.com is keeping an up-to-date list of resources. Hilton and Amex have joined Hospitality Helps, agreeing to donate 1 million rooms for refugees.
• Hotel companies in Russia and responsibility. Costar has been reporting on hospitality companies with exposure to Russia, with Radisson and Accor having the most, and their responsibility in dealing with these businesses and franchisees.
• Most western brands have now pulled out of Russia, from McDonald's to Goldman Sachs. This movement was helped along by longtime advocate of corporate social responsibility, Yale management professor Jeffrey Sonnefeld, who published a list of corporations with businesses in Russia that went viral.
• The NYT wrote a heart-warming story about how the tourism industry in Poland is helping refugees. CNBC reported on an online travel guide that has shifted to covering the plight of refugees.
• You've likely already noticed soaring gas prices if you're wondering how else the war in Ukraine is impacting the global economy, read this.  Ukraine and Russia are the "breadbasket of Europe" the two countries account for almost 30 percent of global wheat exports, almost 20 percent of corn exports, and more than 80 percent of the world's supply of sunflower oil. This is going to impact food supply for years to come, particularly in the most vulnerable nations. 
• Be careful of the boycott. Russia is the world's largest exporter of oil, but western countries consume few truly Russian brands and many current boycotts are misguided.

On to other travel news from this week: 

• Despite the war, travel companies expect strong demand for summer. Fortune reports Booking.com, Expedia Group Inc., and Airbnb Inc. are all banking on a surge in demand this summer.

• 14 points hotels around the world where women are in charge: while we all look forward to the day when women running hotels won't make headlines, check out this round-up in The Points Guy (and I wrote it!) 

• Pathway to net positive hospitality: the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance has released a video about working together with the CEOs of Accor, IHG, Marriott, and Marloes Knippenberg, CEO of Kerten Hospitality. 

• COVID travel restrictions have been removed in most places, the WSJ offers a summary.

• Sound sleep: with a focus on wellness post-pandemic, many hotel brands are now offering sleep soundtracks via QR code.

• Harmful LGBTQ legislation is on the rise. Important to note this dangerous trend, the "Don't Say Gay" Bill in Florida passed and a record-setting number of bills (150 to be exact) are aimed at curbing the rights of LGBTQ Americans in 2022. Disney halted political donations in Florida after heat from employees. 

• Slam dunk! A new sports bar in Portland will only show women's sports, something to think about as you look for F&B promo ideas in your hotel. 

Women at work:

There was lots of coverage on various topics related to women at work this week due to #IWD2022.  Here are some articles I found interesting:

• What Leadership Looks Like in a Post-Girlboss World: talks about how women can reframe personal priorities, but we need to focus on promoting pro-family policies like paid family leave, affordable child care, and pay-equity policies.
• Stop asking women how we manage work-life balance. This essay in Fortune by VC founder Alyssa Jaffee, explains "Our whole idea of balance is unrealistic, and no individual day or moment will ever truly be balanced. Some days I’ll lean too heavily into work. Other days, I will focus on my kids. Every day is a journey and I’m 100% percent here for it."

• Women Can’t Go Back to the Pre-Pandemic Status Quo: HBR makes the case for why the Great Resignation needs to be the Great Reset. Even before the pandemic women suffered disproportionately from stress and burnout, companies need to update their processes to mitigate or prevent gender and racial inequities.  Speaking of the Great Resignation, the WSJ unpacks why people actually quit--mostly for more money and benefits. 

On hertelier this week:

Welcome to our new subscribers! The story in Forbes "How Women Are Changing The Hotel Industry, has brought us many new readers! Super excited to have you here.

• Giveaway! In celebration of our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY, you can win beautiful hand-made candles in pretty glass pineapples 🍍🍍!  Made by recently profiled twins Roseline and Roselaine Bien-Aime, just tag a friend or colleague on LinkedIn or Instagram and you both are entered to win!!  The best part is each post is becoming a long list of fabulous women in hospitality.  Come on, be a part of the fun!  Make sure to follow the Bien-Aime Collection to be eligible.

• Lifting Our Spirits: Allison Strunk, GM at King & Rye Upon discovering her passion for bourbon and whiskey, Allison became a subject matter expert with encouragement from her leadership team at Marriott.  Read about her spirited career path!

• Free Webinar: The Meteoric Rise of Digital PR for Hotels Take an hour to get a FREE crash course on Digital PR from the experts at Lemongrass Marketing and find out why "social media is the holy grail of post-COVID travel distribution," click here to find out more and sign up!

• Angry? Who isn't? These crazy and unsettled times have columnist Nancy Mendelson feeling more than upset, she's angry.

• Guests Behaving Badly: Unruly behavior isn't limited to airplanes, unbelievable scenarios are playing out with hotel and restaurant guests. We get tips from training expert Stephanie Coradin on how to keep calm and safe.

• Amplifying the Voices of Women in Travel Media: Jacqui Gifford, Editor in Chief, Travel & Leisure has been leading the conversation about gender equality in hospitality, we ask what she sees coming next.

• Women of Preferred Unpack Gender Equality & Share Personal Travel Hacks.

  In celebration of International Women's Day, we chatted with top execs from Preferred Hotels & Resorts, which has nearly 50% female leadership. 

LISTEN UP!  I was interviewed on a podcast, "Hospitality Meets with Phil Street," who is basically a legend among the hospitality set here in the UK.  We chat about careers, gender equality, and where women have been in innovating in the hotel industry based on our near 200 interviews for hertelier!  Lots of shoutouts of women we have profiled!

LONDON readers, I'll be at Rooms101 on Tuesday, will you? Email me, I'd love to meet you!  If you're not already signed up, have a look at the incredible line up including Anne Golden, GM, of the new Pan Pacific London. A few spaces are still available. 

IF YOU NEED A BREAK: you're probably already hooked on Wordle, but have you tried Heardle (guessing songs, so fun!)?  Also, finally tried the green goddess salad that went viral on TikTok last month and it lives up to the hype. Let me know what you think! 

Are you still here? I'd love to hear from you. Why do you read hertelier and what would you like to see covered? Is there someone you'd like to suggest for a profile?  My goal in 2022 is to get to know more of our readers, just reply to this email. I am a real person 😃 

Have a great week and don't forget to enter to win! 

Em