Hello!

Guess what?  This week marked our 100th post!  How many of our stories have YOU read?  Which was your favorite?  I'm proud to share that the five most popular posts have been about women representing minority groups, leading our industry, and a viral one on why you shouldn't give away your expertise for free: 

1. A three-part interview with Gilda Perez-Alvarado, CEO of JLL Hotels & Hospitality (see photo below, she just won the Castell Award given by Peggy Berg, founder of the Castell Project! Congrats, Gilda!)
2. Herstory with Lodging Legend: Valerie Ferguson, Regional General Manager, Deluxe Resorts at Walt Disney World
3. What it's like to open a luxury resort after a $100 million refurb with Abby Murtagh, General Manager, Arizona Biltmore, a Waldorf Astoria Resort
4. What it's Like to Run the World's Largest Hotel Data Company: Amanda Hite, STR
5. And the viral, Why You Shouldn't Let People "Pick Your Brain" by columnist Nancy Mendelson

If you've not read those stories, be sure to check them out!  Have a browse around the site and see any others you may have missed. Other fun stats:

• Our readership is 61 % female and 39 % male
• 26% of our readers are between 25-35

If you're reading this, you must like hertelier...please help us grow by sharing the site with your colleagues and friends! Anyone can sign up for this weekly email here.

On to the news stories you need to know about from this week: 

• McKinsey released their seventh "Women in the Workplace Report" and while women have made important gains, the pandemic hit hard and women are now significantly more burned out than men.  Despite the added stress and exhaustion, "women are rising to the moment as stronger leaders and taking on the extra work that comes with this: compared with men at the same level, women are doing more to support their teams and advance diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. They are also more likely to be allies to women of color. Yet this critical work is going unrecognized and unrewarded by most companies, and that has concerning implications. Companies risk losing the very leaders they need right now, and it’s hard to imagine organizations navigating the pandemic and building inclusive workplaces if this work isn’t truly prioritized." Read more from this important study.
• Several lodging conferences took place this week:
  • International Hospitality Investment Forum (IHIF) in Berlin, Marriott CEO Tony Capuano spoke about the recovery, the labor shortage, and the future of the industry saying, "The highest potential talent that’s out there, that’s considering where they want to start or continue their careers, want to see people that look like them in the C-suite." He cited the example of having toured The Ritz-Carlton Berlin the day before and meeting seven apprentices. All of them were women. “Two of them said to me, ‘It is of great inspiration that we look at Marriott’s C-suite. The president is a woman, the chief financial officer is a woman and the general counsel is a woman.’”
  • At the AHLA Lodging Conference in Phoenix, more talk from industry CEOs about the labor shortage, and Gilda Perez-Alvarado received the Castell Award! 
  • Here in London, UK hoteliers gathered for Hotel360 where I moderated two panels, one on the use of technology in five-star service and another on trends in cleaning, suffice to say high-tech solutions are here to help in many areas of operations. I really enjoyed other sessions by Jo Berrington, SVP at Yotel about marketing during the pandemic and another on recruitment with Sally Beck. 
• Holiday travel bookings have surged and prices are way up from 2019 according to an article in the Wall Street Journal. Trends are for more inter-generational travel, flexibility, and the ability to cancel.  

A busy week on hertelier:

• Two SCOOPS for Round-Up readers: our summary of the Key Takeaways from the Cornell Panel on Women in Hospitality and Travel: Opportunities, Challenges, and Progress and based on a viral thread on LinkedIn, 5 Irritating Phrases You Should Avoid Writing in Emails––if you don't know what TLDR means, read it! 
• New "First Job POV" contributor Maria Jose Velez Arango shares her experience working in guest services for the Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club in Surfside, Florida.  She is a recent Master's graduate from the FIU Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, and her essay "A Whole Behind Closed Doors," beautifully captures the magic of working in hotels.  
• F&Be is back for the fall! Writer Sloane Warren interviewed Anna Sebastian, head of brand for Served Drinks, who prior led glam bars at The Langham and The Savoy in London!
• Last but definitely not least, columnist Nancy Mendelson unpacks the difference between burnout and depression, and given the recent study by McKinsey this is a very important read. 

Listen Up:  Are you a fan of Bliss Spa, FitFlops, or Beauty Pie?  These are just three of the FIVE multi-million dollar companies founded by Marcia Kilgore, she's incredible.  In this insightful podcast, Diary of a CEO, she speaks about her methods of creating great customer experiences.  I loved it!  Let me know what you think!

If you missed it, hertelier was featured by the Cornell University SC Johnson School of Business! Please CLICK HERE to read about the community YOU are helping to build for women in lodging!

Wow, that was a long one!  If you're still here, have a great week! 

Emily