Dear Round-Up Readers,

This past week I was honored to join Naomi Heaton, founder & CEO, The Other House hotels, Isobel Grace Flude, manager at Mana, the only Michelin star restaurant in Manchester, Aurelia Delclos, founder and co-owner, Chez Antoinette in London, and Joely Tennant from Lightspeed in conversation about women in hospitality and the role of technology. The energy in the room was incredible and it was fabulous to meet so many women doing amazing work in hospitality, and hear their stories! Change is happening!

Speaking of change, AHLA Foundation released the latest report tracking board diversity at publicly traded hotel companies in the US. Overall good progress, women occupied 31.3% of independent board seats on hotel public company boards in 2022, a significant increase from 22.5% in 2021. The report, conducted by Penn State School of Hospitality Management, is based on a survey of 28 companies. What's shocking? There remains one company with NO WOMEN on their board. Who knows what company it is? I am trying to find out, so we can help them, because diverse companies are more profitable. Click to find out what the biggest obstacle is for diversity on boards.

ONLY 10 TICKETS LEFT for our first "Morning Shift" in NYC on October 11th at The Carlyle!! Join Amber Asher, CEO of Standard International, Marlene Poynder, Managing Director, at The Carlyle, and Melissa Maher, Principal, Pinnacle Enterprises Group, for insightful conversation and networking. I am so excited! If you want to be a part of it, grab one of the last tickets here!

Let's get to the news...

Business, Women, and Random Trends:
 

• Amid Push to Diversify Corporate Boards, Change Is Slow After rapidly adding women, minorities and first-time directors, big-company boards pull back reports The Wall Street Journal (paywall). Timely with the new AHLA Foundation report on diversity at hotel company boards (see above). The main obstacle is universal: boards are relatively small, don't have much turnover and companies are reluctant to add members.
   

• How To Brag Without The Backlash, According To New Research OMG. If you click one story this week, please let this article in Forbes by Kim Elsesser be IT. Women face a double-edged sword when we self-promote––when we brag about accomplishments, we are perceived as competent but not likeable. New research suggests a new tactic,"dual-promotion." The secret is giving credit to others while singing your own praises.
   

• This Is Exactly What to Do After You Lose Your Temper and Yell at Someone Oops. We've all been there... you lose your cool and lash out (hopefully it is not just me!?) A psychologist explains how to reconnect and move forward after you've snapped at someone.
   

• Working From Home is a Disaster Waiting to Happen for Feminism, Warns Entrepreneur Who Sold Her Airbnb Rival Based on Hit film ‘The Holiday’ for $53 million Debbie Wosskow thinks facetime in the office is important for career growth and is concerned women are at a disadvantage, read more in Fortune (paywall).
   

• Warren Buffett Says Your Best Chance at Success Comes Down to 3 Simple Choices The 'Oracle of Omaha' shares his tips for longevity, decision-making and setting boundaries. Read more in Inc.

Travel & Hospitality:
 

• Skift Global Forum Highlights The conference was held in NYC this week and featured top CEOs. Overall, seems like there was lots of optimism. Some sessions that stood out.

  • Airbnb CEO Talks European Growth and NYC Crackdown

  • The Future of Luxury? Look to Retail, Says Raffles Boss

  • Hyatt Pulls Off a Business Travel Comeback

  • Hilton’s Plan to Dominate Middle-Class Travel
     

• World Tourism Day: Focus on 'Green Investments' Interesting report by CNBC's Monica Pitrelli that highlights the opportunities for women in travel and tourism as part of ESG investing.
   

• Mon Dieu! ‘No one is safe’: France Vows Action as Bedbugs Sweep Paris CNN reports on coordinated efforts by city officials to try and curb the problem in advance of the 2024 Olympics.
   

• ‘Unpredictability in the System,’ and Other Travel Lessons From the Summer of ’23 Climate change upheavals brought on a season of extremes for travelers in the U.S., Europe and beyond. The New York Times (paywall) concludes, one thing is clear: travel is changing.
   

• This Travel Company’s New Carbon Labeling Program Will Give You the Toll of Your Jet-setting Tour operator Intrepid Travel has calculated the emissions for 500 of its most popular trips–and is putting the info front and center. What do you think, will it make consumers more mindful? Or make them feel badly for traveling?
   

• Fun Barbie Collab: Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth in Montreal hops on Barbie's pink coattails to create a custom suite. Read more in ehotelier.
   

• More on Sheila Johnson, CEO of Salamander Hotels & Resorts. She speaks with David Eisen of Hotels about her career and new book, "Walk Through Fire: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Triumph." She was on CBS This Morning, which we mentioned in the Round-Up last week.
   

• The Snob's Guide to Travel How the modern nomad aristocracy wanders the globe according to Town & Country is with insider's Google Docs and maps. This ran in June, but I just found it. It struck a nerve with me as I had similar Google docs for NYC and London that I created shortly after we moved to share with friends.

On hertelier this week:

Big welcome to our new subscribers! The story in Forbes, How Women Are Changing The Hotel Industry, keeps bringing new readers! Super excited to have you here. 
 

• The Lodging Conference 2023: Women on the Scene with Insights, Economic Outlook and 2024 Projections A record-breaking crowd gathered at The Lodging Conference, Stacy Silver reports highlights and speaks with women in attendance.
   

• Male Ally of the Month: Mr. September– Mike Dominguez, President & CEO at ALHI Mike Dominguez is one of the most well-liked guys in the biz. We chat about how his Hispanic upbringing made him a better ally.

   

• WTAF Has Happened to Professionalism? Columnist Nancy Mendelson has a run in with someone...it has her wondering, "what does professionalism mean today?"

Final reminder to London herteliers: Hotel & Resort Innovation Expo is taking place on the 10th & 11th of October at the ExCeL London. You can still register for a FREE ticket here.

Hey, don't forget: if you love reading the Round-Up, please forward this email to a friend or colleague! They can see past issues and sign up by clicking here.

Thank you for reading! Have a great week!

Em