Hello!  

For our American readers, hope you had a nice (and if you were in a hotel working, busy) July 4th!  I have just been COVID tested and cleared to fly from London to the US for the summer!  This will be my first time on a plane since January 2020, I am very excited to travel and see family and friends.  I will be going from Maine to Washington DC over the next six weeks, so stay tuned! 

Anyway, you're here for industry news so let's get to it:

• Corporate travel heating up. Starting with great news, in the Financial Times this morning, "Corporate travel rebound signals first signs of recovery in decimated sector," hotels, airlines, and travel companies report rise in bookings!  Where government restrictions have been lifted, demand has returned...Las Vegas is holding its first major convention since the pandemic, and US airlines and hotels are noting a rise in business bookings. Europe is lagging, but showing some movement in the energy sector.
• June boom for adding employees.  On July 2, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed employers added 850,000 people to the payrolls in June, a banner month, and much of this was in leisure and hospitality, where "jobs who are not supervisors saw pay pop by a striking 2.3 percent between May and June,"  according to the New York Times.  The article goes on to say employees are in control, as many in hospitality have known for a while, as competition for hotel employees at all levels is intense, as predicted in a Cornell panel of hotel HR executives which we covered.
• But also: the Great Resignation. On the flip side, another hot story was "The Great Resignation," the trend of people leaving jobs due to personal reflection and re-evaluation of life priorities during the pandemic.  The BBC summarises in "How Employers Drove Workers to Quit" and in Inc., Arianna Huffington writes, "People Aren't Just Quitting their Jobs. They're Redefining Success.  Why the Great Resignation is about more than burnout.  This is a big topic and one we will give attention to, but no doubt, the need to address burnout and offering employees help with mental health and wellness is here to stay. 

Here's what happened on hertelier:

• SCOOP for round-up readers: 2020 has been the year of "cybernating" - learn about influencers from experts at Hawkins PR/Maverick Creative about how you can harness the power of this increasingly important marketing segment. Mark your calendar for this Thursday, July 8 at 12 noon EST.  Click here to find out more! 
• We started the week looking at 5 Wellness Trends in Luxury Hotel Operations with industry expert, Liv Gussing Burgess.  Liv started her career journey as a butler(!) at the iconic St. Regis in NYC then went on to help build the Aman brand of luxury resorts around the world. You don't want to miss her insights into what's next for luxury! 
• Columnist Nancy Mendelson ponders, Does Birth Order Influence Your Personality at Work? off of a reader suggestion.  Nancy unpacks the idea of "family" at work and why this is NOT a good idea. What do you think?  Please reach out to Nancy (nancy@nemglobal.com) with your comments or any topics you want to be addressed!
• What do you think is harder, planning a high-end wedding or running missions in the US Army?  Maybe it depends on the couple??  This week in F&Be, writer Sloane Warren interviews Patricia Suero, Director of Social Catering at Kimpton EPIC Hotel in Miami, who served in the US Army before switching to the hotel biz, she shares thoughts on transferrable skills and team management.  Perfect to read about a patriot on July 4th weekend!

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.

Have a great week, 

Emily