Dear Round-Up Readers,

The theme this week is PROGRESS. From female CEOs running more than 10% of Fortune 500 companies for the first time in the 68-year history of the list and women over 60 years old sweeping the Golden Globes to reflecting on the achievements of women in the hotel business in 2022, I can't help but be super excited! Finally, I have shrugged off the holidays and am enthusiastically back to work. How about you?

So much interesting news to share this week, let's get right to it!

 
Business, Women, and Random Trends: 

• The Hour Between Babe and Hag One of the best essays ever written on women, ageism, and work by NYT opinion writer Jessica Grose. Also, if you missed Nancy Mendelson's column on aging, you should read that too.
   

• The Case for Public Childcare Whether or not you are a parent, childcare broadly affects female employees and is in crisis in the US and the UK. Read The Atlantic and today's London Times to get a broad sense of the issues on both sides of the pond.
   

• 2023 Is the Year Marketers Will Understand, Measure, and Buy Into the Creator Economy a very useful explainer in Adweek.
   

• 5 Free AI Tools Worth Checking Out Are you super curious about AI but don't know where to start? This article from Fast Company is a great entry point. I have tried ChatGPT, Dall-E, and the new AI tools on Canva––all pretty awesome! What have you tried? Reply to this email and tell me!!! Also, if you are afraid of AI, listen to HardFork from the NYT, they interview a high school English teacher about how she is using ChatGPT as a teaching tool. This may be a glimmer of how AI will transform business as well.
   

•  The Power of Saying More with Less Great business communication tips from the creators of Axios. No surprise, it's short!
   

• Why Emotionally Intelligent People Embrace the Power of 'Awkward' Thank-You Notes, Backed by Science if you feel uncomfortable--or not very good at--expressing gratitude, research shows you're not alone. A great read in Inc. on the importance of saying thanks and how to do it.

Travel & Hospitality news:
 

• More Predictions for 2023 Yes, we've shared a bunch over the last few weeks, but this latest crop from Skift with 13 megatrends and Globetrender with 11 future trends are worth checking out.

  • From Skift: Permanxiety and Travel, Big Banks Getting Into Travel, Wellness and Sustainability Going Hand in Hand, Travel Marketing Getting a Reboot from Generative AI, the Rise of Super Luxury, and more.

  • From Globetrender: China Boom, Rebel Spending, Dry-Cations, Indigenous Appreciation, Modern Family Travel, and more.
     

• What Luxury Really Means in 2023 While luxury is mentioned in the previous prediction articles, I liked this essay by Daniel Langer of Équité who really zooms in on luxury as the ability "to create a reality in which clients feel high desirability because the brand can create cultural capital for them," i.e. something unique to brag about.
   

• The World's 50 Best is Launching a Hotel Edition joining the world's 50 Best Bars and 50 Best Restaurants. They have announced the editorial team and how the rankings will be determined.
   

• Noma, Rated the World's Best Restaurant, is Closing A PR coup for the ages––a mega NYT profile about Noma closing in 2024 (still two years to book!) to become a "food laboratory." If you have followed the rise of head chef René Redzepi, he has notoriously not paid interns, some working 18+ hour days, and bullied his staff. Recent pressure caused him to pay up, rendering the business model unsustainable. The NYT story is a disappointing fluff piece, read it anyway along with the comments which are great. Definitely check out this more enlightening article from the FT about the dark side of fine dining.
   

• New York Hotel Owners Cheer Recent Revival, But Are Wary of Possible Slump Leisure and business travel is picking up, the WSJ takes a dive into the NYC hotel market.

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. 
 

• Predictions for Women in the Hotel Industry for 2023 After covering everyone else's predictions, we offer up some of our own for women in 2023! Share with your colleagues!!!

   

• Are You Undermining Yourself With Language? Do you try to soften your language in emails or Slack? Nancy Mendelson unpacks why we need to be aware...and change. This post has been getting a lot of traction on LinkedIn, read to see why!

   

• How to Work with Your (Romantic) Partner: Dr. Amina Gilyard James and Norland James, Dukes Ventures Set up on a blind date, they fell in love, got married, and now own a hotel together! We get tips on working as a couple and how to become a first-time hotel owner.

Leadership HELP for you!! Do you have a (work) challenge you need to address? hertelier contributor and certified leadership coach, Rachel Vandenberg has created The Travel Leader Community, a new monthly gathering of leaders in hospitality, travel, and tourism. At each session, you and like-minded peers will bring your most pressing topics to the group. Through guided coaching, led by Rachel, you will walk away with new awareness, confidence, insights from your peers, and practical strategies to bring your leadership to the next level.  hertelier readers receive their first session free, REGISTER HERE! The first group is Wednesday, January 25th, 12 pm EST. There is an 8-person limit per session. Future sessions are $45 each, after the free trial.

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Thank you for reading! Have a great week!

Em