Dear Round-Up Readers,

Earth Day was Friday, how did you celebrate?

According to the 2021 Global Sustainability Study of more than 10,000 people in 17 countries, globally, 85 percent of people indicate that they have shifted their purchasing behavior towards being more sustainable in the past five years, with Millennials and Gen Z leading the charge. We interviewed two inspiring champions of sustainability;  Jessica Blotter, CEO and Co-Founder of Kind Traveler, the first socially conscious OTA, and Raquel Noboa, Founder and CEO of Fifty Shades Greener, who has developed the first accredited green training program for hotel managers.  See more below!  Meantime here are some other useful resources to have at your fingertips:

• WTTC launched the Hotel Sustainability Basics, developed by the industry for the industry, they represent the 12 actions that are fundamental to hotel sustainability, along with an online community.
• Booking.com's seventh annual Sustainable Travel Report is out, and there is no doubt sustainable travel is important to global travelers, with over four in five (81%) confirming this to be true for them.  See graph at end of email for a snapshot of findings.
• Maribel Esparcia Perez, founder of the European Sustainable Hospitality Club, has created a six-module online course on sustainability.

The ninth week of war: Today is Orthodox Easter in Ukraine, the holiest day of the year.  An aide to President Zelensky has called on Russia to use the occasion for a "real" truce.

• An estimated 11 million people have fled their homes in Ukraine, over 5.1 million have left the country and another 6 million have had to leave their homes but remain inside. 
• Top US officials are expected today in Kyiv, Secretary of State, Anthony J Blinken, and Defense Secretary Lloyd J Austen III, to offer support.  So far, the US has offered $3.4 billion in military assistance.
• For hotel companies, it's still very complicated: "As Western Brands Promise Development Pause in Russia, Hotels Continue To Open" according to Costar. 
• For a useful analysis of where the war stands, listen to this from The Guardian (24 minutes).

Women and business: 

• Bet on Black Women for Smarter Cities: an important read in Bloomberg by author Sherrell Dorsey, who suggests a people-focused approach to building business in inner cities.  She sites a school that offers adjacent co-working spaces for working moms and other ingenious examples of Black women building sustainable businesses that support entire communities. 
• Three Leadership Lessons from Dolly Parton. Whether you're a fan or not, her practical advice: no one becomes a leader by themselves, working through the blisters is how we grow, and the importance of the people around you...is insightful and timeless.  Read more here.
• Don't let unnecessary comparison, competition, and conflict create career pitfalls. Seems like all sound advice comes in threes this week, read this short but compelling advice from executive coach, May Busch.

Travel news from the week:

• COVID: Mask or No-mask––depends on who you ask and where you are...but probably best to still keep one on hand.😷

• Europe is dominating American Summer Travel Plans:  According to Virtuoso, Italy is the top country for bookings in Europe. According to Allianz, bookings to Europe are up over 600% and the top cities are London, followed by Paris and Dublin. Yet, according to Virtuoso research, the US remains the most booked luxury destination for summer, with California, Hawaii, and Florida the top states. 

• Holidays that help you live longer? As many are rethinking their travel habits after the pandemic, "longevity tourism" could gain ground among those looking for a meaningful experience. This new type of holiday involves visiting one of the world's so-called Blue Zones, or longevity hotspots in Sardinia, Greece, California, Costa Rica, and Japan, where people live the longest, with many reaching well over 100 years of age.

• How do people book hotels in 2022?  Photos and videos are more important than reviews, direct booking is now a "boomer" thing according to HospitalityNet. 

• Trends in events and meetings: Emily Scheiderer, director of education, sales, and services with Destinations International, details trends (collaboration, tech, RFPs) but ultimately concludes TIME is the most valuable commodity. "We can no longer look at the value of time as being a day pattern that will let your attendee arrive home for a weekend. We now have to look deeper and consider a holistic approach that will provide your attendee with an experience that will enrich their life professionally and personally.

• LOL: The WaPo offers up 18 illustrations of how to sleep on a plane in economy.  They missed one, the "First Class" where you manage to snag a row of empty seats and lie across.

On hertelier this week:

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. 

• Soaring sweetly and sharply: Leyre Pedrazuela, Executive Pastry Chef, Shangri-la The Shard, London is not even 30 years old, and she's worked in some of the most revered kitchens in Europe and has a cookbook coming out this month! 

• Feeling out of balance? This week columnist Nancy Mendelson unpacks feeling off-kilter and what to do. 

• She Built a Better OTA:  a true #shero, meet Jessica Blotter, CEO and Co-Founder of Kind Traveler, the world’s first socially conscious Give + Get hotel booking and education platform that empowers travelers to positively impact the communities they visit.  Read about her journey and how to get your hotel involved. 

• Helping UK Hoteliers Go Green: Raquel Noboa, Founder & CEO, Fifty Shades Greener

  Another sustainability pioneer, Raquel who has developed the first accredited green training program for hotel managers. 

MARK YOUR CALENDAR: Events to know about and sign up for now!
 

• Live Stream SHaDPitch 2022 on April 28: Witness history being made for emerging women hotel owners and developers who will be pitching their hearts out to win $50,000 in deal equity. If you can't get to the event, you can still watch live!
   

• IHIF in Berlin, May 3-5:  Will you be there?  I will!!  Email me so we can meet up (just hit reply!!).  Also, I'll be on a panel about trends in F&B on May 4 at 2:00 pm, please come check it out!
   

• Women Leading Travel & Hospitality on May 12: a FREE virtual event with Peggy Berg, Tracy Prigmore will be on talking about Fortuna's Table, a Sustainability panel featuring Denise Naguib, Vice President, Sustainability and Supplier Diversity Global Operations, Marriott International, Jessica Hall Upchurch, Vice-Chair and Sustainability Strategist, Virtuoso, a session on Male Allyship and more!
   

• Women in Travel Thrive "Day of Impact" on May 17-18: Dina Winder, SVP Asset Management, Highgate, Lisa Jordan, Sr Director Digital Marketing, RedRoof, Debra Wolman, Group VP Duetto, Mandy Gill, Vice President Marketing - Marriott, will have a conversation around the theme, "better together" on May 17 and on May 18, Deli Moussavi, social and emotional resilience expert will host a workshop "How Can We THRIVE in the Midst of Relentless Change, Stay Centered, and Build Emotional Resilience Daily?"  Sign up for both, FREE.

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! 

Em