Dear Round-Up Readers,

What an historic week here in London, as the world pays respect to Queen Elizabeth. Really quite incredible to witness the devotion to the Queen with people waiting up to 22 hours in an orderly queue for over five miles, probably the most British thing ever. Tomorrow is the funeral and a holiday in the UK. Will you be watching?  We will.

Find links in last week's Round-Up to several great articles on the Queen.  This week, we look at the Queen through a hospitality lens:

• London hotels raise prices as demand soars before Queen’s funeral Some hotels have raised prices by 300% according to The Guardian. The city has not seen this kind of demand since the Olympics in 2012.

• How Queen Elizabeth Impacted What We Eat and Drink Loved this tribute to the tastes of the Queen in Food & Wine.

• 5 Lessons in Leadership and Life from Queen Elizabeth II As the country and the world prepare to bury Queen Elizabeth II, the five important lessons she leaves us with in life and leadership.

Now, on to other news from the week... 

Business, Women, and Random Trends: 

• How Is the Economy Doing? The U.S. economy is in a strange place right now. Job growth is slowing, but demand for workers is strong. Inflation is high (but not as high as last spring). Consumers are spending more in some areas, but cutting back in others...according to the NYT, it is just hard to predict where the economy is headed.

• Gender Equality Won't Happen Until 2108 <insert massive SIGH> The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, published a report finding the world won't achieve gender equality until at least 2108, three generations behind previous projections. Gates also notes that the US is the only industrialized country that doesn't have a robust paid family medical leave policy.

• Note to Gen Z on how to really make progress on equal pay: ‘Go find the tallest, whitest dude’ and ask his salary Speaking of equality, read this article from Fortune about why pay transparency is the only way to make progress and how this is viewed generation to generation.

• Why Leaders Can’t Ignore the Human Energy Crisis we've shared articles about burnout, languishing, depleted surge capacity, and a global mental health crisis. According to Gallup, seven in 10 people globally report they are struggling or suffering. In this LinkedIn article by Microsoft Chief People Officer, Kathleen Hogan, she suggests that all this has resulted in a massive drain on human energy, she also offers 5 tips to move forward.

Travel & Hospitality news:

• Women Travelers are Increasingly Making Political Choices with Hotels YAY! Women are an immensely powerful bloc, accounting for 56 percent of leisure travelers worldwide and they are starting to use their economic influence to avoid travel to destinations where women’s and LGBTQ rights are at risk, according to Skift.

• Business travel budgets rising as firms use 2019 as spending benchmark Business travel budgets are poised to rise in 2023 as companies benchmark against pre-pandemic levels of travel spending despite growing uncertainty, says global corporate travel agency CWT.

• Fall Travel Predictions After a haywire summer of flight cancellations and delays, travelers remain eager to roam, returning to familiar hot spots like New York, Europe, and the Caribbean, according to the New York Times.

• Speaking of New York, it's back!! and the first Tempo by Hilton hotel is part of a $2.5 billion project aimed at increasing the entertainment options in New York City’s theater district.

• Hotels Cater Services to 'Bleisure' Travelers Who Bring Family, Will Pay More for Five-Star Service interesting read from the Hotel Data Conference about changing guest expectations on bleisure trips.

• Hotels Cater to Travelers Over 50 With New Targeted Marketing 67 percent of Americans age 50 or older have made travel plans for 2022. Courting that large and lucrative demographic represents an opportunity for marketers according to Skift––forget grannies in a rocker and think tattoos and motorbikes.

• Hard Rock to spend $100 million to raise employees' wages The increases are significant, more than 60% in some cases, with starting wages between $18 and $21 an hour for workers in 95 different jobs, including cooks, housekeepers, security public space, call center, and front desk attendants. Read more on CNBC.

• How MrBeast Burger’s Success Could Impact the Restaurant Industry Did you hear about the YouTuber MrBeast opening a restaurant in NJ? He broke a world record for most burgers sold in a single day by a single restaurant––10,000 people showed up in the first 10 minutes. Forbes has a MUST READ article about MrBeast and how creators may impact the restaurant space. BTW, if you don't know MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson), he has over 104 million YouTube subscribers and is one of the highest-paid creators in the world, earning $54 million in 2021 alone.

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. Lots of stories to share! 

• Presidential Moves: Jillian Katcher Takes the Top Spot at Twin Bridges Hospitality Ever dream about landing the top job, but wonder what the path to get there actually looks like? We find out with Jillian as our guide.

• How to Reframe Gendered Language in Hospitality Gendered language is all around us…but do you know the best way to communicate to trans and non-binary guests? New contributor Aby Hawker offers tips on how to be more inclusive.

• Why is Being An Immigrant My Superpower? Contributor Maria Navarro reflects on what being an immigrant means to her, and how it has shaped her worldview and work ethic. Perfect timing to kick off Hispanic Heritage Month!

   

Listen UP: Podcasts for you

• Don't Look Under the Bed: loved their interview with Chris Crimmins and Samantha Spring, the co-founders of innovative new hotel operator Roomza. Hosts Robin and Niki both work in hotel sales and ask great, fun questions.

• Smartless: This podcast by Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett is hilarious interviews with celebrities. I've been binging it and my favorite so far are George Clooney, Sandra Bullock, Chris Pratt, and Jerry Seinfeld.

Have a great week!  

Em