Where did December go, Round-Up Readers?

Is it me, or did this year fly by? And what a rollercoaster ride of a year it's been! Lots of ups and downs for the world, yet somehow travel keeps bringing people joy and opportunity, certainly the hotel industry is on a continued growth trajectory. According to Statista, 2022 saw 1,842 new hotels open, that number rose to 2,480 in 2023 and is forecasted to rise to 2,707 next year. Growth was a key message for ITLM, please check out my 11 Takeaways from the luxury conference! And, I'm hoping growth 📈 means new, exciting possibilities for women!

This year was also a big one for hertelier!

• We've grown to 6,200 + followers on LinkedIn

• This newsletter averages a 75% open rate (thank you for reading!)

• We had two sold out events in London and New York!

Keeping you informed with the hertelier™️ (yes, we also got trademarked this year!)  #feminist slant, is our continued mission. What has been most gratifying is hearing and sharing your stories, getting your feedback and comments, and building this cool community where you can support and engage with each other!

If you have ideas or suggestions on how we can serve you better, email me! If your company wants to partner with hertelier in 2024, definitely email me! Just reply to this newsletter, it comes straight to me!

Thank you for all of your support in 2023! We are off to Costa Rica on Tuesday, so this is my last newsletter of the year. But, we will continue to post new content on hertelier, in case you want some holiday reads, keep checking LinkedIn!

Wishing you and your loved ones a happy and healthy holiday season!

Now, on to the rest of the news....

Business, Women, and Random Trends:
 

• Nobel Laureate Claudia Goldin’s Takeaways From Her Research On Women And Work a short (7 mins) video on PBS that traces this history of women in workforce and how remote work is changing the landscape of possibilities! Must see TV!
   

• Return-to-Office Mandates Are a Disaster For Working Mothers Related reading after watching the Caludia Goldin interview...remote work brought record numbers of women into the labor pool. Since April, the employment rate among women ages 25 to 54 has topped 75%—and for college-educated mothers of children under 10, that figure is almost 80%. Return-to-office mandates could halt or reverse that progress while derailing careers that these working moms not only need but want.  The bright spot: companies that are bucking the back-to-office trend are benefiting. Read more in the Wall Street Journal.
   

• Research Suggests A Potential Upside To Mothers' Invisible Load New data suggests all the juggling moms have to do makes them better at project management...we knew that, but read more in Forbes.
   

• Let’s Stop Calling Them “Soft Skills” — And Call Them “Real Skills” Instead says best-selling business author Seth Godin. Interpersonal skills make for better leaders and companies...read more on Ideas.Ted.com.
   

• Why Millennial Women Are Embracing Angel Investing Since angels began investing in startups in the ‘70s and ‘80s, women have been dramatically underrepresented. A new generation is blowing past traditional barriers and diving in, which is great news for female founders, too. Read more in Fast Company.
   

• 27 Historic Firsts For Women In 2023 Great way to wrap up the year, read this super summary of women's accomplishments by Kim Elsesser in Forbes.

Travel & Hospitality:

• Fontainebleau Las Vegas Sparkles In Grand Opening The $3.7 Billion Fontainebleau Las Vegas is officially now open. Close to two decades in the making, the vertically integrated luxury mega-resort is a reality at last, reports Andrea Doyle in Skift. If you want the celeb pics: NY Post link! If you want the goss: VIP party headliner Justin Timberlake was paid over $6 million to perform, but supposedly stayed at the Wynn. What do we think herteliers? Wouldn't they comp him a suite at the Fontainebleau? Anyone know the real deal?
   

• How American Hotels are Failing Their Customers – And Why Europe Has Got It Right Impersonal chains, cookie-cutter service and too much smart tech – US hotels are letting their customers down according to Amy Tara Koch in The Telegraph (UK - paywall)
   

• Google Just Named This Year's 10 Most Popular Holiday Travel Destinations From The US Can you guess what they are? I got a few. For the answers click here.
   

• Top 10 Trends For The Hospitality Industry In 2024 The hospitality industry transformed in 2023, driven by technological advancements and evolving guest demands. We’ll explore the ten emerging trends for 2024 in the hospitality industry––women make the list...it's about time! Read more on HospitalityNet.
   

•  Hotel Brand Bloat: ‘A Shakeout Is Coming’ An interesting piece in Skift based on a talk by Cornell Professor Chekitan Dev says marketers design hotel brands to appeal more to hotel owners than guests. One reason? Creating a new brand is easier than fixing an old one.

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. 

• Hilton 'Green Breakfast' Pilot Results in 62 % Decrease in Food Waste Across 13 Hotels Hilton shares the results of four month food waste reduction program that saw a dramatic change!
   

• 11 Takeaways from ILTM, the Biggest Luxury Travel Show of the Year Wondering what happened at ILTM in Cannes? We got you!
   

• Brenda Collin, EVP, on How Preferred Hotels & Resorts is Setting Managers Up to Be Future Leaders A new program with Cornell University has Preferred Hotels preparing managers to rise through the ranks. We get the scoop!

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.

PODCASTS to download!
 

• Hospitality Daily is on 🔥 with some great episodes this week: our #shero Gilda Perez-Alvarado, CEO of Orient Express & Chief Strategy Officer at Accor on why being a woman is a SUPERPOWER and our first-ever "ally of the month" Stuart Greif, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy, Innovation & Operating Officer, Forbes Travel Guide.
   

• 🧠 Super Brain: 10 Things to Eat, Think, & Do to Improve Your Memory and Learn Faster according to expert Jim Kwik, who was on the Mel Robbins podcast.

Thank you for reading! Happy Holidays!!

Em