Dear Round-Up Readers,

Greetings from summer vacation in New York! It was bittersweet dropping our daughter Marcy at college this week - so much has changed (ebooks!) since my college days, and so much is exactly the same (dorm furniture!). She is attending the Cornell Nolan School of Hotel Administration, and it’s so exciting to see her join such an eager and impressive bunch of students, which bodes well for the future of our industry.

Gentle reminder: if you've not filled out our survey, please click here! It takes less than five minutes and your feedback is really important and appreciated! 

Now, on to this week's news!

Business, Women, and Random Trends: 

• Unfollow? Social Media was a C.E.O.’s Bullhorn, and How He Lured Women did you hear about Dan Price? The progressive CEO shot to fame in 2015 for raising the minimum pay at his payments processing company to $70,000 per year. Since then he has grown is his social media following by posting progressive political and economic policies. Now, he has stepped down as CEO according to the New York Times, after being accused of abusing women. I had been following him on LinkedIn and had no idea, read this shocking report, which also revealed he hired a professional writer to create his engaging posts on social media.

•  Are women politicians held to a higher standard? Videos of Findland's Prime Minister, 36-year-old Sanna Marin leaked this week, showing her dancing at a private party. The best take on this so far, The Guardian's round-up of other heads of state dancing from Brois Yeltzen to Barak Obama.

•  Why Luxury Sneakers Are The New Social Currency this is a really interesting read that takes a dive into how sneaks have become luxury goods by Daniel Langer a professor at Pepperdine University. He says "When the Apple Watch replaced Rolexes and Pateks on many wrists, sneakers took over as a sign of personal expression, taste, and storytelling. And it boosted value creation in the category." It feels like there are lessons to be learned here that can translate to travel.

• The Remote Work Revolution is Already Reshaping America: The Washington Post reports that remote work has stabilized at an extraordinarily high level: around a third of work was done remotely in the United States in 2021 and 2022. No surprise hospitality is the least impacted industry in terms of workforce, but there is much to be learned about how hotels can cater to this shift.

Travel & Hospitality news:

• Biltmore's Murtagh: Elevating Empowerment, Fostering Diversity Loved this feature in Hotels Magazine with Abby Murtagh, who was our very first interview on hertelier!! Read more about who inspired her in her career and what trends she sees coming up. And if you missed our interview with her, read it now and see pictures of Abby in her first job!

•  Hospitality Industry statistics to have on your radar in 2022 Essential reading on HospitalityNet! A quick compilation of important industry stats into one handy article by EHL, summarising the data of where we are now, growth trends by destination and type of traveler, and the employment outlook. Some stats I found interesting:

  • The bleisure tourism market is projected to reach $ 497.5 billion in valuation in 2022. Sales will grow at 19.5% CAGR. (Future Market Insights report)

  • 57% of companies allow employees to extend business trips as part of their policies. (Future Market Insights report)

  • The global health and wellness market has reached a market evaluation of $1.5 trillion and growing at a rate of 5-10% per year. (McKinsey)

    Read more here!

• The State of Gender Equality in the Travel and Hospitality Industry the Cornell Nolan Center for Hospitality Research and Women Leading Travel and Hospitality have released a new research report based on nearly 500 respondents working in various areas of hospitality, mostly hotels. Bottom line: progress is being made but there is more work to be done, click here to download the report.

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! 

• Why Remote Work Works in Hotel Sales New contributor Halee Whiting makes a case for the WFH trend in hotel sales.

•  Is It Better to Apologize or Ask for Permission? Columnist Nancy Mendelson revisits this popular topic again.

• Five Tips to Increase Employee Motivation new contributor Mary D'Argenis-Fernandez offers up five ways to get your team fired up.

Have a great week!  

Em