Dear Round-Up Readers,

Starting with GREAT news this week––congratulations to the next U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson!! Despite having 115 predecessors, Jackson is the first Black woman — and only the sixth woman ever — to be confirmed to the nation’s highest court. While she is the first, Jackson won't be the last: her leadership will pave the way for other women and underrepresented people, marking a historic step toward ensuring American institutions reflect the true diversity and strength of America. For some lighthearted historical context watch the SNL sketch, but bottom line: representation matters! 

The seventh week of war: Russian forces have retreated from Kyiv and are now focused on the eastern and southern areas of Ukraine, using increasingly brutal tactics.  Though the war is far from over, read "Why Ukraine is Winning" in The Atlantic, which explains how Ukraine has beat back Russia in Kyiv and what could be next.    

A few other links you may find useful:

• Will the war in Ukraine cancel a global travel recovery?  Asks Smart Meetings, based on stats from MMGY Travel Intelligence, "Some 62% of U.S. travelers expressed fears about the war in Ukraine spreading to nearby nations as the primary factor impacting their European travel plans. That’s twice the number (31%) who said Covid-19 health and safety concerns were a key consideration."

• Marriott is matching donations to World Central Kitchen from Bonvoy members.  In addition, they have donated hotel rooms for refugees, Marriott International has deployed $1 million in support of impacted associates, their families, and communities in the region, The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation has donated $1 million to support associates and organizations on the ground, including UNICEF.

• Ukraine teens' voices from the war: 'you begin to appreciate what was common and boring.' A moving compilation of essays from high schoolers in Ukraine, teens yearn for peace and want to do ordinary things, such as meet family and friends, take walks, enjoy the city. Daily routines have become extraordinary after several weeks of war. All intend to stay in Ukraine. Despair is absent. The students expect the war to end with a Ukrainian victory, and they’re decidedly proud to be Ukrainian.

On to other news––

Business stories:

• Food prices hit a new high. March represented the second-highest monthly price jump since the tracking process began in the early 1990s. Staple foods such as cereals, vegetable oils, and meats have hit all-time highs, while the prices of other products such as dairy and sugar also rose significantly. Maybe you've noticed it in the supermarket or your purveyor's bills at work?  The UN is concerned about what this may mean for nations that already struggle with a malnourished population. 
• Why the 'Great Resignation' is far from over. Fast Company argues that the reshuffle will last at least another year, and companies "who forget to improve culture and workplace experience will see high turnover rates in the next 8-12 months because they hire people who aren’t a good fit."
• Unionizing in America: the successful vote to unionize at Amazon in New York made headlines (shared last week, posting again here for reference).  The Economist did a super helpful podcast on what this might mean––is this a watershed moment or a high watermark for workers’ power, given America’s tight labor market? Worth a listen, 37 minutes. 

Women in the news from this week: 

• Real-life vs. Instagram: ⚠️ warning ⚠️ tread carefully

  • The WSJ reports on the psychological damage to women of all ages in "What a Makeup-Free Selfie Really Means" they cite New York psychiatrist Samantha Boardman, "who thinks we’re not paying enough attention to how (Instagram) affects women as they age. She says social media can make older women feel just as bad as teen girls, particularly when how a woman looks doesn’t match how she feels."  

  • Helping this "real" movement, ad giant Olgivy UK will no longer work with influencers who distort or retouch their bodies or faces for brand campaigns in a bid to combat social media’s “systemic” mental health harms. Great idea!

  • A related topic, the NYT reports, "for prominent women on Instagram, DMs can cesspool of misogyny" and this behavior is allowed to thrive as perpetrators face little or no consequences for this online abuse.

• More women investing in crypto, according to a new report.  While women are traditionally more risk-averse, BTC Markets, an Australian bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange, saw a 175% increase in women users last fiscal year, dwarfing the 80% increase it saw in male users.  They don't say if this means there are still more male users, just shows the growth by gender.  This week, a Bitcoin conference attracted more than 25,000 people to Miami, the city is aiming to be the central hub for crypto, reports the WSJ.  Have you invested in crypto?

• Have you heard of the "TradWife" movement?  Apparently, it's blowing up on social media. Katie Couric offers a thorough explainer, addressing why this movement might be gaining popularity with Gen Z, who feel "women have been failed by the compromises of modern feminism and late-stage capitalism, unable to find a workable solution for the quandary of work-life balance. Gen Z girls have watched their working mothers lean into unequal workplaces only to earn less money in a capitalist system that also devalues their domestic workload."

Travel news from the week:

• Trends shaping hotel management into 2023: it's been a good month since we posted a trends story, now HospitalityNet takes a comprehensive look at everything from wellness to tech solutions that enhance the customer experience with a focus on local culture and experiences, opportunities in offering co-working and staycations for customers, and more. 

• Rethinking the hotel gym as there is a shift from fitness to wellness. Changing focus to private in-room workouts, smaller suites for fitness instead of shared gyms, and tackling other issues like sleep and stress relief, read more from Skift. 

• Airlines are staffing up in anticipation of a busy summer. Despite fuel cost surges, new variants of COVID, and tight labor markets, airlines are trying to prepare to have smoother operations than last summer.  Meanwhile, CNBC reports that most unruly behavior on flights is related to wearing masks.

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. 

• Channeling Julia Child. The new series, "Julia" on HBO Max has inspired our "secret hertelier" to share her stories of having Julia as a hotel guest.

• Sorry, not sorry. Is apologizing a reflex for you?  Columnist Nancy Mendleson unpacks saying sorry.

• Exclusive preview! we chat with entrepreneur Melissa Biggs-Bradley about disrupting luxury travel with the creation of her site, Indagare, coping during COVID, her new book, Safari Style, how hotels can work with her and much more! 

Tip of the week: Writer Jenée Desmond-Harris on how to prioritize tasks: "I started dividing my to-do list into 1) things I have to do, 2) things I want to do, and 3) things other people want me to do. Life changing! I often don’t get to #3 and I finally realized... this is what it means to have boundaries." Source: Twitter

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