With diversity and inclusion now top of mind for the world at large and, particularly, for the many global businesses that have historically struggled to build a corporate culture of inclusion, the hospitality industry can stand proud. As a service-based business that caters to an international cross-section of travelers, the hospitality industry has long recognized that its staff must be as diverse as its guests.
According to the Deloitte article The Business Case for Diversity Management in the Hospitality Industry, “financial performance is increased by investment in diversity management, and particularly in the hospitality and tourism industry.”
Although there remains a need for greater diversity among senior level hospitality management teams, the industry nevertheless offers an abundance of multi-cultural leadership from home to take inspiration as you search for your next position and prepare for upcoming job interviews.
Check out Bashar Wali’s talk on “A Hotel is Just a Building” at the TedxWilmingtonSalon. Wali, a partner in and the former President and CEO of Provenance Hotels as well as a Muslim-American, discusses how the culture of guest service defines any luxury hotel. He also points out a few simple service offerings that are widely appreciated by guests.
Also worth watching is “Embrace Radical Hospitality” by Grace Rodriguez. Rodriguez serves Houston’s creative and tech community as co-founder of Women in Tech: Houston. As an advocate for inclusion and empowerment of diverse individuals and communities, she spoke at TedxSantoDomingo about treating other people for who they are rather than what they look like.
Entrepreneur, chef and innovator GW Chew is the co-founder of Something Better Foods International, a healthy gourmet restaurant and lifestyle education Center. “Something Better, The Restaurant of the Future: GW Chew at TedxBentonville” focuses on nutrition and healthy eating as well as insights into Chew’s own vegan lifestyle. But Chew is also an excellent motivational speaker. So if you need a break from the job hunt and want to focus on self-care for a moment, Chew’s talk will definitely help to brighten your day.
Anyone who works in the food services industry and who wants some insight into the life and work of a food critic will want to watch Clinton Palanca’s “What Makes a Restaurant Good?” at TedxForbesPark. Considered to be the Philippines’ premier food critic, Palanca’s passion for his country’s dining scene and its many unknown chefs competing for a spot on the center stage really make this a must-watch.
Episode 275 of the Lodging Leaders’ podcasts features the three minority founders of Next Generation in Lodging: Omari Head of Paramount Lodging Advisors; Davonne Reaves of The Vonne Group; and Christopher Henry of Majestic Hospitality Group. In “Inclusion is a Myth: Next Generation in Lodging Challenges Industry’s Status Quo on Race and Diversity,” the three executives discuss the current state of racial unrest in the U.S., how systemic racism affects the hospitality industry and what we should do to affect change.
The podcast “What’s the Difference? With Sara Taylor” is an ongoing discussion about the practices around diversity and inclusion from the diversity training consultancy DeepSee. In episode 29, Taylor speaks with Gerry Fernandez, president and founder of the Multicultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance (MFHA), an educational non-profit that advoates for the business benefits of cultural diversity and inclusion in the foodservice and hospitality industry. Fernandez offers a range of ideas on the topic of diversity in the hospitality industry, including why cultural competence is a vital skill for anyone working in foodservice and hospitality management; why he works in the area of unconscious bias to create a platform for business leaders to further improve their cultural competence and create top-down change; and what common trends and challenges he recognizes in diversity, equity and inclusion work across the foodservice and hospitality industry.
Women with aspirations of one day taking on a top leadership role in the hospitality industry should listen to episode 244 of the Long Live Lodging podcast: Missing Rungs: A Slow Climb for Women in Hospitality Leadership. This episode is the first part of report about the progress women are making in leadership in the hospitality industry. The series includes interviews with some of the most prominent women leaders in hospitality, including Peggy Berg, founder of Castell Project; Kristin Intress, CEO of WorldHotels; Laura Mandala, founder of Mandala Research and creator of Women in Travel and Tourism International; and Clara Carter, founder of Multi-Cultural Convention Services Network and founder of Women in Tourism and Hospitality.
If you simply want to gain more perspective on how diversity and inclusion is essential to the ecosystem of hospitality and tourism, definitely listen to the PHL Diversity podcast. The series if supported by the Pennsylvania Convention Center and PHL Diversity, formerly known as the Multicultural Affairs Congress, working together to increase Philadelphia’s share of the multicultural meetings and tourism markets by promoting the city as an ethnically diverse visitor destination.
This podcast series offers a holistic overview of just how imperative diversity and inclusion are to the hospitality and travel industries, not simply from the standpoint of considering the need for multiculturalism when hiring staff, but how diversity can actually drive business for the industry. Moreover, it also points to the need for diversity across a broad range of businesses and organizations if it is going to be a true economic driver for our industry and everyone who works in it. Listen to local leaders such as Iola Harper, deputy director or commerce for the City of Philadelphia talk about her 30 years of experience advocating on behalf of diversity and community-focused business in the city, and Richard Lee Snow, regional development director for the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) who also serves as chair of the 2020 Philadelphia Diversity and Inclusion Conference (Oct. 5th and 6th), shares his strategic approach to business with anecdotes and personal experience.
Hcareers’ CEO Doug Tutt was recently featured on episode 276 of Long Live Lodging: A Measured Response: Hotel industry hires for diversity but fails with inclusion, to discuss how although the industry has a lot of diversity, there is a lack of diversity in upper level positions. The podcast panel discusses how now it is the time for companies to develop training and support to empower their employees of color, and the two new studies that could pave the way for change in how the industry will bring back and reposition their workforces.