On this episode we hear from Gemma. Editor and director of Content Inc, providing a range of content and communication solutions to the travel and hospitality industry. She happens to be a fitness instructor, which has come in handy when she needs to motivate an audience at a conference. Also, a mum of two, which she says is her most difficult and rewarding job. She tells us of her journey brining publications like Arabian Travel News and Hotelier Middle East to life. In this role she got to know so many people in the industry, and they are the ones who helped her fall in love with the industry. She went freelance when she had her kids and transitioned into communications for the hotel companies she had been interviewing in the past. When I asked her how she got started in the world of media, it was because she was a good at writing. One of her earlier jobs during her media career was being a fake contestant on the show 'Play your cards right.' Skills that she picked up during her time in media, like shorthand, still come to use today, although can sometimes be confused for Arabic. Her time in journalism once helped jail a prisoner because of the investigative report she wrote in a local newspaper. Her father used to say to her, always meet someone once because you don’t know what might come of it, is one of the many tips that Gemma has on networking.

On this episode we hear from Haley. Originally from the UK, she went on holiday to South Africa and fell in love and found her way back and has now been there for 15 years. She now lives in Kruger National Park, as part of the management team of a five star luxury lodge and that is only one of her jobs. She is also founder of Wild Dreams which focuses on recruiting and consulting for tourism and hospitality. And she is the COO of Vegan Hospitality. In her 'free' time she is rehabilitating animals, which has been a big part of her journey. Some of her key learnings that she has shared is around knowing your purpose, use hospitality to live the life you want and recognise all the transferable skills you can gain from this industry. She also talks about how a job should make you feel and aligning it with your values.

On this episode we hear from Anita. I have admired Anita for many years and so I am honoured to be able to share her story with you all today. Thank you, Debbie, for the introduction. Like me, she was raised in an environment where she viewed the world without boundaries, not just geographically but also socially, culturally, and economically. She started her corporate career within FMCG and then she started her own firm 22 years ago in tourism and development. Throughout our conversation we bonded on our shared experiences as Asian daughters growing up in different countries, that is not our own and learning to be adaptable and respectful. She shares with us her experiences during covid, which then inspired her to write the book 'The Call to Leadership: Unlocking the Leader Within in Times of Crisis' about the leaders that stepped up. She wanted to write this book to recognise and acknowledge those leaders and ensure they do not get forgotten. She shares one of the things she learnt from writing this book is that everyone is human. I am in complete alignment for her vision of gender balance, and she is one of the first persons who understood the double entendre of Inspiring Women.

https://thecalltoleadership.com

https://anitamendiratta.com

On this episode we hear from Sue. With a passion for hospitality, during her career she at one point spent 29 years with Marriott. She then moved over to the convention centre industry where she applied her hospitality experience. And then she went onto start her own business consulting with hospitality professionals to help modernise, streamline, identify more streams of revenue and improve the guest experience. She has an employee first approach, which I can get on board with. Take care of your staff first, and they will deliver a great customer experience. She shares that by stepping up and working at a higher level, allowed her to be viewed as a leader, at a time was a mostly male dominated environment. There were also moments in her career that she did not always grow vertically, she also chose strategic horizontal moves. She has a wealth of knowledge to share from her experience and would love to connect with other female leaders in the industry, please do not hesitate to reach out to her.

On this episode we hear from Tamina. She came into hospitality because she needed money. She stayed because it also allowed her to travel and have a freelance career on the side. She left university to work on a project that converted old military bases into resorts. She has spent time in Germany, Switzerland, New Zealand, Australia, and the US, as she says herself, she got around a lot. She spent a lot of time travelling solo, which she loves as she gets to meet great people this way. Throughout her career, she was freelancing as web designer, marketer, and several other skills. She put all of this to use when she decided to start her own business in tech to implement AI in hotels. With her knowledge of the hospitality industry and experience with AI, she built a service that aims to help hoteliers work through problems, like automating mundane tasks for employees.

On this episode we hear from Caitlin. Fourth generation hotelier, which is all we need to know about why she is in hospitality. Her first experience in hotels was the Steigenberger in Dusseldorf followed by an internship with the Starwood North American Operations. She then went to work at Montage a luxury hotel company which she got by calling everyone she knew at the organisation to pitch herself to get a job there. She had a great mentor when she started out there and allowed her to learn and flourish. She then decided in order to advance her career towards development she needed to educate herself on real estate and finance and decided to go to business school. A thread that she identified in her career is around, impact, loyalty passion and good people who are invested in your career. She found this again at McKinsey, the firm she joined after business school and who taught her how to think. She was later approached by Champagne Hospitality in a strategy role, and she found her way back to hotels. She shares with us her views on mentorship, which is a two-way street and great tips on how to maximise the relationship.

On this episode we hear from Susan. She is the founder of b2b marketing consultancy Hive Marketing and fellow podcast host of Top Floor podcast. When she was a kid, she played at being the boss and we will see how this then materialised in her career. During college she had been working part time with a catering company and when she graduated, they offered her a full-time position, which she accepted as she was still not sure about what she wanted to do, and this was meant to be temporary. She then got stuck in hospitality. She spent a lot of her hotels career working in pre-openings. She realised through this experience that she enjoyed the full autonomy she would have at the start of any opening. Which then inspired her to start her entrepreneurial journey in 2009. She shares how she started out, how her business evolved and some of her own hurdles that she had to overcome, like the 'chip on her shoulder' of being the youngest. She overcome this feeling by her strong work ethic and knowing that all her efforts would come back to her.

On this episode we hear from Melissa. She started in hospitality straight out of school and never left. She loved the buzz, enjoyed the work and the great people. Early on in her career she was encouraged to learn about revenue management, and she fell in love. After several years in hotel revenue management, she applied for a role at Qantas when they were hiring external candidates. When she started having children and there were no flexible work options available such as WFH, she left Qantas and started her own music school. She tapped into one of her resources to give her the flexibility she needed for her family. This business helped her build the capital that she needed to found the Australian Revenue Manager Association.

On this episode we hear from Kim. Born and raised in New York, with a French parent, which explains her energy and what she brings to the table. She is a leadership coach and teacher, teaching hospitality professionals to create sustainable careers. From a young age she was immersed in hospitality and grew up wanting to have her own restaurant. She studies in the French school system all her life and she shares that she experienced quite the culture shock when she went to university in Boston. Her passion for hospitality comes from loving the dance of service. She started her working career in New York and spent most of her time there, with a brief nine-month stint in Miami. She talks about how running became a big part of her life, both for physical and mental fitness and it eventually became a thread throughout her career. What she realised during her experiences is her ability to create a sense of calm, in a chaotic environment, like opening restaurants. After her last restaurant opening during the pandemic, giving it her all, she was inspired to start her own business to help others with the skill sets she had.