Special RepoRt
chAnging
The face
of
hospitAlity
As the emphAsis on community And personAl touch increAses , hotels Are considering cAndidAtes who hAve experience — but not necessArily in hotels .
By BarBara Bohn , managing editor
As hospitality schools race to keep up with hotel companies establishing brand beachheads that emphasize locality , technology and personality , they are coming up against a challenge : how to prepare students for a career when it ’ s impossible to predict the future .
Add to that hotels increasingly willing to hire outside the industry and younger workers seeking a fast-track career at a socially responsible company that offers professional opportunities while respecting their desire for a flexible personal life . The situation is crystallized – but not created – by millennials . “ I don ’ t think people in prior generations looking for jobs were quite as focused on the moral compass of the company ,” says Niki Leondakis , CEO of hotels and resorts at Two Roads Hospitality . “ But it ’ s manifesting itself through millennials because we have a young industry in hospitality .”
Because of that , Two Roads is communicating its own values more proactively , she says . “ We are very clear about what kind of culture we are creating so we attract people who are aligned with that culture . We talk about our values and the higher purpose of the company with a lot of clarity as a recruitment tool because it ’ s attractive to the workforce to hear that a company stands for more than the bottom line .” Two Roads worked to articulate that culture in the months after the merger of Destination
Citizenm ’ s tower of London hotel
December 2016 hotelsmag . com 21