DISRUPTOR AND DISRUPTOR
TRENDING
DISRUPTOR AND DISRUPTOR
STRENGTH in NUMBERS
“ Who ’ s good at math ?” Peggy Berg asked the crowd at the American Hotel & Lodging Association ’ s ForWard : Women Advancing Hospitality conference in May . The response was laughter — and not too many raised hands .
“ In order to get more compensation , in order to move into leadership , we need to have P & L responsibility ,” said Berg , who heads the Castell Project , a nonprofit aimed at advancing women in hospitality leadership roles . “ We have those responsibilities at home . We have actually P & L responsibility across the whole economy where we control the majority of spending . But we don ’ t yet have P & L responsibility , in many cases , in our businesses .”
A move from no female leadership to 30 % female representation in company leadership is associated with a 15 % increase in net revenue margin , Berg said .
Castell ’ s most recent Women in Hospitality Industry Leadership study shows progress , she told the group . “ In procurement , revenue management , marketing and HR , in fields where women have been given an opportunity to grow , we are around 1:1 ( women to men ). We ’ re fully competitive .”
The women-to-men ratio is lower in fields where there is more compensation . “ It ’ s not that those people are working more , it ’ s not that they ’ re producing more … ( Women ) need to be in those fields , too .”
But there ’ s hope : The ( mostly men ) in those positions are “ kind of old ,” Berg said , to more laughter . “ They ’ re baby boomers . They ’ re my generation or older . They ’ re going to retire . So the question for us , the question for you , is who at that director or VP level is going to be ready to take over when that guy retires ? Because most of them , frankly , will be retiring in the next five to seven years , and that ’ s an opportunity for you .”
Speculation persists on the possibility of Amazon ’ s entry into travel , writes Jason Price , co-founder , EVP and principal of NextGuest Technologies and HEBS Digital . The e-commerce giant shuttered operations of Amazon Local and Amazon Destinations in 2015 after neither service captured traction , but if Amazon were to acquire Airbnb , it would further penetrate its core business . Here ’ s why , Price says :
Complementary and additive businesses : The Airbnb platform is basically a revenue-tracking and performance system to run a business . Plug in a service like Amazon Prime and you introduce the ability to track expenses . Add 150 million travel users of Airbnb for retail opportunities — that exotic bungalow near Machu Picchu calls for hiking boots and rain gear . Key people : In the past year , two leaders from Amazon ’ s executive team have migrated to Airbnb — one the former head of Amazon Prime now running Airbnb ’ s Homes division , including the Airbnb Plus program offering vetted vacation rentals with more hotel-like services . The other is the former CFO of Amazon ’ s worldwide consumer organization , responsible for global website and subsidiaries .
Hotel relationships : Airbnb is opening up the platform for hotel brands to access . If big box hotels or their own home-sharing divisions join , the hotel relationship dynamic changes in Amazon ’ s favor . Add Airbnb ’ s purchase of Hotel Tonight and Amazon could tap into lucrative procurement and RFP processes .
Amazon owns the data : Amazon sits in the center of a data hub to manage , predict and price yield . Hospitality is a seasonal business , and with climate change creating more unpredictable weather patterns , Amazon can predict , supply and price more intelligently than any other combined entity .
Convenience : Shopping , buying , returning , even Amazon ’ s one-click to purchase is simple and convenient . Travel is emotional , and these two sites allow us to craft a dream that is unique and has global appeal . Upcoming hotel decision-makers are groomed on the conveniences that Amazon perfected long ago .
14 hotelsmag . com July / August 2019