In March 2021, we published the Hotel News Now article, “Hotels, We Still Have a Problem” in which we outlined strategies for finding a Black candidate pool, and retaining Black talent once hired.
We have also been witness to the Marriott family’s $20 million gift to Howard University to create a hospitality leadership center, which is intended to establish a pipeline of Black professionals to the lodging industry. After the murder of George Floyd and increased popularity of the Black Lives Matter movement, many lodging organizations indicated commitment to attracting and retaining diverse candidates, including Four Seasons, Sandals, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, IHG Hotels & Resorts, Saunders Hotel Group, Hyatt Hotels Corp. and Marriott International. However, while so many companies were very vocal about their commitment to diversity and inclusion, the numbers tell a disappointing story.
According to the Castell Project's 2022 Black Representation in Hospitality Industry Leadership report, Black employees did not just remain under-represented in leadership, but actually lost share of hospitality industry employment. Per the report:
- In 2021, only 11% of the 671 hotel company websites reviewed for this study showed Black executives on their websites.
- Only one in 7.3 industry employees is Black, which is a loss of representation from one in 5.7 in 2020.
- There were 80 other men for each Black man at the director to CEO levels. Because all women are poorly represented at these levels, there are fewer other women for each Black woman than the comparable figure for men. There are 25 other women for each Black woman shown at these levels.
This leads one to wonder, is the commitment still there? Is anything really being done?
What People Are Saying
Speaking to hospitality management students about this, the majority were less than impressed with efforts made to attract and retain Black talent in the lodging industry. More than one expressed that “it was all just talk.”
Other students and individuals early into their careers indicated that they felt the issue was in retention of Black talent. One student shared with me that, “many Black employees feel like they have to work harder to prove their worth. [They] aren’t being held to the same standard as their counterparts.” Another stated that, based on their experience, the reasons lodging companies could not keep their Black talent incudes: Failure to “walk the walk," failure to make Black talent aware of opportunities for advancement within the organization and failure of leadership to recognize microaggressions being committed against people of color within their workplace, resulting in an unwelcoming environment for Black talent.
The common sentiment among Black hotel managers and corporate employees was disbelief in the diversity messages from these organizations two years ago. Several employees of Maryland-based hotel franchise companies state their employers are not doing anything to improve race relations. One director of franchise services told us his “company thinks a training session or a series of online learning modules will change things. It won’t. It’s about attitudes. Nothing will change until the attitude at the top changes.” In response to the non-existence of formal programs to prepare Black people for advancement in the industry, several Black executives in corporate and property level management positions have started their own off-the-books mentoring programs.
There’s Still Time!
One piece of good news is that hotel brands, owners and operators still have a chance to back up their diversity talk from two years ago. If they want to increase the number of Black people in management tract positions, they must think beyond the boardroom talk of diversity, equity and inclusion. The hospitality business is in position to change the lives of its employees.
John Delozier, vice president of operations at Pennsylvania-based Nittany Hotel Management, has understood the value of employee development for years. He started as a line-level employee and said: “Without diversity we are merely one more sector in a long list of industries. When we commit to diversity, we realize our true business is the people business and people are the essence of the hospitality business.” Delozier, also the former vice president of operations with HLI Hotels, has a track record of hiring and advancing Black people and other minorities.
Brands increase the number of Black owners through special programs and incentives, which are to be applauded. However, it is difficult to ascertain the initiatives for Black hotel managers or corporate employees. We reached out to seven hotel companies (Hilton, Choice Hotels International, Wyndham, Best Western, Hyatt, Intercontinental Hotels Group and Marriott) in hopes of learning about their programs. Only one company responded to “decline participation.” The American Hotel and Lodging Association was also contacted. They also did not respond.
Many hotel organizations made statements about improving diversity. They have to understand that true diversity and inclusion is more than a public statement or initiative. It’s an attitude that starts in the C-Suite.
Craig Poole, a well-respected leader in the hotel business and president of Reading Hospitality, the operator of the DoubleTree by Hilton in Reading, Pennsylvania, said: “A company can’t simply flip a switch and say they are a diverse and inclusive organization. Either you are or you’re not.”
Poole added, “Companies shouldn’t have to publicize a statement about being diverse and inclusive. They simply need to be it; just as we are. We have a hotel manager that happens to be Black. We didn’t have to search for a Black manager or even search for a manager at all because our culture of diversity, inclusion and training helped us to already have a diverse group of candidates to select from.”
Companies need to develop homegrown talent much like Poole has done at Reading Hospitality. Organizations should have an in-house pool of available managers.
Houston-based Vista Host Hotel Management has had a formal Manager in Training Program for over a decade. Even before the structured MIT Program, Vista Host fostered an environment of diversity, mentoring and training. Company leaders such as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Kathie Long and the late Chief Executive Officer Michael V. Harrell prided themselves on having “Vista Host Success Stories” in management and supervisory positions. Those that are considered Vista Host success stories started in line-level positions then advanced through the ranks to become department- and property-level managers. Many of those Vista Host success stories have been promoted to become general managers, directors of sales, and department and task force managers. A high number of those that achieved success at Vista Host are Black.
Structured programs for those interested in becoming managers seem to not happen as much as they did years ago. Many Black managers were promoted as a result of these programs and mentors. Eugene Morris Jr. became general manager of the Holiday Inn in Aberdeen, Maryland, because of a similar program.
“When I was growing up in the business with Sheraton, I was selected to be a part of a management training program. My mentors took pride in helping me become successful,” Morris said.
Many hotels are franchised, and thus brands do not make property-level management hiring decisions. However, they can still be instrumental in helping to increase the number of Black general managers. We recommend the following strategies to be used as the basis of future initiatives:
- Provide incentives for owners/operators that have structured management training programs with a minimum of 50% Black participation. Some brands offer properties incentives for frequent-stay enrollments. The same concept should be used to encourage preparing minorities for management positions. Having structured management training programs will create a pool of available Black management talent.
- Administer a formal future manager training program for all employees interested in becoming managers. This program could be modeled after the certification programs that many brands require for general managers. Hotel operators would receive reduced fees when a Black participant completes the program.
- Allow line-level employees to attend industry meetings and conventions. The brand will absorb the travel cost for Black line-level employees that attend. This will provide great learning opportunities for employees and afford them the opportunity to network with leaders in the industry.
We close with this quote from Thomas Penny, president of Donohoe Hospitality Services: “I am hopeful in this moment based on the generosity of the Marriott Family Foundation, Marriott International, the Sorenson Family and other hotel brands who have made contributions to the creation of the Marriott-Sorenson Center for Hospitality Leadership at Howard University. Raising $25 million-plus is challenging in the best times, it’s even more meaningful and momentous at the height of the worse financial crisis in the history of our business. While there is a renewed energy and acknowledgment on the need for more diverse talent at the ownership and executive ranks of our business, we need to see a degree of urgency in addressing a problem that has blinded minorities from seeing the full vista of opportunities present within our business.”
Leon Thomas is President of Leon Thomas & Associates.
Dr. Miranda Kitterlin-Lynch is an Associate Professor and Coca-Cola Endowed Professor in the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at Florida International University.
This article is based on academic research, submitted in partnership with STR’s SHARE Center, which provides support and data resources to professors and students in hotel and hospitality fields of study at colleges and universities worldwide. The assertions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Hotel News Now or CoStar Group and its affiliated companies. Please feel free to contact an editor with any questions or concerns.