From an early age, Sharilyn Toko-Alfonso was immersed in the tourism industry, which naturally led to her pursuing a career in hospitality.
Toko-Alfonso's father worked in the airline industry, so the family spent a lot of time in airports and hotels around the world, giving Toko-Alfonso the chance to really observe the interactions between staff and travelers. Today, she is general manager of the 652-room Caribe Hilton in San Juan, Puerto Rico, drawing on the knowledge she absorbed early on.
She learned early on, however, that hospitality has traditionally been a male-dominated field, so as a leader today, she said she feels the responsibility to lift other women up and help them reach their professional goals.
Here's more on Toko-Alfonso's journey in the industry:
Growing up in a family that was involved in the travel industry, can you share with us what inspired you to take that path as well?
Growing up in Hawaii, I was surrounded by the hospitality and service industries. From grade school, tourism was infused into our learning experience. This was also amplified by my dad’s work in the airline industry. We took advantage of the travel benefits and were able to experience many destinations as we grew up. Spending many hours in airports and hotels, I was always observing and experiencing the interaction the workers had and how certain individuals had a talent for helping people, while others could have done this better. I was intrigued by how each individual affected each guest or patron differently. Though I did not plan to be in the hospitality industry, living in Hawaii and surrounded by tourism, it was a natural progression to work in a hotel.
The Caribe Hilton management team is predominantly female, and one of your passions is connecting with other women executives on the island. Why is that important to you?
Yes, the majority of our executive team are females, as well as several key department head positions. In fact, we recently hired our first female engineering manager, in an all-male department.
My first management role in the hotel industry started in catering and events. The team at the time was primarily males, in food and beverage, banquets, beverage, convention setup team, as well as the culinary leaders. All of them were seasoned professionals, giving me little to no space for any type of mistakes or mishaps while learning. I could count on my hand the number of females in management positions in the hotel at the time. I was fortunate to have an excellent mentor that guided me throughout my career and he was instrumental in my growth and development in a management role. As a leader, it is important for me to pay it forward and to help others grow on a professional level. As a female leader, and as a mother of two girls, I understand the importance of balancing work and personal life and the challenges that come with this. My goal is to demonstrate how both can coexist for female leaders and for those wanting to become leaders.
While working as general manager at Caribe Hilton, what is one memory that has left a lasting impression on you?
Our pre-arrival team is trained to uncover information about purpose of visit/stay for special occasions and how we can make this special. In one of the discoveries, the team orchestrated a welcome for a young visitor with a life-threatening illness who would be celebrating his birthday. This team also discovered the child’s interest in Spider-Man. To welcome this special guest, we all wore Spider-Man masks upon their arrival. The pool and beach team heard about our efforts, and also brought in Spider-Man and other costumed superheroes to greet the child with balloons and say happy birthday. The food-and-beverage team also engaged by creating a Spider-Man birthday cake and sang happy birthday at breakfast. All of this started with one department and everyone joined in. … I will never forget this teamwork and the memory we created for this young visitor. It is an example of hospitality, and why I think we have an awesome and inspirational team working at our hotel.
From COVID-19 to major hurricanes and earthquakes, how has your team overcome challenges?
Over the years as a leader, some of my most memorable moments and stories took place during difficult times. While the last few years in Puerto Rico have presented obstacles, our team has bonded together and these experiences have forged stronger relationships.
Knowing the obstacles we have overcome, and understanding that new challenges will present themselves, I strive to foster wellness and fun in the workplace. The pandemic has changed the way people want to experience and live life. As a leader, I am always trying to find different ways to evolve with these trends, have a more flexible work schedule for our hospitality members and think what can be introduced into the work area to reduce stress, increase engagement, healthy living and eating, etc.
At the property level, I’ve promoted wellness by introducing and participating in cardio tennis with my team, basketball and volleyball tournaments and walking activities. We are now working on a 5K for charity and meditation classes for our team members. Our operational meetings also include games to test and challenge knowledge; I’ve also introduced interactive activities for the management team, sushi-making and paella classes to name a few. For our front-desk team, I challenged them to exceed Hilton Honors enrollments; and if they made the numbers, I would throw them a dessert party in which I baked them a piña colada cheesecake. All of these are surprise activities for the management team to relieve the typical meetings and turn this into networking and team-building between the departments and executive team.
What advice would you give to other women in leadership roles?
Learn everything about the hotel that you possibly can. Know your operation in and out. Then lead first with your heart and lead by example. Your team will care as much as they know you care.