ATRIUM HOSPITALITY MARKED the graduation of the inaugural class of WomenRISE, its female hotel general manager development program, which ran from February to October this year. The program helps women advance their careers through mentorship, resources and growth opportunities.
Meanwhile, the selection process is underway for the next group of future GMs, set for career development in 2025, Atrium said in a statement.
“Atrium’s first year to offer our innovative WomenRISE program has been highly successful,” said Anneliesse Cooper, Atrium Hospitality’s chief human resources officer. “WomenRISE participants, instructors and mentors overwhelmingly agree that the investment in time and resources is hastening the career paths of women in hospitality. Through virtual group classes, individual interviews and 360-degree assessments for identifying strengths and areas for development, Atrium’s WomenRISE 2024 class participants received focused training and mentoring to confidently move forward in their hotel career journeys.”
The WomenRISE program originated from Atrium’s Diversity & Inclusion Collective, which includes representatives from the company’s national management portfolio, the statement said. The participants took part in scheduled opportunities to explore their leadership qualities over a nine-month period this year, built their network within Atrium, learned about topics related to hotel operations and prepared to take the next steps in pursuing a GM role.
The inaugural class included nine participants from Atrium-managed hotels in Arizona, Florida, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas. Selected during Atrium’s 2023 portfolio-wide talent review, participants represent various departments, including operations, sales & marketing and finance.
AHLA Foundation’s annual ForWard conference at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place in May brought together around 1,000 attendees from across the hotel industry. This year’s theme, “Right the Narrative,” focused on storytelling and amplifying the voices of women in the industry.
In August, the Women in Hospitality Leadership Alliance, a group of 32 organizations advancing women in hospitality, launched an interactive speaker directory with more than 700 senior-level women experts. The directory lets conference organizers filter speakers by career background, title, company type, location, and other criteria to create a shortlist for various topics and stages.
