IN THE WAKE of a report showing a need for more women in leadership positions in the hospitality industry, the Castell Project, a non-profit aimed at helping women advance in their careers, has opened nominations for its 2021 Castell Leadership Programs. The programs, which include two different levels, will focus on helping women reintegrate into the post-pandemic hotel work force.
Participants in the Leadership Program are nominated by a “champion” from their company. They then participate in a year of personal and professional advancement with guidance from Castell’s coaches and teams addressing various aspects of the industry, including franchising, finance and advisory services.
“Recognizing the immediate challenges of bringing women back to work and resetting their careers on the leadership track, Castell Programs engage and inspire women while developing the tools they need to support hotel businesses in this fluid environment,” said Peggy Berg, Castell Project chair. “After a year of disrupted support networks, working from home and reduced business, rebuilding requires the kind of collaborative insightful leadership women can provide – if they have the right training and tools for the reboot.”
The two levels of the program are “Elevate” and “Build.”
Build is geared toward women in mid-to-senior level management, director and new vice president positions. It runs from October through August 2022 with a 3-day live practicum in Atlanta Nov. 9 to 12.
Elevate helps more established women executives, including vice presidents, senior vice presidents, business owners and full-service general managers with 12 or more years of progressively responsible experience achieve high-level advancement. It runs from October through August 2022 with its 3-day live practicum also in Atlanta on Nov. 8 to 10.
Both Build and Elevate included level-appropriate negotiation training, leadership skill-building, diagnostic assessment, individual career planning with executive coaches, in-depth virtual team workshops and a place in the Castell network of executive women in the hospitality industry.
Applications for nominations are available on the Castell Project’s website.
Castell Project’s recently released fourth Women in Hospitality Industry Leadership report found women and minorities made very little advancement in the hospitality industry over the last year. The COVID-19 pandemic is the suspected cause of the stifling of diversification.
Red Roof President Zack Gharib, far right, participates in a panel discussion at AAHOA’s 2025 Convention and Trade Show.
