Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Kong launches organization to help women, minorities in hospitality

DEI Advisors will interview various industry leaders to provide insight for those who need it

Kong launches organization to help women, minorities in hospitality

DAVID KONG, THE recently retired CEO of Best Western Hotel Group, has launched DEI Advisors, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping women and other minority groups to achieve their career aspirations. Specifically, it plans to close the diversity gap that still exists on the upper, leadership levels of the hospitality industry.

Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, DEI Advisors will conduct a series of interviews with industry leaders with the intent of sharing inspiration and guidance to help individuals navigate their careers. The interviews will teach how to overcome conscious and unconscious bias, seek advancement, face structural barriers successfully, establish networks, advocates and mentors and better integrate their work life and personal life.


“I formed DEI Advisors as a non-profit organization to collect and share insights and learnings from industry leaders,” said Kong, who is DEI Advisors principal and founder. “While many companies are doing wonderful work in the areas of DEI, individuals must also be responsible, and feel empowered, for their own personal growth and career aspirations. Essentially, we’re aiming to prepare future leaders in the industry for the driver seat of their own journey, where they get to truly help create and advocate for their own destiny.”

The other principals at DEI Advisors are Rachel Humphrey, former executive vice president and COO for AAHOA, and Lan Elliott, co-founder of Acacia Hospitality LLC.

Some of the industry leaders interviewed by the new organization include Peggy Berg, founder of the Castell Project that also mentors women in the hospitality industry; Jagruti Panwala, AAHOA chairwoman from 2019 to 2020 and founder of Wealth Protection Strategies; Geoff Ballotti, president and CEO of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts; Heather McCrory, CEO for North and Central America at Accor Hotels who, in 2020, was the first winner of the Castell Award from the Castell Project; Mary Beth Cutshall, founder and managing partner at Amara Capital; Melissa Maher, Expedia Group executive Sylvia Douglin, trainer; and Renie Cavallari, Amazon bestselling author of “Head Trash.”

The interviews and insights will be posted weekly on social media channels, including YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn, as well as the organization’s website, DEIAdvisors.org. There also are plans to repurpose the content and insights into a podcast and other resource materials in the future.

While the hospitality industry does provide good career opportunities and clear paths for advancement, but most of the diversity remains on lower rungs of the industry hierarchy.

This stifles innovation and is not good for business, according to the DEI Advisors launch announcement. Fixing that has become Kong’s focus after his retirement from nearly 20 years as Best Western CEO.

“I’ve always been a champion for diversity, inclusion, and equity in the industry,” Kong said. “I’m now thrilled to take my passion and turn it into something that I truly hope will impact lives, change career trajectories, and make a difference.”

Other initiatives have recently arisen focused on promoting women and minorities in hospitality, such as Wyndham’s new “Women Own the Room” program that aims to open the door for more women to achieve hotel ownership.

The Castell Project’s most recent Women in Hospitality Industry Leadership report found there is now more female executives in leadership roles. The next challenge, according to the project, is getting more women in hospitality education programs.

More for you

AAHOACON25 in New Orleans, featuring 500 exhibitors and 5,000 attendees at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

AAHOACON25 leads to lasting partnerships

AAHOACON25: A Milestone Event for Hospitality

THE 2025 AAHOA Convention & Trade Show is over, but the partnerships announced during the show will go on. The theme of AAHOACON25 was "New Ideas, New Connections, New Orleans," and more than 5,000 registered attendees filled the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center for the conference.

AAHOACON25 also had nearly 500 exhibitors occupying 85,000 square feet of exhibit space, according to AAHOA. The event featured around 20 education sessions, a do-it-yourself product demo experience known as The Garage on the Trade Show Floor, keynote speakers, and networking events, including the Block Party at Fulton Street.

Keep ReadingShow less
Breaking Barriers: Women of Color Power List 2025 Revealed

Breaking Barriers: Women of Color Power List 2025 Revealed

Women of Color Power List 2025 Debuts at AAHOACON 2025

ASIAN MEDIA GROUP USA, publisher of Asian Hospitality magazine, launched the first-ever “Women of Color Power List 2025” at the 2025 AAHOA Convention & Trade Show in New Orleans, honoring 51 women reshaping the U.S. hospitality industry. The publication is the first to spotlight the achievements of women of color, recognizing their resilience, innovation, and leadership.

Asian Media Group Managing Editor Kalpesh Solanki, Executive Editor Shailesh Solanki, and Chief Operating Officer Aditya Solanki announced the list during the conference.

Keep ReadingShow less
AAHOALending.com લોન્ચ 2025

AAHOA, બ્રિજ AAHOALending.com લોન્ચ કરે છે

AAHOA અને બ્રિજે AAHOALending.com ને AAHOACON 2025 માં રજૂ કર્યું

AAHOA અને બ્રિજે AAHOALending.com લોન્ચ કર્યું, જે હોસ્પિટાલિટી પર કેન્દ્રિત ડિજિટલ ધિરાણ પ્લેટફોર્મ છે. તે AAHOA સભ્યોને 150 થી વધુ ધિરાણકર્તાઓની ઍક્સેસ પ્રદાન કરે છે, જેમાં વધુને વધુ લોકોને નિયમિતપણે ઉમેરવાની યોજના છે, આ પ્લેટફોર્મ વપરાશકર્તાઓને ધિરાણ વિકલ્પોની તુલના કરવાની, શ્રેષ્ઠ દરો અને સુરક્ષિત ભંડોળ શોધવાની મંજૂરી આપે છે.

કોફાઉન્ડર અને CEO રોહિત માથુરની આગેવાની હેઠળના બ્રિજને ક્લબ બ્લુ ઇન્ડસ્ટ્રી પાર્ટનર તરીકે નિયુક્ત કરવામાં આવ્યા છે, જે AAHOAના પ્રોગ્રામમાં સર્વોચ્ચ સ્તર છે, તેના 300 ભાગીદારોમાંથી માત્ર 12 જ લાયકાત ધરાવે છે, એમ બંનેએ સંયુક્ત નિવેદનમાં જણાવ્યું હતું.

Keep ReadingShow less
2025માં મંદીની સંભાવના 50 ટકા : HAMA સર્વે

2025માં મંદીની સંભાવના 50 ટકા : HAMA સર્વે

HAMA 2025 સર્વે: 49% મેનેજર્સ મંદીની આશંકા ધરાવે છે

હોસ્પિટાલિટી એસેટ મેનેજર્સ એસોસિએશનના સ્પ્રિંગ 2025 ઇન્ડસ્ટ્રી આઉટલુક સર્વેક્ષણમાં અંદાજે 49 ટકા ઉત્તરદાતાઓ 2025 માં અમેરિકામાં મંદીની અપેક્ષા રાખે છે, જે 2024ના પાનખર સર્વેક્ષણમાં 19 ટકાથી વધુ છે. ટોચની ત્રણ ચિંતાઓ માંગ, ટેરિફ અને DOGE કટ અને વેતનમાં વધારો વચ્ચેનો જોડાણ છે.

HAMA સર્વેક્ષણમાં જાણવા મળ્યું છે કે લગભગ 55 ટકા ઉત્તરદાતાઓએ તેમની વર્તમાન વ્યૂહરચનાના ભાગ રૂપે બ્રાન્ડ અથવા મેનેજમેન્ટ ફેરફારો કર્યા છે અથવા કરવાની યોજના બનાવી છે.

Keep ReadingShow less
AAHOA Bridge AAHOALending 2025

AAHOA, Bridge launch AAHOALending.com

AAHOA and Bridge Unveil AAHOALending.com at AAHOACON 2025

AAHOA AND BRIDGE launched AAHOALending.com, a digital lending platform focused on hospitality. It offers AAHOA members access to more than 150 lenders, with plans to add more regularly, while allowing users to compare financing options, find the best rates and secure funding.

Bridge, led by Cofounder and CEO Rohit Mathur, has been named a Club Blue Industry Partner, the highest level in AAHOA’s program, with only 12 of its 300 partners qualifying, the duo said in a joint statement.

Keep ReadingShow less