Skip to content

Search

Latest Stories

Report: African Americans underrepresented in hospitality executive roles

A study by The Castell Project found black executives make up 1.5 percent of total

AFRICAN AMERICANS ARE underrepresented in the executive ranks of the U.S. hotel industry, according to a new report from the Castell Project, a not-for-profit that promotes women in the industry. The Project in the report urges hotel companies to consider addressing this imbalance as they hire back employees after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report, “Black Representation in Hospitality Industry Leadership 2020” is based on a review of employee listings on websites for 630 hotel companies in the U.S. and Canada with a minimum of five hotels and/or 700 rooms. They reviewed information on more than 6,000 people and found the following points:


  • 84 percent of the company websites reviewed do not show any black executives and only 102, or 16 percent, showed a black employee at the director level or above.
  • Black executives represent 1.5 percent of hospitality industry executives at the director level or above on company websites, 12.5 times below their proportionate share of hospitality industry employment.
  • Korn Ferry reports that black people hold 5 percent of executive positions across all industries and four percent of executive positions at S&P 500 companies.

“While black women and men account for one in five hospitality jobs according to the U.S. Department of Labor, our research found there are a mere one in 65 hospitality industry executives at the director level or higher. This is the public face of the industry shown on corporate websites,” said Peggy Berg, Castell Project, Inc. chair. “The hospitality industry has long told the story that anyone can start at an entry level position and reach leadership through sweat and hard work. Unfortunately, the numbers do not show this to be true for black employees.”

Berg said she hopes the statistics in the new report will open more opportunity in the hospitality industry for black men and women.

“Diversity in leadership has not been a high priority for the hospitality industry,” Berg said. “With attention now, however, it can shape the future.  This means being mindful of the post-coronavirus racial makeup of organizations and implementing best practices modeled by leading companies that have successfully diversified leadership across the economy.”

The Castell Project also issues its “Women in Hospitality Industry Leadership” report annually. The latest of those found more women are entering leadership positions in the hotel industry than in previous years.

More for you

Wyndham & Grubhub Offer Free Delivery to Guests & Staff

Wyndham, Grubhub offer free delivery to guests, staff

Summary:

  • Wyndham Hotels & Resorts is partnering with Grubhub to offer free product delivery to guests and staff at nearly 6,000 U.S. hotels across 20 brands.
  • A Grubhub account is required to activate the complimentary Grubhub+ membership; no credit card is needed and the membership does not auto-renew.
  • Wyndham recently deployed Elavon’s cloud payments interface to more than 6,000 U.S. and Canadian franchisees.

WYNDHAM HOTELS & RESORTS and Grubhub, an online ordering and delivery platform, will offer item delivery to guests and staff with no delivery fees and other benefits. The service is available at nearly 6,000 U.S. hotels across 20 brands, with orders placed through the Grubhub app on-site or by scanning a hotel QR code.

Keep ReadingShow less
U.S. Hotel Construction Hits 20-Quarter Low in June

CoStar: Hotel construction drops in June

Summary:

  • U.S. hotel rooms under construction fell year over year for the sixth straight month in June, hitting a 20-quarter low, CoStar reported.
  • About 138,922 rooms were under construction, down 11.9 percent from June 2024; the luxury segment had 6,443 rooms, up 4.1 percent year over year.
  • Lodging Econometrics recently said Dallas led all U.S. markets in hotel construction pipelines at the end of the first quarter, with 203 projects and 24,496 rooms.

THE NUMBER OF U.S. hotel rooms under construction declined year over year for the sixth straight month in June, reaching a 20-quarter low, according to CoStar. Additionally, more than half of all rooms under development are in the South, mostly outside the top 25 markets.

Keep ReadingShow less
G6 Hospitality Launches 24/7 Guest Support From August 1
Photo credit: G6 Hospitality

G6 launching 24x7 guest support on Aug. 1

Summary:

  • G6 Hospitality will launch 24x7 guest support on Aug. 1, expanding the current 18-hour window.
  • Escalations from phone, email and social media will be handled promptly by trained staff.
  • The service supports G6’s tech and service investments, including the AI-powered My6 app.

G6 HOSPITALITY, PARENT of Motel 6 and Studio 6, will launch a 24x7 customer support service for guests starting Aug. 1. The service extends the previous 18-hour window to full-day availability via phone, email and social media.

Keep ReadingShow less
U.S. travelers using mobile devices to book independent boutique hotel stays with personalized offers and smart tech in 2025

Study: Personalization boosts independent hotel bookings

Summary:

  • Around 95 percent of U.S. travelers are more likely to book independent hotels with personalized offers, according to TakeUp.
  • 59 percent plan more travel in 2025, with 78 percent favoring weekend getaways and 65 percent domestic trips.
  • Top booking deterrents are few reviews at 39 percent, unclear cleanliness or quality at 38 percent and inflexible cancellations at 29 percent.

PERSONALIZED OFFERS BASED on interests would make 95 percent of U.S. travelers more likely to book at an independent hotel, according to TakeUp, a revenue management platform for independent hotels. About 85 percent are open to technologies such as smart check-in, recommendations and AI-based pricing.

Keep ReadingShow less
Chart showing decline in U.S. extended-stay hotel occupancy and RevPAR in May 2025

Report: May fifth month for drop in extended-stay occupancy

Summary:

  • Extended-stay occupancy fell 2.2 percent in May, the fifth straight monthly decline; ADR and RevPAR also dropped for a second consecutive month.
  • May marked 44 straight months of supply growth for the segment at 4 percent or less, with annual growth below the 4.9 percent long-term average.
  • Extended-stay room revenues rose 0.5 percent, while total industry revenue grew 0.9 percent, led by segments with little extended-stay supply.

EXTENDED-STAY HOTEL occupancy fell 2.2 percent in May, the fifth consecutive monthly decline, exceeding the 0.7 percent drop reported for all hotels by STR/CoStar, according to The Highland Group. Extended-stay occupancy was 10.5 percentage points above the total hotel industry, at the lower end of the long-term average premium range.

Keep ReadingShow less