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The hospitality industry has come a long way in making space for women, but there is still more to be done. We sat down with 3 women in the boutique hotel industry to find out what advice they’ve been given to help their careers and what others can do to continue pushing for equity this International Women’s Day.
Caroline Southard, Marketing Manager of Titchwell Manor, Brancaster, has spent many years of her career observing women in business who inspired her and asking questions, encouraging others to be curious and to stay interested.
Working in collaborative environments such as Titchwell Manor has allowed the Marketing Manager to stay inspired and mentor other young business people in the industry giving tailored advice when asked.
Southard said ‘I was particularly inspired some brilliant women in business, particularly in marketing, so I approached them and spent time finding out what made them tick. They were, more often than not, really happy to give their time and advice to someone in the early years of their career’.
Anna Low, co-owner of Foyers Lodge, Loch Ness, is new to the hospitality sector, joining at aged 40. She is a member of the Board of Directors for Visit Inverness Loch Ness alongside many other female business leaders. The boutique hotel has embraced female talent, especially throughout the kitchen.
Low added ‘at present our entire workforce is female - excluding my husband who I co-own the business with. Central to this is our capable and brilliant chef Vanessa. I understand that when she was starting out, the kitchen was a very male dominated environment, but I think things are a bit different now, they certainly are here at Foyers Lodge.
‘I have always set my sights on a dream and then worked out afterwards how I’m going to get there’.
Eljesa Saciri, General Manager of The Zetter Townhouse, Marylebone, has seen a lot of progress for women in the industry but urges that women don’t get complacent or allow assumptions and outdated opinions to get in the way of progress.
Saciri adds ‘We are seeing more and more women in lead roles, we are now taking charge of the narrative, but there needs to be continual support and allyship from others around us. It is time that we take our careers and development into our own hands, and if they don’t want us at the table, we make our own’.
Low added ‘the assumption from people that my husband runs the business with me as his secretary is both outdated and infuriating! We’re very much a team with all sorts of varying responsibilities divided up between us’.
‘There is no time to dwell on what things were, we must keep moving forward to ensure a better industry for ourselves and future generations’
There are certainly areas of growth over the last few years for women in the hospitality industry, especially around flexibility for working mothers. Southard is lucky enough to work in an environment which is ‘family-first’ allowing staff the flexibility to work around childcare commitments.
Southard added ‘there are so many women in the hospitality sector, so ideally more businesses would be as understanding in terms of flexibility. For those that find it difficult to be naturally flexible, ideally, they would have policies that support women with caring responsibilities’.
For the Month of March and to celebrate International Women’s day, Eljsa and her team at The Zetter Townhouse are partnering with Mijenta, a female-led brand, to support The Marylebone Project, a charity that has supported over 24,000 women over the last year. She's pledged £2.00 from each drink with Mijenta purchased to be donatedwith options to add donations to your bill too.
