Thursday 2 July, 2020 TOP STORY STRz podcast: 2020: The Year of Change? Part 2 In Part Two of our podcast special, ShortTermRentalz talks to four industry leaders who come from ethnic minority backgrounds to discuss how 2020 could be the catalyst for change in embracing diversity and equality in hospitality. If you missed our last newsletter....
1. OYO to lay off majority of furloughed US employees 2. UK holiday bookings quadruple following lockdown update 3. UK to lift restrictions on European arrivals from 6 July 4. Join our LinkedIn group here 5. Chesky shares vision for future travel "redistribution"
Editor's comment
02•07•20 Welcome to the latest ShortTermRentalz newsletter!
• After we published Part One of our 2020: The Year of Change? podcast earlier this week, Part Two went live here today as the speakers and I discussed how equal ethnic and gender representation in businesses can drive innovation within the short-term rental sector, the extent to which this year can be a catalyst for change and what will have been achieved in a year's time in terms of diversity.
The topic of representation was raised in Women in Hospitality: Travel and Leisure's annual report in February. It revealed that female representation at the top level had risen from 5.3 to 28.9 per cent in 2019, but this was contrasted by the fact that 84 per cent of those surveyed were not reaching 33 per cent female representation and there were no BAME CEOs, chairs or independent directors in FTSE 350 HTL firms.
Addressing how 2020 can be a catalyst for change, Futurestay's Philip Kennard said: "This is a year of 'reset' for hospitality and travel in general. When you take a stable structure and destabilise it, that creates challenges for incumbents and opportunities for disruptors... it comes down to surrounding yourself with people with different backgrounds and opinions to you so that you can have those conversations."
The Suite Faith's Nina Taylor added: "Hospitality is about the client so they will eventually have to succumb to things that they have been privy to during their lives through traditions.. I think that work and that service will come. Soon, like Airbnb, this is just going to erupt the industry to where you can't really beat 'em, you've got to join 'em. When that innovation does happen, it will have a sumo effect."
Looking ahead to a year's time, Blueground's Aneesa Arshad said "so much still needs to happen" with regards to industry diversity, and a particular indicator of this progress would be benchmarked by who is participating in an industry event, such as speaking on an expert panel. She also outlined how companies would need to focus on making their products and services more inclusive to make a discernible difference.
Meanwhile, Doinn's Mateo Bradford added that he would like to see "institutions within our industry taking active steps to really address the issues, such as creating a task-force or groups dedicated to supporting minority businesses", which would ensure this is not a "flash-in-the-pan moment".
To hear the full conversation, click here.
• Don't forget to register for the next in our Urban Living webinar series, which takes place on 8 July at 10:00 BST, when the panel will be discussing the coliving sector.
Joining IHM editor-in-chief George Sell for the discussion will be: • Joe Persechino, head of residential & student accommodation, AXA IM - Real Assets • Mathias Saleborn, managing director, EMEA AND APAC, BridgeStreet • Mindy Teo, deputy managing director, The Ascott Limited
Click here to register for the no cost webinar.
If you have a story you want us to tell the industry, please click here and get involved with the community by joining our ShortTermRentalz LinkedIn group here.
Paul Stevens, news editor
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