Room to Improve

Hotels take steps to prioritize diversity in the industry.

- SHERYL NANCE-NASH

Hotel diversity isn’t where it could be, but it’s a work in prog-ress. Fueled with new energy that emerged from the racial reckoning of 2020, there’s more of a sense of urgency … and with good reason. There’s plenty to do when it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion in the hotel industry.

Black people account for one in five American hotel jobs, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. But they hold only one in 60 positions at a vice president or higher level, according to a report last year, “Black Representation in Hospitality Industry Leadership 2020,” from the nonprofit organization the Castell Project. They hold 1.5 percent of overall hospitality industry executive positions compared to 5 percent of executive positions across all industries.

According to research from MogulRecruiter, women and minorities comprise 60 percent and 40 percent, respectively, of the U.S. hotel frontline. However, only 20 percent of U.S. hotel general managers are women and 10 percent minorities. Blacks represent 15 percent of the frontline and only 1 percent of hotel general managers. “It took us a few years to analyze the data, but we have developed algorithms to rank diverse pools of talent and predict their worth and annual compensation. Today, our talent database has over 500,000 elite hospitality leaders in supervisor roles and above, featuring over 50 percent women and 33 percent who identify as minorities. However, our work is just getting started,” said Alex Mirza, founder and CEO, Mogul, a venture-backed technology company specializing in the hotel industry whose mission is to perfect meritocracy and accelerate diversity.