Advice We Would Give To Our Younger Hospitality Selves

“What’s important for young talent is to try different routes, and trust themselves. Sometimes, we limit our own options because we are young and inexperienced, and are not sure if we are worth the opportunity.

That is why I always tell young talent to go explore, travel far and away, try different roles and paths, until they find their Ikigai. That might take having to unlearn and relearn new roles and skills. But then again, that is better than sitting at an office, doing the same job all your life, while being unhappy about it.”

“Experience as much of the operation as you can. Learn it, breath it, absorb it. From a revenue standpoint, this will only help you understand more, and be more agile in how you operate.

Self-development is pivotal. If you want to grow, you must put in the time yourself outside of work – and this must always continue. Travel, expose yourself to different cultures and different ways of work.

Get involved in industry – for example, with organisations such as HSMAI, HOSPA, IoH, etc. You’ll benefit by continuing to learn and grow, networking and getting exposure to the leaders out there. Attend conferences, and get your employer to help you with nominations for awards.

Find the balance. I don’t work on the work-life balance philosophy; for me, it’s just a life balance. Learn to read your body. When you’re tired, take a break. Plan and use those vacation days. Yes, there are days and times of the year when we do long hours, but ultimately, we are not saving lives, there are some things that can wait until the next morning.”

“I love this question because the only advice I would give myself is to get practical experience and have fun. All that wondering around the world working in different places, doing different jobs, attending all those training courses and embracing fun has paid off, and has allowed me to build a company that I love working at.

Go have fun and enjoy yourself, there is plenty of time to be a mature adult.”

“I have three answers to this.

1. “Optimistic me” would say: Spend at least a year in operations to understand the business before going into revenue management. The experience will be important to lean on when making impactful decisions.
2. “Pessimistic me” would say: Watch your step and do not burn bridges in this industry. It’s a web of interconnectivity and everyone knows everyone.
3. “Realistic me” would say: Get as high up the tree as possible before the flood of AI and automation arrives and upends how we do revenue management.”

“It’s a great question! I would probably say this to my younger self: Trust in yourself more, and try to be more social :) “

“I would advise my younger self to demand feedback from superiors and colleagues, and also make sure to take time to reflect.”

“My advice would be:

• Don’t be too cocky
• Be patient
• Keep learning
• Fight for your ideas and rights”

“I don’t give suggestions to myself, but I would give the following suggestion to young people who want to approach this world: be curious and work hard, choose a mentor who can transfer as much knowledge as possible to you and get involved – because experience is worth everything and without experience, theory just stays in the books!

Whatever role you will be choosing, make sure you understand how operations works, as it will all come down to that!”

“Make sure there is a good balance when doing your job (e.g., really taking time to analyse results and optimise strategies, instead of being too involved with operations / reservations / sales), so that you can really focus.

From the very start, make sure you involve your colleagues, so they know (even in Breakfast / housekeeping / concierge) the ways in which they can impact the results. Make sure everyone knows that it is not a solo effort, but a joint effort from everyone in the hotel.”