Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Female Leaders in the Hotel Industry

Frankfurt – The hospitality industry has been historically male-dominated. But dynamics of corporate leadership in the hotel industry are changing and despite facing challenges in the workplace and balancing personal lives, more women are breaking the glass ceiling by putting themselves forward for leadership roles. WorldHotels takes the opportunity to speak to three innovative female executives: Susan Keels, GM of the Royal Park Hotel, Rebecca Kwan, GM of Lan Kwai Fong @ Kau U Fong and Chairman of the Hong Kong Hotels Association and Anke Ebinger, WorldHotels Regional Director of Sales Central Europe. In the following interview, the woman leaders talk about their career paths, stereotypes,about what makes a great leader and their thoughts about a quota.

What drove you to work your way up? And what does a woman need in the hospitality industry to be successful?

Rebecca Kwan: “It’s a people-oriented industry, you need to have the passion for taking care of your internal team and external guests to drive success. You need to have a strong mindset and utilize the strengths in skill, knowledge, experience and emotion to pursue what you want, and not wait for it to come to you.”