This Women’s Day, BOTT brings you an overview of what the big Hotels brands in India are doing to make their Hotels a safe haven for Women Travellers and Employees. Here’s a look at some of the initiatives being undertaken by these hospitality chains –
By Priyanka Saxena Ray & Anjali Pokhriyal
The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts
Promoting Gender Diversity & Inclusion with #LeelaEmpowersHer
Anuraag Bhatnagar, Chief Executive Officer, The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts explains, “We are committed to fostering a safe and inclusive environment for women travellers and our employees. The Leela supports a productive work environment and promotes a culture of gender diversity and inclusion, continuously striving to embrace equity by providing equal opportunities for women associates across all levels and departments.
As a testament to our commitment to go beyond, we have designated several diversity and inclusion initiatives under our overarching campaign, #LeelaEmpowersHer. Among these initiatives is our in-house program, ‘The Leela Leadership Development Programme (LLDP),’ which focuses on nurturing women in various roles to cultivate their potential as future leaders in the hospitality industry. This tailored management training program provides world-class training and propels associates toward a fulfilling career with The Leela Palaces, Hotels, and Resorts. Another initiative is #IAmLeela, which highlights the extraordinary journey and the achievements of women at The Leela on the brand’s social channels. Each woman at The Leela is special and empowered to be the best version of herself.
Anjali Mehra, Chief Brand Officer and Senior Vice President Marketing, The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts elaborates, “We extend our commitment to the culinary arts through ‘Shefs at The Leela,’ a progressive culinary initiative that celebrates Indian women chefs and the workforce. We are gearing up for our fifth edition this year, developed in collaboration with Dean with Us (Rupali Dean and Akanksha Dean), this innovative program strives to enhance the visibility of women in kitchens by organizing meticulously crafted dinners, thought-provoking panel discussions, and exclusive masterclasses. ‘Shefs at The Leela’ aims to cultivate a landscape that not only appreciates diversity but also nurtures and inspires emerging talent.”
Additionally, the safety and comfort of woman travellers is of utmost priority for The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts. The brand practices strict security measures, such as surveillance cameras, secure access points, with trained staff, creating a safe and secure environment.
Besides that, all The Leela properties also ensure that a woman guest have a comfortable and memorable stay with highly personalised services and amenities which are tailored to give them an experience filled with luxury. The services include 24-hour lady butler service, assisted city tours, unique amenities, airport pick-up and drop services by hotel’s lady chauffeurs, check-in and check-out experiences conducted by lady team members, to name a few.
Our experienced Palace Services Team curate experiences and assigns dedicated Palace Service Associates to become the single point of contact during the stay, ensuring that every need is met and personalized with thoughtful service. The Leela is rooted in the timeless ethos of “Atithi Devo Bhava – Guest is God” and continue to redefine luxury through a lens of responsibility and comfort.”
IHCL
Supporting Women throughits initiative ‘She remains the Taj’
In May 2022, the Indian Hotels Company (IHCL), India’s largest hospitality company, launched ‘She Remains the Taj’, a holistic framework of women-centric initiatives for all stakeholders including guests, employees, partners and the community. This encompasses enhanced experiences for women travellers at its hotels across the globe. IHCL also announced its goal to raise women participation I n its workforce to 25% by 2025, and support women led businesses and partners.
“IHCL is known for championing the cause of women and enhancing their participation both, within and outside the organization. Cognizant of the growing economic influence of women consumers, ‘She Remains the Taj’ re-iterates our commitment to creating customer-centric experiences for travellers. Under the promotion, we will introduce a series of initiatives and enabling policies to increase workforce participation. Keeping community at the core, IHCL will continue to extend economic opportunities to the larger ecosystem,” shared Puneet Chhatwal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, IHCL at the time of the launch.
Based on extensive research, the customer value proposition for women travellers has been developed to include heightened levels of privacy, security, bespoke amenities and stay offerings. As part of its commitment to increase women in leadership positions, 25% of these roles at upcoming IHCL hotels will be women.
Over the years, IHCL has implemented pioneering initiatives including the opening of South Asia’s first all-women managed luxury residences, Taj Wellington Mews in Chennai, and the all-women engineers’ team to build Ginger’s flagship hotel in Mumbai. Its industry leading policies include extended maternity leave, crèche facilities, healthcare benefits including IVF treatments, and skilling of women in under-served communities and regions.
Marriott International
Running the first all-women managed Hotel
Having women in leadership positions is a vital part of Marriott International’s strategy for growth and success. They are focused on advancing women in the company’s management and executive ranks, gaining their loyalty as customers, creating economic opportunity ashotel owners, and including women-owned businesses in our supply chain.
Marriott International believes in empowering women and enabling them to join in the ‘Empower Through Opportunity’ effort. It regularly works with non-profit organizations to develop skills and opportunities for women, supporting women-owned hotels, purchasing from women-owned businesses and providing development and advancement opportunities for our workforce.
The Westin Hyderabad Hitec City, opened last year, became the first all women – managed property in the city. Led by a formidable team of women, this exciting new venture has the right mix of strength, talent and spirit. Sitting in the very swish and upscale Mindspace Hi Tech City, this Westin showcases women at the helm across all operational aspects, including the bustling kitchens and banquets, where the heavy lifting is known to be done, along with engineering, and security.
“The launch of our all-women hotel has been an initiative that is poised to make a profound impact on the local community and the hospitality landscape in Hyderabad. The opening of this hotel serves as an inspiration for women in the country, strengthening their ambitions to explore a career in the hospitality industry, while it also expounds the multitude of opportunities that such initiatives unlock for the immensely talented pool of female workforce in India,” shared Ranju Alex, Area Vice President – South Asia, Marriott International.
Pride Group of Hotels
Pampering Solo Women Travellers
It’s encouraging to see the travel industry adapting to the evolving needs of women, especially solo travellers. The efforts by Pride Group of Hotels to provide women-centric facilities contribute to a more inclusive and safe travel experience for female travellers in New Delhi, Kolkata, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, and Nagpur.
Apart from offering all the contemporary amenities, Pride Hotels also provides a special “We Care” vanity kit with extra essentials, room allocation near the elevator, a chocolate platter, and a special 20% discount on room bookings to pamper the female guests. There is a separate section of rooms or a wing in the building exclusively dedicated to single lady travellers. The rooms are serviced only by female attendants. About 30% of the hotel’s workforce across all the units comprises women who have set benchmarks in the hospitality segment.
“Over the years women from all age groups have been extensively traveling. We have witnessed a significant uptick in women guests including solo travellers at all our properties nationally. Keeping in mind the preferences of the single lady traveller we have now introduced special amenities to ensure their stay is comfortable, convenient, and safer. It is our endeavour to encourage female travellers by providing them all tailor-made facilities to make their stay memorable,” shared Atul Upadhyay, Senior Vice President, Pride Group of Hotels
Hilton Hotels
Promoting ‘flexibility mindset’ through ‘It’s Okay’ campaign
Hilton is desirous of driving a culture that promotes more flexibility at the workplace. In 2022 Hilton had initiated a campaign called ‘IT’S OK.’ This campaign highlighted the human side of the Hilton brand, revealing the Company’s desire to promote flexibility in its culture. Hilton wants to drive a workplace culture that is ready to offer flexibility to employees in terms of work timings, short breaks in between work, or planning a leave at the last moment to fulfil family commitments or taking a day off.
last year, on the occasion of the International Housekeepers Week (September 10 – 16), Hilton India announced #YouAreTheSparkleAndShine, a heart-warming digital campaign and a first-of-its-kind initiative aimed at shining the well-deserved spotlight on the tireless efforts of the housekeeping teams in the hospitality industry, marking the first time that the industry’s housekeeping heroes are being celebrated with a dedicated digital campaign. Whether it’s ensuring hygiene and sanitation or adding a personal touch to hotel rooms, housekeepers are dedicated to ensuring that guests have a comfortable and memorable stay. However, despite their hard work, the housekeeping staff often remain the unsung champions behind picture-perfect hospitality experiences.
As a global leader in hospitality, Hilton has an unwavering commitment to creating mentoring and development opportunities for every Team Member to improve diversity and inclusion for all. In 2014, Hilton launched the Women in Leadership program which has empowered more than 182 female Team Members into their promotions and career journeys.
IHG
Creating Women Leaders with ‘RISE’ Mentoring Initiative
IGH is growing its global network of ‘Lean In circles’ to empower its female colleagues to realise their ambitions by supporting one another through small peer groups that meet regularly. These help them to learn and grow together while providing advice and sounding boards. “We want all our women to be in a position to consider opportunities that encourage career growth, and which help them fulfil their potential.”
“We know that women are still hugely underrepresented at the high level of hotel management. Our global RISE mentoring initiative plays a key role in increasing the number of women in GM and other senior positions in our managed hotels. By Q1 2022, we were proud to say that more than 100 colleagues had graduated from the programme.We want to create a future where aspiring female General Managers RISE up and succeed in achieving their ambition. This programme aims to inspire confidence in its participants, helping to grow their networks and provide a range of opportunities for personal and professional growth. Almost 130 hotel-based female leaders have so far joined the 12-month programme, with nearly a third of them having since been promoted.”
Eros Hotel, New Delhi
Eros Hotel New Delhi Sets Gold Standard for Female Safety and Inclusivity with Comprehensive Policies and Initiatives
“Eros Hotel is well-known for its stringent policies and detailed standards that particularly address the safety concerns of female employees and travelers. We established a buddy system wherein a female attendant is assigned to provide support and assistance to female guests during their stay. With the aim of ensuring that the hotel is a secure environment for them, we always give emergency contact information for all kind of needs, especially to women staying alone. They can also get round-the-clock emergency assistance from reception.Our constant focus is on establishing a more productive and inclusive workplace for everybody. We provide women employees with flexible work arrangements, such as telecommuting or altering work hours. Additionally, we have a zero-tolerance policy for harassment and prejudice toward female travelers as well as inside the organization. We have defined explicit policies and procedures pertaining to sexual harassment, discrimination, and workplace safety for female employees. We see to it that every employee is informed of these policies. We have established a culture that values diversity and gender equality, where women are appreciated and have equal opportunity to develop and succeed. With these effective tactics, we can guarantee women’s safety and well-being at work and transform into a cheerful, safe destination for female travelers as well.” Mr. Davinder Juj, General Manager,
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