November/December 2020

CONFERENCE REPORT
GLOBAL
Perspectives
Hospitality leaders share
insights at WITH Global
Virtual Summit
BY AMY BOSTOCK
AT Leadership Panel. The panelists, which included Janet Zuccarini, founder of
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
the fourth-annual Women in Tourism & Hospitality Summit, which took place
October 14 and 15th as its first Virtual Global edition, Foodservice and Hospitality
editor/publisher Rosanna Caira moderated a State-of-the-Industry Thought-
Gusto 54 Restaurants; Julian Buffam, partner, New Castle Hotels and Resorts; Abigail Tan, CEO, St.
Giles Hotels, U.K. ; and Don Cleary, president, Marriott Hotels of Canada offered inspiration and
advice for surviving through crisis and navigating a post-pandemic landscape.
As a restaurant owner, Zuccarini shared her feelings when COVID-19 hit. “I woke up one
day and really had the fear of maybe losing everything.” But, she said, “fast forward to today
and my team has done incredible work. And, we’ve been working with landlords and banks to
send the message that we’re all in this together and we all need to work together. [Because] if
everyone’s just looking to put money in their pocket, we’re all going to fail.” Zuccarini added
that seven months later, the company is now at 70 per cent of its sales volume.
At Marriott Hotels of Canada, Cleary said “we’re doing what we can to manage costs and
are optimistic for the future. We’re going to have to persevere to get through this — and we
will get through it. I’m very confident that people still want to travel — they want the
experience travel can provide — but they have to be confident this virus is behind us.”
For Tan’s team, it’s about working with and for their communities. “For the next six
months to a year, it’s not about putting money in our pockets, but about how we can be good
partners with society and community and all of us survive together. Not thrive just yet. So,
we’re looking to work with different charities and the different councils in our area to see how
we can help, since we have the resources — the rooms, the people — because we want our
team to be able to come back to work and to work full time.”
When asked what the future of hospitality looks like, Tan said the next 18 to 24 months
will be very telling.
“We’ll also see a shift in the way hotels are being used,” she said. “For example, the corporate/
business traveller will not come back the same way they did before. There’s a lot of companies
cutting big travel expenses, seeing it’s not necessary to travel and to stay in hotels as much as they
did. So, it’s about how we start to target and change the use of our rooms and our public spaces
and still be able to attract and maintain an occupancy and a revenue level.” FH
Rapid Fire
The Rapid-Fire session featured four fearless
women leaders who shared their perspectives
on how they broke barriers in their own lives
and careers. The speakers included Christina
Veira, mixologist/restaurant manager;
Suzanne Barr, chef and advocate; Rhonelle
Bruder, executive director, Project iRise; and
Peggy Berg, founder of Castell Project.
Veira spoke about the challenges of being a
Black woman in the foodservice industry
and the importance of compassion and
empathy for not just others, but yourself.
“Building resilience is also extending
compassion and empathy to yourself and
centreing that in how you navigate your life
and your professional career. Sometimes that
will look less linear than what you’re told to
do, but not all systems are built for you and
that ‘s not a bad thing. You can accomplish a
lot by going that less-linear route.”
Chef Barr shared the challenges of opening
her first restaurant in Toronto and how it
shaped her as a chef and person. “Sometimes,
even in the moments you feel like you have
to be Superwoman, you need to be saved. But
I feel like it has taken me up to this point in
my life to recognize and understand this only
makes you stronger. Every moment makes me
more curious to see what’s next and how I
can impact the next generation.”
Berg closed out the session by talking
about her drive to help women and people
of colour achieve equity in the hospitality
industry and the importance of advocacy. “An
advocate is someone who stands up for you
when you are not in the room,” she said. “But
advocates are an ecosystem…when someone
advocates for you, you become an advocate
for others.”
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 11