Dive Brief:

• Choice Hotels International set a goal to increase the number of women in its senior leadership roles to 50% — up from the current 41%, according to the company's 2022 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report. 
• The hotel brand also is committing $25 million in incentives for contracts with “underrepresented minority and woman owners” by 2025. 
• With the initiatives, Choice Hotels is among a growing list of hotel brands making efforts to increase diversity in the industry.

Dive Insight:

In the past several years, a number of hotel brands have ramped up their efforts to combat inequality in the hospitality industry. 

At Choice Hotels, as demographics in the United States have shifted over the past 10 years, the company has adapted its hiring benchmarks to emulate the changing talent pools, according to Corinne Abramson, head of associate diversity, equity and belonging. The hotel brand has also updated its placement goals. 

Its most recent goals are highlighted in its 2022 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report. Several of Choice Hotels' new goals are focused on recruiting and retaining diverse talent for leadership positions in-house. 

In addition to increasing the percentage of women in leadership positions, Choice Hotels is hoping to increase representation of its leaders who identify as a member of a traditionally underrepresented racial/ethnic demographic from 11% to 22% and associates from 32% to 40%.

Across the board, women and other minority groups continue to be underrepresented in hotel industry jobs, with Castell Project’s most recent Women in Hospitality Industry Leadership study finding women hold one hotel company leadership spot for every 10.3 men. A similar study by Castell Project analyzing Black representation in the hospitality industry found that one in 7.3 employees is Black — a loss of representation from one in 5.7 in 2020 and one in 5.3 in 2019. 

In the new ESG report, Choice Hotels also vows to commit more money to contracts with women and other underrepresented minority groups — something the brand has been doing for nearly two decades. 

“For 20 years, our emerging markets team has been dedicated to making small business ownership a reality for underrepresented and minority entrepreneurs — specifically female, veteran, African American, and Latino/Hispanic,” said Abramson. “Since the program began, we have awarded and financially supported more than 345 franchise agreements with underrepresented minority and veteran entrepreneurs, including 38 deals awarded in 2022.”

Marriott and Wyndham also have their own programs focused on breaking down barriers for hotel owners belonging to minority groups. 

In 2022, Marriott International launched Bridging The Gap, a $50 million multiyear development program aimed at addressing the barriers to entry that historically underrepresented groups face in owning and developing hotels in the U.S. and Canada. The company expects that by 2025, qualifying development projects built or converted under the program would reach $1 billion in total asset value for historically underrepresented ownership groups. 

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts also launched new diversity initiatives in 2022 to support underrepresented owners in the hotel industry: Women Own the Room and Black Owners and Lodging Developers. The programs provide capital and operational assistance and networking resources for members.