Emily Goldfischer: Redefining Hospitality

With over two decades of experience in hotel operations, marketing, public relations, and journalism, Emily Goldfischer, the founder of the online media platform, hertelier, stands as a true hotel industry veteran with a passion for all things hospitality.

Goldfischer’s impressive career trajectory started when she studied hotel management at Cornell University and worked in hotel operations for several years. However, her desire to understand the underlying motivations of people led her to pursue a Master's degree in Social Psychology at the London School of Economics. This experience exposed her to diverse perspectives and cultures, which proved invaluable in her international career.

The entrepreneur’s love for hotels and the people who run them eventually led her to create hertelier, an exclusive platform dedicated to covering trailblazing women in the hospitality industry. Through hertelier, the founder aims to empower and inspire women in the field by providing a space to share information, spark much-needed conversations, and nurture careers at every stage.

With her keen insights and vast networkof industry connections, Goldfischer is a force to be reckoned with. Join us as we delve into her fascinating career and learn how hertelier is changing the game for women in lodging around the world…

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What was your experience like working at Loews Hotels as the Vice President of Public Relations for over a decade, how did it shape your professional journey?

Loews Hotels was an incredible place to work, it was led by a small and very forward-thinking corporate team that wasn’t afraid of taking risks. For example, we were the first hotel company in 1999 to launch a branded pet program! Pet programs are common in hotels today, but not back then.  Also, Loews was one of the first to have a CSR program, the Good Neighbor Policy, which was driven by then CEO Jonathan Tisch, who understood that the responsibility of being part of the community and society meant companies need to do their part. At the time, I was there, Loews also was one of the few hotel companies to have several women in top C-suite positions. I worked for the legendary Charlotte St. Martin, who was one of the first female hotel general managers, and Nancy Mendelson, who is my partner today in hertelier. Having strong women to look up to has certainly shaped my career and led me to launch hertelier.

Was there an aha-moment which led you to launching hertelier during the pandemic?

It is no secret that the hotel industry has historically been very male-dominated, and it still is, with about one woman for every ten executives in the C-suite. Since leaving Loews in 2010 and moving to London, I have worked as a journalist covering the hotel business. About five years ago I noticed a shift - that women were moving into bigger roles within the hotel industry - leading brands or getting marquee GM jobs at iconic city hotels and mega-resorts. I felt there was an audience that wanted to hear more about these women, and that the industry needed a space where future generations of women could be inspired. During the pandemic, in March of 2021, I decided to create hertelier to fill that void.

What are some of the biggest challenges facing women in the hospitality industry today, and how is hertelier addressing them?

The challenges that women face in hospitality are similar to the challenges women face in every industry - equality, pay gaps, and the fact that women are always the default carers of children or elderly parents throughout our lives. Men do not face these same expectations, generally. This is why we are also seeing unprecedented levels of burnout among women. Government-led systemic change is needed and companies should be lobbying for this. As for hertelier, we are trying to do our part by encouraging, educating, and inspiring women with our content. Turns out, men are interested too!

How do you see the hospitality industry evolving over the next decade, and what role do you think women will play in that evolution?

We will see a shift to more equality over the next decade for sure. In the short-term, I actually made seven predictions for this year. They include: seeing more women take on leadership roles; more inclusivity in the industry with more female leaders, more innovation by women in everythingfrom branding to sustainability to technology. We are also seeing more women entrepreneurs, women going into hotel ownership, and more women helping each other to succeed through networking and creating associations to support women navigating their careers.‍

What are some of the most important skills and qualities that women need to succeed in the hospitality industry, and how can they develop them?

Hertelier launched in March of 2021, and in two years we have run over 350 interviews with women at all stages of their careers. Reflecting on those interviews, there were several leadership skills that stood out: curious, flexible, active listeners, confident, resilient, reflective and all had big dreams for themselves. While some of these skills can be innate, in speaking with so many women, actually most skills are developed through intention, practice and discipline.

How do you envision hertelier supporting and empowering women in the hospitality industry – are there any programs or resources that you’re keen on spearheading through hertelier?

At the moment, we are very intent on continuing to share relevant content, through the site and our weekly Sunday newsletter, the Round-Up. We have in-person events in the works for later this year and hope to get into research and education down the line.

What are some of the success stories or achievements that you are particularly proud of as the founder of hertelier?

We have built a community of nearly 5,000 on LinkedIn in a very short time, we’ve been recognized as one of the top 10 social media influencers by the International Hospitality Institute in 2023, we’ve been featured in Forbes magazine, and most recently, the site has been named a finalist as ‘Trade Publication of the Year,’ by TravMedia. This month we opened the site up to partnerships and it has been gratifying to see eight companies; Hyatt, IHG, Loews Hotels, Red Roof, Extended Stay America, a start-up hotel brand called Roomza, a tech platform, Thynk, JLL Hotels, the real estate advisor, and the forward-thinking design firm, David Collins Studio already signed up! Their confidence in the platform is significant. All this recognition has been tremendous, especially as we have grown the site and the popular Sunday newsletter totally organically.

How can women begin taking more ownership of their achievements and disengage fromself-limiting beliefs that even very successful women seem to wrestle with?

Honestly, this is really the main mission of hertelier, creating a platform to share the stories of women in hospitality. By sharing success across the board, women will learn to take more ownership. How do you know who Jeff Bezos or Mark Zuckerberg is?  Because the media covers their every move. Well, I want people to be inspired by women like Gilda Perez-Alvarado, the CEO of JLL Hotels, Amanda Hite, the President of STR, or Amber Asher, the CEO of Standard Hotels…as women get more of the spotlight and media attention, the world will know more about their achievements. This will serve to inspire and create more opportunity and ultimately equality.

What are some of your biggest takeaways and learnings of working in the hospitality industry?

There are so many! If you are forcing me to pick, I’d say remember to speak to express not impress, which I learned from my partner Nancy Mendelson, versions of this advice were shared by many of the leaders we interviewed. Listening is the most important communication skill for anyone at any level. As the saying goes, better to be interested than interesting!

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