Celebrating DEI in Radisson Hotel Group Diversity Week (by Allison Tang)

In March 2024, Radisson Hotel Group inaugurated its first Diversity Week to celebrate its 70,000 employees representing more than 146 nationalities. Diversity Week is a global virtual event to learn, share, and advocate for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). This year’s event theme was “Inspire Inclusion,” as it concluded on International Women’s Day to reinforce the business commitment to provide a welcoming and inclusive workplace. 

What is DEI?

One of the main goals of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) is to promote DEI in the hospitality industry worldwide. Diversity indicates that the organization embraces different cultural and social characteristics. Equity symbolizes fair treatment among employees. Inclusion reflects that staff members feel welcome in their jobs, no matter their identity. Although these three core pillars have been included in the mission statements of many hotel businesses in recent years, not many companies prioritize them or act on them. 

The Diversity Week in Radisson Hotel Group

Radisson Hotel Group is not like any other hotel. Across their hotels worldwide and regional offices, they highlight their mission statement: "We are many minds, with one mindset” (Radisson Hotel Group, 2024a). This phrase symbolizes the commitment and dedication of the company to foster an environment where everyone enjoys working, and all of them work as a team. In the same way, Iñigo Capell writes on the website, “As the World’s 3rd Best Employer in the Travel & Leisure industry by Forbes, we truly believe that when we inspire team members to understand and value each other´s unique perspectives, we can create a better workplace and ultimately a better world together” (Radisson Hotel Group, 2024a). 

At the beginning of this year, Radisson Hotel Group emphasized its mission statement by introducing its first Diversity Week. Set to take place from March 4^th through 8^th, 2024, the hotel brand united team members, leaders, and industry experts worldwide to participate in this virtual event. The event started with the guest speaker, Belen Presas, who explained the difference between diversity and inclusion. Following this enlightening discussion, 22 guest speakers provided meaningful conversations to champion DEI in the workplace (Radisson Hotel Group, 2024b). Approximately 4,500 team members engaged in leadership panels, workshops, and discussions related to DEI (Radisson Hotel Group, 2024b). Examples include female leaders' career paths, bias prevention, equitable compensation, a sense of belonging, and more.    

Other initiatives

During that week, the hotel brand also launched its first Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to allow participants to get involved in DEI efforts. These groups allow people with the same identities and experiences to come together and build a community where everyone feels valued and empowered within the organization. The ERGs also provide a safe space for people to communicate their opinions and insights. Additionally, it supports professional growth through mentorships and networking to help employees succeed in their careers. 

Aligned with its DEI strategy, Radisson Hotel Group has set a 50% Women in Leadership target by 2030 to promote balanced leadership within their organization (Radisson Hotel Group, 2024a). The company has 32% female leaders, including at hotel and corporate levels, a 16% increase since 2018 (Radisson Hotel Group, 2024a). This increase resulted from a diversity of initiatives the hotel brand has implemented throughout all its properties. The most recent ones are talent pools to identify the potential growth of female workers, its sponsorship program Spotlight to support females by providing them with a mentor to guide them, and the addition of parental and maternal coverage policies.

Celebrating Unique Talent at Radisson Hotel Group!

At the same time, when they were celebrating Diversity Week and International Women’s Day, Radisson Hotel Group celebrated its female leaders on their social media. Under Radisson Hotel Baku, they introduced the Human resources manager, housekeeping supervisor, and pantry chef (Radisson Baku, 2024). These three amazing women explained their career paths in this hotel brand, advised viewers to appreciate the many opportunities the brand has offered them, and encouraged women to follow their lead and become successful just like them! 

Future Thoughts

DEI has become an important topic in the hospitality industry in recent years. A hotel brand that has done an exceptional job is Radisson Hotel Group. Remaining committed to their beliefs, the company launched their virtual event Diversity Week, Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), Spotlight program, and much more. This initiative aims to gather its female employees worldwide to celebrate and provide them with useful tools to become professionals in this industry. Similarly to Radisson Hotel Group, other hotels should follow their example to bring diversity, equality, and inclusion to their workplace and create one strong team. 

What key lessons should other hospitality businesses take to bring DEI to their company? What are the possible challenges the company will face in the future?

References

• Radisson Hotel Group (2024a). Radisson Hotel Group celebrates Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the inaugural ‘Diversity Week.’ Radisson Hotel, https://www.radissonhotels.com/en-us/corporate/media/press-releases/RHG-celebrates-DEI-at-inaugural-diversity-week.
• Radisson Hotel Group (2024b). Embracing Diversity & Inclusion: A Recap of Radisson Hotel Group's Diversity Week 2024! LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/posts/radisson-hotel-group_diversity-week-2024-radisson-hotel-group-activity-7176595135768522755-AXHC/.
• Radisson Baku (2024). Within the Radisson Diversity Week 2024, we are proud to introduce to you the strong and inspiring women of our Radisson team! Instagram https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4NKRB8tedO/.
• The first picture about DEI was downloaded from LinkedIn.com. 

A Self-Introduction by Allison Tang

Hi! My name is Allison Tang, and I am a third-year student majoring in hospitality management with an emphasis on lodging. I enjoy learning about new cultures, helping people, and traveling worldwide. These past years in Collins, I met amazing friends, attended events, networked with professionals, and learned a lot about the hospitality industry. I believe this knowledge will allow me to succeed and fulfill my dream of becoming a general manager of a five-star hotel in Las Vegas!