In the run up to two EyeforTravel shows in London and San Francisco, Pamela Whitby canvassed views from a cross-section of women speakers

Does the travel industry need more senior women at the top table? International Women’s Day last week seemed as good a time as any to ask the question. And if a quick glance down the executive teams of some of the world’s biggest travel brands is the measure, then the short answer is yes.

Take Expedia, booking.com and Airbnb, among travel’s ‘big innovators’ as just three examples. On Expedia’s executive leadership team just over 20% are women, though, admittedly, it does have an entire section devoted to building gender diversity. At recently rebranded Booking Holdings (formerly the Priceline Group) there are three men at the very top table, and of the six leaders of its big brands, a third are women - Gillian Tans, CEO, booking.com and Christa Quarles CEO, Opentable. Meanwhile, at Airbnb, just 20% of people on its senior leadership team are women.

“Yes, we have work to do,” admits Krista Pappas, VP of business development at Lola, who will be speaking at EyeforTravel San Francisco next month. Although Pappas is disappointed that there are still not enough women in leadership roles or with board seats, at Lola the balance is more even.

This is an issue close to the heart of Lola CEO Paul English, the former co-founder of Kayak. Pappas is one of two women on his seven-strong leadership team, and in the wider organisation 23 of the 48 people employed to drive the AI-driven business travel app forward are women. In an interview with EyeforTravel last year, English said he strongly believed that “teams are more functional if they are diverse and gender is a huge part of that”.

And, according to McKinsey’s latest Delivering through Diversity report, this is also better for the bottom line. ‘Gender and ethnic diversity,’ McKinsey finds are ‘clearly correlated with profitability’.

Nailing the network

Travel is a complex and competitive industry and a coveted one to work in, so how have successful women made it?

The one thing that virtually all women agree on is t                                   hat one should never underestimate the value of networking.

“While building a network is not specific to travel, it does absolutely apply to this industry, which is particularly tight knit and takes some work to get into,” says Christina Heggie, a San Francisco keynoter and investment principal at Jet Blue Technology Ventures.

Networking means different things to different people but for Seattle-born Heggie it is: “Building a collection of great people that I know to some degree of familiarity that I respect and can learn from. And perhaps more importantly within that, instead of prevaricating, I’ve learned to just ask.”

Building networks and developing and nurturing relationships, will help to create a foundation for a dynamic career, agrees Pappas, who adds that, “this can provide a cushion for when the unplanned happens”.  

Mentors are hugely important too. Right up there on the list of Pappas’ career highlights has been working with Paul English who “is a great mentor”. “I’ve never met anyone as brilliant in my life,” she says.

Clare Gilmartin, CEO of Trainline, has also benefited hugely from mentoring at all stages of her career – and from both men and women! “I really encourage women, who are less inclined to do so than men, to find mentors. It is always helpful to speak to someone who has been where you want to take your career,” she says.  

Women are also less likely than men, argues Tess Mattisson, Director, European Marketing, Choice Hotels, to put themselves forward, to “be the rock star,” as it were.

Born in Sweden, one of Europe’s most gender equal countries Mattison, who spent a chunk of her career at Nordic Choice Hotels, says it’s about grabbing the opportunities.

“Even if I have just been invited to present on a conference keynote to fill quotas, I don’t mind. Instead I see this as an opportunity to blow people out the water,” she says.   

A marriage of marketing and tech

Maryna Shumaieva, co-founder & CTO of CruiseBe.com, admits that being awoman in travel tech is “not an easy thing to do”. However, with patience, persistence and intuition she has managed to make a career of her two hobbies – travelling and programming.

Traditionally, IT-related roles in travel have been very male dominated, while those in marketing have been largely held by women. But as technology becomes increasingly pervasive, that is changing.

So, while there is still work to do to get more women into tech-related roles, Mattisson argues that digital advancements mean that silo-based thinking simply no longer works. “As a marketer, the reality is that you absolutely need to have a good understanding of digital technology and its commercial benefits,” she says.

Meanwhile Geraldine Calpin, the soon-to-be former chief marketing officer of Hilton, a company she has been with for 15 years, believes that people are equal and it shouldn’t be about gender, or race and ethnicity, for that matter. Her view is this: “Work hard, treat people well and if you really want it you will get it”.

Join us for EyeforTravel San Francisco (April 9-10) or in London to hear more from some of the top women in travel, as well as the industry’s leading men!