To mark International Women’s Day 2026, we speak to nine women in luxury hotels redefining power, success and sustainability at the top of the industry.
Curated by Mardi Downing and Abbie Savic
This International Women’s Day 2026, Renae’s World speaks to women who are redefining what leadership looks like in luxury hotels. In an industry long dominated by men, they are not only rising through the ranks, but reshaping the culture, expectations and possibilities for those who follow behind.
Across different properties, teams and career paths, their insights echo one another with remarkable clarity: trust yourself, act in line with your values, and build a version of leadership that reflects the person behind it.
For International Women’s Day 2026, we celebrate what has got these impressive women where they are, what has kept them here and what they now understand about leadership and sustainable success.
Elena Lopez de Silanes, Director of Rooms, The Anam Mui Nem Vietnam
From perfection to purpose
“At 22, I believed success in luxury hotels meant being flawless, anticipating everything, controlling everything, never letting anything slip… I equated perfection with credibility.” In an industry defined by detail, perfection felt necessary. But Elena realised that striving for flawlessness was creating distance from creativity, from her team and from meaningful guest connection.“The real shift in my career came when I stopped trying to perform perfection and started focusing on meaning. Instead of asking, ‘How do I make this flawless?’ I began asking, ‘How do I make this matter?’ Today, her leadership is rooted in trust and emotional intelligence. She believes, “Exceptional service is not about perfection. It’s about being real, intuitive, and human.”
Growth requires courage
Elena admits she once waited to feel fully ready before speaking up. “Being in the room is not enough, you need to be part of the conversation.” Her advice is clear. “Do not wait to feel ready. Opportunities do not always come to you, sometimes you must go and create them.” Mistakes, she adds, are not career defining failures. “When handled well, mistakes do not reduce trust, they build it.” Leadership, she says, is less glamorous than it appears. It is built behind the scenes through difficult decisions, emotional awareness and supporting others to grow.
Boundaries and value
Early in her career, Elena said yes to everything, until burnout forced reflection. “It is not only about how much time you have, but how present you are. Quality matters more than quantity.”
She also reflects on the fear many women face when asking for more. “Asking for more, with clarity and respect, is part of being a professional. Being clear about what you want does not make you difficult — it makes you credible.” Her advice to the next generation is to not build a career that only looks good on paper, but to build one that feels right in your life.
Nikki Little, General Manager, The Pullman Hotel Sydney
Reimagining what’s possible
Nikki did not always see herself as a future leader in a premium hotel entertainment field. “I had to reimagine what is possible and be brave to keep moving forward.” Her journey was not defined by dramatic leaps, but by steady consolidation. She chose to stay rather than relocate internationally, a decision that built depth rather than limiting growth. “I chose to stay and have been given opportunities to work with leaders who challenged me, encouraged me and supported me.” Leadership, she says, is far more strategic than operational, and far more personal than she once imagined.
Learning over perfection
Nikki strongly believes that growth comes through mistakes. “Failure creates opportunities and critical thinking. It is how you grow and build confidence.” Innovation requires freedom from fear. Confidence comes through action. She also reframes the conversation around work and life balance. “Creating harmony between work and life is better than trying to achieve a 50/50 balance.” Harmony, she suggests, requires boundaries and intention.
Strength in authenticity
“Gender dynamics still surround us every day,” she says, reflecting on subtle bias and unspoken expectations. Rather than responding with aggression, she leads with values of kindness, respect, bravery and generosity. “Leaning into my vulnerability has been very powerful for me.”You are strong enough as you are.”
For Nikki, modern leadership rewards authenticity. Emotional intelligence is not a soft skill, it is a strategic one. Her advice to young women entering hospitality is to “be flexible in your choices. Take every opportunity to do more” and when it comes to asking for more, to “just own it.”
Maria Razumic Zec Managing Director, The Peninsula Chicago
Design your life, not just your resume
Maria emphasises that meaningful, consistent leadership begins with knowing who you are. “What sustains you is your alignment, between your values, your energy and the life you want to live.” For Maria, recognising those values is essential in shaping a career that allows you not just to perform, but to genuinely thrive. Ignoring them, she warns, often comes at a cost. “Burnout doesn’t prove anything, it is dedication and commitment that earns you respect”. Her advice is simple but powerful: “Be ambitious yes but also be intentional.” That is where the real results happen.
Leadership is about people, not just performance
Maria once believed that strategy and performance metrics sat at the centre of effective leadership. Over time, she has learned that leadership is fundamentally about people, and your ability to connect with them on an emotional level. “The real work happens in quiet conversations, in moments of trust, and in navigating ambiguity.”
How you handle challenges and respond to what’s happening around you is what truly defines your leadership, not just end results
Anticipating change
In a fast-paced industry, constantly evolving, the ability to look ahead is essential. Maria explains that part of her role as a senior leader is to stay alert to emerging trends and anticipate potential challenges before they arrive. “Your job is not just your role description; it’s your vantage point. The leaders who rise are the ones who look beyond today’s deliverables and anticipate tomorrow’s expectations.” Maria’s proactive approach directly affects her team and her hotel, a leadership style reflected in the care she gives to the smallest details.
Juliette Peron General Director, Sofitel Cotonou
Recognize your value
At the age of 23, Juliette left for New York to start her final internship at Sofitel New York as a management trainee. This experience completely shaped her career, and after years of hard work, she now sits at the top of the leadership team at Sofitel Cotonou. She reflects on the leaders who took chances on her, and the opportunities she has been given, whilst also acknowledging the gender dynamics that have subconsciously shaped her career. “Women do not ask or ask for less. We tend to accept opportunities with gratitude and immediately focus on proving ourselves. Men, in many cases, negotiate first.” Over time, she has learnt that you can be grateful for opportunities, but you must also recognize your value. Ask questions. Demand more. “The way you show up in those moments sets the tone for the rest of your career. Sometimes the conditions we accept early in our careers stay with us longer than we realise.”
Trusting your team
Juliette believes that “Hospitality is a team sport.” Your team is a reflection of you. You need to be able to trust them and allow them to step in when needed.” She notes that this mindset has been critical not only to her success, but also to her ability to find balance. “Being vulnerable does not mean losing authority”. She emphasises that being honest with her team and being willing to ask for help has helped propel her forward. Progress, she believes, only happens when people move together.
Follow your own path
It’s easy to get caught up in comparison and following typical career trajectories. But this industry is rarely linear. You must forge your own path, and one that feels right for you. Juliette believes paying attention to how you feel within a role can help you create a path that makes sense. “Choose roles where you feel energy and curiosity. The earlier you learn to understand what truly motivates you, the easier it becomes to build a career – and a life – that you genuinely love.” To sit at the top of this industry you have to love what you do and what you strive to create.
Karla Erales General Manager, Sofitel Washington
Lead by example
As General Manager of the Sofitel Washington, Karla Erales is a highly respected leader in the luxury hotel industry. But the respect she has earned has not come without effort. She emphasises that her commitment to building trust and genuine relationships has strengthened her network and, as a by-product, expanded her influence. “You want to be remembered as a leader with vision and integrity.” This forward- thinking mindset dictates how she operates day to day, and the values she reinforces with her team.
Speak up, start the change
Karla recognises the importance of always looking ahead, predicting trends and anticipating pivots. She reflects on times where she was looking but not speaking, out of fear of being overlooked or ridiculed. “Instead of being happy with what we had, I could have brought initiatives I had been thinking about to the conversations and started making a difference.” She reflects on this with some regret, now realising that those who speak up often have the power to enact change.
Gratitude and ambition
Karla acknowledges the fear of being perceived as demanding, especially as a young woman in a male- dominated field. But over time, she has learnt that gratitude and ambition can go hand in hand. In fact, they can operate harmoniously, allowing leaders to move forward with both grace and clarity. “With time, I realised that gratitude and ambition are not opposites and no one should have to guess what you want. Sometimes, we are our worst enemies.”
Marie Paule Nowlis General Manager, Sofitel London St James
Commitment to growth
With over 30 years of experience working with the Sofitel brand, Marie, now GM of the Sofitel London, has learnt what it takes to lead a successful team. But she believes no matter where you sit, you must remain open to learning. “The most important thing is to question the status quo and maintain a continuous learning mindset to understand the changing environment.”
You can have the perfect CV and background, but this doesn’t mean you will find success. You must seek out opportunities for growth and be prepared to experience discomfort along the way. To do this, she says: “Surround yourself with people smart enough to challenge and support you.”
Fight for your people
Marie believes a critical aspect of leadership is commitment to her team. “My goal was to always fight for my good people. If you have the right leader, they will do the same for you.” This sentiment reflects the trust she has in her people, and unity at the centre of her leadership style.
Authenticity is everything
If there’s one piece of advice Marie emphasises, it is the power of authenticity – in relationships, in decision-making, and in the way you show up day to day. Her authentic leadership style has not only given her strong mentors and connections, but has allowed her to create a career she remains deeply passionate about. “Be true to yourself and choose to work with authentic leaders; it will save you from many headaches”, she says. Despite the pressures of the role she occupies, Marie remains committed to bringing her full self to her work and surrounding herself with people who do the same.
Mrs Vu Thi Van Hotel Manager, Fusion Resort & Villas Da Nang
From perfection to people
When Mrs Vu Thi Van reflects on her early twenties, she remembers viewing luxury hospitality from the outside. While studying at the University of Havana in Cuba, she spent her summers in Vietnam working as a freelance tour leader, bringing international travellers to some of the regions most prestigious hotels.
From that vantage point, luxury appeared synonymous with perfection. “At the time, looking at it from the outside, I believed that success in luxury hospitality meant doing everything perfectly and always having the answers.” Over time, she realised that belief was limiting. “Real leadership is not about perfection, it’s about judgement, resilience, and empowering others.”
The shift in perspective proved transformative. When she stopped trying to prove herself and began focusing on building strong teams and trusting the people around her, her career accelerated. “That remains one of the most important lessons in my leadership journey: success in hospitlaity is never built alone, it is built through people.”
Realities of senior leadership
If her 22 -year-old self could spend a day shadowing her now, Mrs. Vu believes the biggest surprise would be how human leadership actually is. “She would probably expect senior leadership to be about controlling every detail or standing in the spotlight,” she says. “In reality, most of my day is spent coaching my team, empowering others and solving unexpected problems behind the scenes.” True leadership, she explains, is built through empathy, resilience and trust. “It’s humble, human work.”
Advice for the next generation
When mentoring young women entering the hospitality industry today, her advice is unexpectedly introspective. “Work hard everyday to understand yourself. Once you do this, the universe will follow.” She believes clarity about one’s values, strengths and motivations is the foundation for both career success and personal fulfilment. “The more you understand yourself, the clearer your path becomes in your career, your relationship and the life you want to create.
Ms Ha General Manager, Fusion Collection Vietnam
Excellence is not what you show, it’s what you repeat
At 22 years old, Mrs Tran Thi Ngoc Ha understood the world of luxury hospitality on a surface level. She reflects on her perception of successful leaders as those who represented “glamour and image”. This illusion is what drew her to tour guiding through films: speak beautifully, look polished, create “wow”. However, to progress her career and move in the direction she wanted, she had to unlearn this quickly.
She now understands true luxury differently as discipline, consistency, and the ability to keep showing up even when it feels impossible. This mindset shift allowed Mrs Ha to stop seeking the spotlight and instead focus on building trust. She admits this shift truly changed both the trajectory and purpose of her career.
Let your results speak
One thing Mrs Ha has taken from navigating a career in luxury hospitality as a young woman is the importance of credibility. She notes that in many operational environments, women are still required to prove their competence, particulary when making firm decisions or leading in traditionally male-dominated spaces. Overtime, she has learned that the most effective way to establish credibility was through consistency and hard work, especially when confronted with challenging gender dynamics.
“I learned to stay calm when labelled intense. Instead of reacting, I let my results and consistency speak.” No one can take your results away from you.
She has carried this mindset into the way she approaches professional conversations, now recognising that asking for more isn’t entitlement when it’s anchored in values and outcomes. “When you speak in outcomes – what I delivered, what I can deliver next, and what scope/compensation matches that” – it becomes a professional conversation.”
She has learned that to build a career in luxury hospitality you should not aim to be the most liked, but the most trusted. To do this, she says, you need to keep showing up, not just when the spotlight is on you, but in the small things too: being on time, keeping your word, holding standards. Over time, you will gain respect. And, with respect, you gain power.
The power of storytelling
Starting her career as a tour guide, Mrs Ha quickly learned the power of storytelling, something she still considers as one of her greatest assets today. The ability to capture the essence of a hotel, its story, it’s its experience, and the standards that define it, has become central to how she leads. She believes this is critical in helping her team understand the “why”, not just the “what”. Being able to translate that story to guests is perhaps one of hospitality’s greatest superpowers. At the end of the day, you are selling an experience, and the why behind that experience is what draws people in and keeps them coming back.
Jacqueline Poey General Manager, Sofitel Singapore City Centre
Rethinking Success
When Jacqueline Poey reflects on her early twenties, she remembers believing that success in hospitality was simple, work hard and everything else would follow.
“At 22, I believed that if I worked hard enough, everything else would follow. Put in the hours, go the extra mile, and the doors would open.” While hard work remains the foundation of her career, she quickly realised something was missing. “What I had to unlearn was the idea that effort was enough. Hard work is a quiet virtue. Nobody sees what you carry if you never let them in.”
Developing emotional intelligence became the turning point. Learning to read people, understand guests and build genuine relationships. “I learned to read a room, to connect with a guest before they even knew what they needed, and to earn the trust of my team by showing up as a human being.” For Poey, success in hospitality is never linear. “Success in this industry isn’t a straight line. It’s a dance. And you have to be willing to move.”
Leadership and finding your voice
Luxury hospitality is built on perfection, but Poey believes mistakes are an essential part of becoming a strong leader. “In luxury hospitality we are in the business of perfection, yet the most important lesson I’ve learned is that mistakes are not the enemy of excellence. They are the road to it.” Instead of fearing failure, she learned to respond to it.
“When something goes wrong, you acknowledge it, you own it, and you ask what you can do better.” If her 22 year old self could shadow her today, she believes the biggest surprise would be how much leadership relies on communication.“She would be surprised by how much of this job is about voice.”
Early in her career she believed strong work would speak for itself, but she has since realised silence rarely earns recognition. “In a room full of strong opinions, silence is rarely mistaken for wisdom.” Leadership, she says, means being confident enough to speak up.
“You can be warm, gracious and kind, and still stand your ground.”
Relationships, Boundaries and Looking Ahead
After decades in hospitality, Poey now understands that sustainable success requires both strong relationships and personal boundaries. “You cannot pour from an empty cup.” Family, she says, is not separate from professional success. “Family is not a distraction from your career. They are the reason for it.”
The same philosophy applies to networking in luxury hospitality, an industry where reputation travels quickly.“ This beautiful, small world of luxury hospitality runs on relationships. It is built on trust and the memory people carry of you long after you’ve left the room.” Reflecting on gender dynamics early in her career, Poey recalls moments when her authority was overlooked. “I would walk into meetings and people would turn to the man beside me, assuming he was in charge.” Over time she learned that confidence must be visible. “You have to walk into the room and own the space you have earned. Nobody hands you authority, you carry it with you.”
Her advice to young women entering the industry is simple. “You are not asking for a favour when you advocate for yourself. You are asking for what you have earned.” And above all, “don’t be afraid to break the glass ceiling. Shoot for the stars.”
Happy International Women’s Day 2026.
