Property management company Atrium Hospitality has launched WomenRISE, the company’s new hotel general manager development programme targeted at female leaders in the US.
Atrium’s WomenRISE inaugural class includes nine participants from Atrium-managed hotels in Arizona, Florida, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas.
Programme participants were selected during Atrium’s portfolio-wide talent review in 2023 and come from departments including operations, sales and marketing, and finance.
Over nine months, participants will join scheduled opportunities to explore their leadership qualities, build their network within Atrium, gain learning on topics related to successful hotel operations and prepare to progress to a hotel general manager role.
Atrium chief human resources officer Anneliesse Cooper commented: “Women in hospitality are a group that tends to be under-represented at the general manager level. WomenRISE brings to life an original idea from our company’s Diversity & Inclusion Collective, which is comprised of representatives from across Atrium’s national management portfolio.”
Georgia-based Atrium Hospitality is one of the largest hotel operators in the US, managing a portfolio of 80 hotels and representing well-known brands such as Hilton, Marriott, IHG and Wyndham, in 28 states.
Atrium operates approximately 20,000 guest rooms and suites and three million square feet of event space.
Other hotel companies are also working to improve gender equality in their operations. In late 2023, IHG achieved a milestone in Malaysia, where 58% of its senior management positions are now held by women, exceeding the national average of 40%.