This year's Hunter Hotel Investment Conference was a lesson in intentionality regarding diversity. A full 51 percent of speakers were women and underrepresented groups—a significant milestone that embodied Hunter's dedication to featuring a wide range of voices and perspectives for its growing audience.
No one is more familiar with this intentionality than Sarah Moss, chief of staff for Hunter Hotel Advisors and a primary conference organizer. Hotel Management joined Moss to talk about this impressive feat.
This year’s conference marked Moss’s seventh such event with the company, having started as an intern during college, then moving into a full-time role with Hunter five years ago. “I oversee all of our operations for the conference and all of our staffing,” she said. Her small, three-person team has “a really heavy hand in our speaker management, our programming, our design, core production—you name it, we touch all facets of it.”
Facets of a Conference
Selecting topics that will resonate with attendees is the first order of business. “Top of mind for us is what's happening in the industry. We want to make sure we're giving our attendees the best experience possible, because that's really what they come here for. It's not only to network and to meet with people, but it's also to provide them with the most updated information on what's happening in the industry,” she shared.
From there, the Hunter team “tried to find new, fresh, unique perspectives” and make sure all facets of the industry were highlighted. “It's not just finding somebody who's been at Hunter for 20 years, but someone who has never attended Hunter. We also work really closely with our sponsors and partners [to source speakers]. We always love seasoned professionals here [speaking at the conference], but we also want to hear perspectives from people all over the industry.”
Goal-setting is aspirational, but goal-meeting is another issue entirely. This is where intentionality and a new wave of speakers collided—including Moss herself, who, alongside Rachel Humphrey of DEI Advisors and founder of the Women in Hospitality Leadership Alliance, co-facilitated “The Table.” That session was the sole conference session open to both registered and non-registered attendees, reflecting Hunter’s commitment to amplifying all voices within the industry.
“Last year at Hunter, we were at 33 percent,” Moss said. “A third of our speakers were female and diverse individuals. When we look at our speakers, we want to make sure that we are trying to find the best and brightest in the industry. When you look at the fact that the hospitality industry is made up of a bunch of different people, a bunch of different faces, you want to make sure that you're providing the best conference to your attendees. So we tried to source who we could for that. Our goal this year was actually 42 percent; [we tried] to go up 10 percent over last year, and when we put the program together, it fell into place and it was 50 percent. And we're super proud of it.”
In an ideal world, this would be the standard, but Moss acknowledges that number may ebb and flow.
Of the 51 percent diverse speaker number, “I think it's an important benchmark for the industry,” Moss said. “It's important for us to be a leader to some extent in that area, but also, if it doesn't hit 50 [percent] next year, there may be a reason … behind it. I think [that story] is important to tell, as well. Maybe we don't hit it next year. Have we reduced the [number of] sessions? Have we changed the programming to where we can't maintain that to some extent? It's important for people to understand the full story of programming. It's difficult. We have over 130 speakers here at Hunter for the two and a half days. It's a lot to put on. There's a lot of things that go into [programming]. In the future, if we have more, that's amazing. We hope that we do! If we have less, there's probably a story and a reason behind it too.”
As a hospitality professional early in her own career, Moss said that finding an advocate has been instrumental to her. “Find an advocate for yourself, find a mentor, find people who really believe in you… because they can change your life in ways you never expect. They push you into things and places that you'd never expect yourself to be. I honestly never expected myself to be on stage this year! But I really enjoyed it and I hope to be back on stage next year, as well.”