It’s up to everyone in the hospitality and tourism industry to fight against institutional racism, says Sheila Johnson of Salamander Hotels.

Speaking to a virtual gathering of thousands of agents and industry officials during the wrap-up for Virtuoso’s Virtual Travel Week, Johnson said everyone in the industry “needs to demand more of ourselves” rather than seek solutions from politicians.

Paraphrasing singer/songwriter Paul Simon, the Salamander CEO said that “the face of America and beyond is written in the hallways of the hospitality industry. Our remarkable, constantly renewing and constantly evolving industry is arguably as diverse as any in this country, and because we offer ... so many entry level job positions that require skills that transcend language and culture, we represent a virtual cross-section of the immigrant experience...

“Our industry is a living laboratory of cultures” said Johnson, who co-founded Black Entertainment Television and is said to be the first Black American woman to become a billionaire. “We are a virtual petri dish of humanity and human beings. Every day we make it possible for entry level and rank-and-file workers from multiple backgrounds and of multiple colours, to work side-by-side and learn from one another, becoming wiser, more compassionate and more understanding human beings.”

Johnson said hospitality management ranks also are “becoming more and more populated by people of colour, immigrants, and self-taught self-starters who have risen through the ranks; people who learned how to run a successful property from the ground up, because they’ve walked in the shoes of those working the front lines of guest experience.”

“I pour my soul into everything I do,” Johnson said. “And in this day and age when it seems someone tossed the rule book out of our industry’s car window, as we hurtle along the highway at 90 miles an hour, this is truer than ever. But I’m not afraid. Because it’s Salamander. Just like me, we’re all about honesty and passion.”

The final day of Virtuoso’s Virtual Travel Week also saw a couple of panel talks. Speaking on the first one, Vancouver’s Kemi Wells, Director of Business Development for North South Travel, said travel advisors have definitely proven their value during the pandemic.

“I think there’s an opportunity to come together as an industry to enhance ourselves, to look at our standards, look at our policies ... and come out stronger from this. I’m kind of getting sick of the ‘new normal,’” she said. “I’m pushing my team about a ‘new better.’ Because I believe it will be a complete waste of an opportunity if we don’t all come out better.”

Other panel members in the wrap-up session talked about the importance of agents improving and updating their profile, staying in touch with clients and taking part in professional development. Professional development programs that took place during Virtuoso’s Virtual Travel Week will remain online for 30 days.

Thousands of agents took part in the Virtuoso Virtual Travel Week, which featured tens of thousands of virtual appointments.