Amanda, an American, is the associate director of publication relations (PR) at The Ritz-Carlton, Bahrain and is loving island life, having arrived just six months ago from Florida where she looked after the public relations and marketing for the two Ritz-Carlton Miami Beach resorts.
But hospitality was not always her calling. Her background and study were in Asian and Islamic art and she taught English in Cairo before spending eight years with the world-famous Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC.
A move into design PR followed before she finally realised a long-held ambition to join The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. She says: “It was one of my dreams to work for this company. I had studied its motto – ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen – the whole way of genuine care and service to our guests and the community really resonated with me.
“At the time, almost four years ago now, The Ritz-Carlton had begun to rebrand itself and from that came a pull through of looking at guest experiences and our service values through a more experimental and artistic lens, encouraging brand photography and marketing materials to portray more the artful details and the invaluable memories one has when visiting one of our properties – it was with this new brand direction that I felt my experience in the arts and design world could really contribute.
“That was my entry to the company, despite never working in hospitality before. The Ritz-Carlton ladies and gentlemen are said to have the ‘blue blood’ within them by really living the brand’s core values day in and day out and I really feel part of that.”
Amanda is looking forward to experiencing her first Ramadan in the Kingdom and is quick to share the news that The Ritz-Carlton, Bahrain, will hold its Holy Month events in a brand-new tent by renowned designer and scenographer Ammar Basheir, featuring emerald marble tables, velvet and leather furnishings and hundreds of hand-crafted Moroccan lamps. It will be situated at the Villa Gazebo lawn, on the far side of the property from where the tent normally stands, and will have almost double the capacity of previous years.
And, though she has only just arrived, this ambitious woman is already planning for the future, with her sights set on a career in the company’s corporate office within the next few years.
On the role of women within the organisation, she says The Ritz-Carlton is taking a strong stance on encouraging more women into leadership roles. “In Miami, we had our first female hotel manager while I was there, which was inspiring. In the US, the company had begun conducting focus groups with women leaders to see ways of encouraging more female leadership within the company.
“There is also a big focus on empowerment through training and encouraging women to take on more responsibility and truly grow in their careers.”
In fact, Marriott, the Ritz-Carlton’s parent company, has a long-standing history of valuing diversity and inclusion. It was the first hospitality company to establish a formal diversity and inclusion programme nearly 30 years ago. Its Women’s Leadership Development Initiative, launched in 1999, is intended to increase the presence of women in the highest levels of management and in other key decision-making positions. Currently, eight women lead Marriott international divisions with revenue greater than USD100 million, and women comprise 50 per cent of the company’s executive leadership team.
Earlier this year Marriott’s executive vice president and Global CCO, Stephanie Linnartz, was named to the inaugural Great Place to Work for All Leadership Awards list. The award recognises leaders responsible for business and workplace strategy that delivers better business results while creating a great workplace for all.
