International Women’s Day is a celebration of resilience, vision, and evolution in the spirit of equality. This year, as we shine a light on incredible women shaping industries across the globe, we turn to a place where luxury meets empowerment. The hospitality sector may historically lean male-dominated, but women today are rewriting that story with boundless grace and determination.
Meet the inspiring women blending exceptional leadership with deeply personal touches that resonate through the walls of their properties. We asked four of Querido’s esteemed female hotel owners one important question:
“What has been the most challenging aspect of owning and managing a hotel as a woman, and how have you overcome it to achieve success?”
Lucie Weill
Lily of the Valley
“As a hotel owner, I find that being a woman is not an obstacle, even though the industry is male-dominated, and although the construction world is very masculine. Female owners in hospitality actually face the same stereotypes as women in entrepreneurship in general. It is not the hotel industry that can make the journey of a female owner difficult, but the perception of female business leaders in society in general. The hotel industry is all about action: when you work, the results are tangible and undisputed.”
Teresa Unterthiner
FORESTIS
“As a woman and now also as a mother in a leadership position, one always has to prove oneself more than one would have to as a man. For me, building deep relationships with people and showing them my skills came first. Together with my husband, I have found a good work-child balance and manage to have time for both my projects and my family.”
Valentina De Santis
Grand Hotel Tremezzo & Passalacqua
“I feel blessed as being a woman has always been an opportunity for me more than a challenge. The story of our family, the story of our hotels is a story of women – the women who have imbued our properties with both their inimitable style and their signature warm, cultured welcome, leaving unmissable traces of glamour, femininity, and bygone-era charm. Every day, I remind myself how lucky I am to have them to inspire me, and everything I do is to make our dreams, mine and theirs, come true.”
Mariella & Attilia Avino
Palazzo Avino
“Being raised and born in a ‘Pink’ Family with three daughters, we felt empowered as women from day one, so the issue at times has been not necessarily reading along the lines of the stereotypes that a more masculine culture sometimes brings.”