Dorchester Collection

With memories of Pride month still fresh in our memories, we are incredibly proud to announce that Dorchester Collection won GOLD in the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index and secured a coveted spot on Stonewall’s Top 100 list for leading LGBTQ+ inclusive employers. The list recognizes exceptional employers who are committed to supporting their LGBTQ+ staff and customers. Pride is an important month in Dorchester Collection’s calendar and a variety of activities were hosted globally, bringing our guiding pillars, Educate, Communicate and Celebrate to life. To drive deeper understanding of the LGBTQIA+ community and nurture empathy, educational campaigns were hosted in our properties, such as blogs and Pride-themed notice boards. LGBTQIA+ educational sessions and guest speakers from the LGBTQ+ community were hosted, creating another opportunity to learn by having open conversations and a safe space to ask questions. There were many Pride celebrations with parties and candy grams that raised money for LGBTQIA+ charities. There were also pride-themed quizzes with prizes from LGBTQIA+ owned business to support the local communities outside of our hotels. And of course, it was a time to celebrate our LGBTQIA+ colleagues with our Pride LinkedIn campaign that celebrated our employees’ PROUDest achievements. Diversity, inclusion and belonging are core beliefs of our WE CARE philosophy and we are honoured that our efforts, not just during Pride, but year-round have been recognised by Europe’s largest charity for LGBTQ+ rights. We are incredibly proud of this achievement and look forward to continuing our work to support and champion the rights of our LGBTQ+ community. #DiversityInclusionBelonging #BelongToTheLegend #WhyWeCare #CreateYourLegacy

On trend or timeless – which would you choose?  When five-time Grammy-winning artist Bill Laurance quit chasing popularity to follow his passion, he created a timeless vibe that resonated around the world. Discover what it means to forge your own unique path in episode seven of Belong to the Legend. https://lnkd.in/gWadm-ZH #DCmoments #BelongtotheLegend #CreateYourLegacy

As Helen Smith and Eugenio Pirri - FIH celebrate their first year in charge of Dorchester Collection, we are excited to bring you this interview with Hospitality Daily. They share the benefits of joint leadership, explain how they divided their roles based on their strengths, talk about recent achievements and projects and much more. Why don't you have a listen? https://lnkd.in/eDAiZn7j #BelongToTheLegend #WhyWeCare #CreateYourLegacy

On the longest day of the year, we celebrated the arrival of summer with our team from Corporate Office in London. Even the sun came out to play and it was a wonderful opportunity to drink a toast to the work we have done so far this year. It was an evening full of fun, laughter, team bonding and memories created. #BelongToTheLegend #WhyWeCare #CreateYourLegacy

Last but definitely not least, we're brining you an interview with Scott Robson Lead Executive Coach & Facilitator from our Corporate office. Tell us about your role in Dorchester Collection? My role is within the Academy and is split into 4 parts: Internal (DC + hotels)/External (clients), and Facilitation (training)/Coaching (1:1 professional development). Additionally, I business partner with our UK and US properties across the collection, running leadership trainings such as EXPAND as well as supporting the L&D teams from afar. What I love most about my role is that no two days are the same, bringing variety that keeps me excited and engaged, and allows me to work on many different projects and opportunities. What does Pride mean to you? Pride to me falls into two areas: I believe Pride is, and should be, a celebration of the queer community and the expression for anyone and everyone to be their unapologetic self. I also feel Pride is a reminder that, while some of us can show up as our whole self every day like the rest of the world, many still do not have this right or freedom and must hide a part of themselves – usually for safety reasons. To me? This imbalance is just not fair. I feel incredibly blessed to live and work in places where I am accepted and can be authentically me but recognise not everyone is as fortunate and we should continue to spotlight this during Pride month! How do you plan to celebrate Pride this year? I will be flying back from Milan the morning of London pride. I plan to rush home, do a quick ‘costume change’ and head back out to celebrate with my friends in the streets of London among all the other LGBTQIA+ and our allies. It’s a wonderful coming together of support and celebration. Here’s hoping for sunny weather! Who is your LGBTQIA+ role model? Do I get extra brownie points if I say our CEO? Truthfully, I don’t have one specific role model as I am constantly inspired by those who do good for our community. I have had the pleasure of attending some LGBTQIA+ award events over the past few years and been genuinely touched by the many small voices who have made such a big impact on our world. No one person can role model and champion our community, ‘it (literally) takes a village, people!’ What has been your proudest accomplishment during your time at Dorchester Collection? It’s hard to pick just one, so I’ll push my luck and say this instead – as a coach, everything you do is with confidentiality and therefore it is difficult to measure your impact on an individual’s life. There are however brief, wonderful moments when someone who is connected to your client shares a change that they have noticed because of our coaching sessions. I would say these make me most proud because it’s a positive change the individual is having on their own life and they are becoming who they are meant to be – who wouldn’t be proud of that?! #PrideMonth #BelongToTheLegend #WhyWeCare #CreateYourLegacy

Today Geoffrey G. Goudey Hôtel Plaza Athénée Paris's Housekeeping manager shares what Pride means to him and much more. Read his interview below. Tell us about your role in Dorchester Collection. I have been working at the Plaza Athénée for two years and a half as Executive Housekeeper. I am in charge of 100 staff members with diverse and varied professions. I am present to ensure an authentic and Haute Couture stay for our guests while highlighting the French art of living ! What does Pride mean to you? Pride, to me, means having a deep sense of self-respect and dignity. We must be proud of who we are! How do you plan to celebrate Pride this year? I celebrate pride every day by being myself. At more specific times, I enjoy going to the Marais, the LGBTQIA + neighbourhood in Paris. In this area, we can rediscover the history and the heroes of the history LGBTQIA + in the world. Who is your LGBTQIA+ role model? Ricky Martin is considered by me as an LGBTQIA + role model for several reasons. Since coming out, Ricky has been an active advocate for LGBTQIA + rights. He has participated in numerous campaigns and events to promote LGBTQIA + rights and acceptance. Ricky’s life and career show that being true to oneself is integral to personal happiness and success. His journey highlights the importance the impact that authenticity can have on one’s well-being and on the broader community. What has been your proudest accomplishment during your time at Dorchester Collection? I am proud of my teams and all the work that we manage to accomplish together every day ! We have faced challenging times together, due to the shortage of new employees and the lack of follow-up from our suppliers. However, we have always ended our days in good spirits and I am proud of what we have achieved. #PrideMonth #BelongToTheLegend #WhyWeCare #CreateYourLegacy

Next up in our celebration of our LGBTQAI+ colleagues is Arne von Bismarck from Coworth Park . Tell us about your role in Dorchester Collection. I have been employed at DC and Coworth Park for nearly three years, during which I completed the Ultimate Leader Program. Currently, I am a Service Manager at Woven by Adam Smith. In this role, I lead an exceptionally talented and passionate team dedicated to providing a seamless Michelin-star service for our guests. What does Pride mean to you? To me, Pride signifies unapologetically being myself. It is about celebrating the uniqueness of every individual and remembering the hardships the LGBTQIA+ community has faced and overcome. Pride is for everyone to express their true selves and promote inclusivity, ensuring that today and in the future, everyone can live their lives to the fullest. How do you plan to celebrate Pride this year? For the third consecutive year, I will be marching in the London Pride parade with my partner’s charity, Aviation Pride UK. Last year, we marched with a float and 80 participants, and I anticipate this year to be even bigger and better. This event allows us to celebrate, build, support, and unite the entire LGBTQIA+ community. Who is your LGBTQIA+ role model? If I had to name one, it would be Tom Daley. His consistent advocacy for the community, his efforts to highlight inequality, and his achievements, including winning Olympic gold, have inspired many LGBTQIA+ youth, myself included. That said, anyone who advocates for the community deserves the utmost respect and admiration. It is only through collective effort that we can create a more inclusive society in the future. What has been your proudest accomplishment during your time at Dorchester Collection? My greatest personal accomplishment was winning the Ultimate Leader of the Year award. It filled me with immense pride, affirming that my hard work is recognized and valued. From a team perspective, winning the Hotel Catey for Hotel Restaurant Team of the Year in 2023 stands as a testament to the incredible efforts of the Woven by Adam Smith team and motivates us all to continuously push the boundaries in delivering seamless service. #PrideMonth #BelongToTheLegend #WhyWeCare #CreateYourLegacy

Today we're bringing interview with Paul Joseph McDonald MSc Tell us about your role in Dorchester Collection? My role in Dorchester Collection involves leading and championing the entire people agenda across our UK properties. It's a role that holds great responsibility, but I am very fortunate that I have the best teams around me, who inspire, push and challenge me to role model the best of the best – and really I do genuinely love doing what I do. I think it’s in my DNA! What does Pride mean to you? Firstly, I feel incredibly privileged and fortunate that I am able to live in a country where I don’t need to hide what I believe, and what I want to do. PRIDE for me, does not just represent PRIDE, but the celebration of people, everywhere who have the ability of choice. It’s also a reminder to me, that not everyone is in this position of having choice. I really enjoy helping people and therefore PRIDE or any celebration signifies and always reminds me of the responsibility we hold to make the world a better place. I was always struck by what Queen Elizabeth II. once said, you can’t change the world, but if you can do something little, each day, to help people not as fortunate as yourself we can all make a huge difference to the world. It’s simple, impactful, and I hold it close to my ethics. How do you plan to celebrate Pride this year? Each year I spend the start of June celebrating PRIDE in Spain with some very close friends. We dance, meet people, and enjoy the parade. It also gives me time for the self-reflection and generally I leave Spain thinking about how incredibly fortunate I am. Many Years ago, I used to dance in the London Parade, with a gay men’s dance club. The first time I did it, it was one of the most nerve racking moments in a long time, dancing down between all the crowds – fun moments that I will always cherish. Who is your LGBTQIA+ role model? I’m not sure I have a one, but when I look back on the 90’s I feel that the Spice Girls were actually very progressive, in the decade not just around PRIDE but talking about all the people and colours of the world, the idealism of sex equality. Growing up as a teenager in the 90’S I resonated with their mantra of you can be whoever you want to be, achieve whatever you want to achieve, by being yourself and working hard. For modern Britain – or ‘Cool Britannia at the time’ it was a big change from five girls. In the 90’s I enjoyed them being there, and their music. I think I really took something from their ambition and sense of self-worth. What has been your proudest accomplishment during your time at Dorchester Collection? There have been so, so many. I love my job and the company I work for, and my people and culture colleagues make me beam with pride, where do I even start? There is so much more I want to achieve, but in recent months getting into The Sunday Times, top 10 organisations to work for was huge. #PrideMonth #BelongToTheLegend #WhyWeCare #CreateYourLegacy

From winning FA Cups to founding a billion-dollar company that’s creating sustainability breakthroughs, Mathieu Flamini’s journey from pro-footballer to environmental entrepreneur is the stuff of legend. Follow the former Arsenal and AC Milan player’s journey in episode six of Belong to the Legend. https://lnkd.in/gWadm-ZH #DCmoments #BelongtotheLegend

Continuing the celebration of our LGBTQIA+ colleagues with next interview, this time with Jane Devlin Grammer from our Corporate office. Tell us about your role in Dorchester Collection. I’m the Belonging & Employee Wellbeing Manager at Dorchester Collection. I lead our global Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging Strategy, wellbeing and have recently taken the lead on ESG, steering our sustainability efforts. I work with our global People & Culture teams on the development of actions plans that support our strategy to increase representation of underrepresented groups and to create inclusive cultures that support the unique needs of diverse groups. What does Pride mean to you? As a bi woman who has experienced bi-erasure, such as being told bisexuality is a phase or an experiment or feeling like I need to prove my bi-ness, I often feel like an imposter. Pride is a time of year where I feel seen. This is so important for me as someone who experienced a lot of confusion and self-doubt about my identity. Being surrounded by my community, where I’m accepted by for who I am by people with whom I share similar experiences is a really special feeling. How do you plan to celebrate Pride this year? I get overwhelmed very quickly, so I won’t be going to the Pride parade this year. Instead, I’ll be spending it at home with those I love the most – my partner and our cat, Cosmo. However, I’m really excited to be celebrating Pride with all my colleagues at work. Pride isn’t just a time to celebrate our community, it’s a wonderful opportunity to educate people about the LGBTQIA+ community and share personal stories, like my own. It’s an important part of my job but it’s also the part of Pride I find most fulfilling. Who is your LGBTQIA+ role model? Kirsten Stewart. She’s a bi woman who has been very open about her long struggle with understanding her identity. She came out in 2017 when I was still feeling very confused about my own identity which was a really pivotal time for me because there wasn’t a lot of bi-women representation when I was growing up. What has been your proudest accomplishment during your time at Dorchester Collection? It was the launch of our global Belong @ DC programme last year which was designed to nurture greater empathy and compassion for underrepresented groups. Our DIB strategy comes to life through this programme which is structured around our guiding pillars: Educate, Communicate, Celebrate. The initiative consists of quarterly campaigns that focus on a single diversity dimension (Gender, Race/Ethnicity, LGBTQIA+, Disability and Neurodiversity). For me, empathy is what underpins DIB work. This isn’t possible without creating safe spaces to learn and ask questions, so it’s wonderful to be able to steer Dorchester Collection into what can sometimes be uncomfortable conversations but what ultimately helps nurture the strong sense of belonging we have created here. #Pride #BelongToTheLegend #CreateYourLegacy #WhyWeCare