In the ongoing Shondaland series Head Turners, we meet interesting women from every facet of life who are crushing it in their careers. From artists and tech mavens to titans of the boardroom, these women are breaking barriers, and they’ll share how you can too.
When she was attending Cornell University’s Nolan School of Hotel Administration, Crystal Vinisse Thomas quickly realized that she was less excited about managing her own property and more interested in the power of storytelling. She became fascinated by the notion that someone was responsible for overseeing the “curation of a journey.”
In the first chapter of her hospitality career at Starwood, now part of Marriott, Thomas worked her way from the valet stand to the sales office. She leveraged her confident attitude and marketing prowess into a brand role at W Hotels and Le Méridien, where she helped curate unique experiences that resonated with guests. Thomas took a brief break from hospitality to work for Beats by Dre at Apple before joining Hyatt in 2019.
As a vice president and global brand leader for Hyatt, Thomas shepherds the Chicago-based company’s luxury and lifestyle brands, including Thompson, Alila, Andaz, Park Hyatt, and Hyatt Centric. She was instrumental in launching the all-new Caption by Hyatt brand, which opened its first location this summer on Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee. (The next outposts are slated for Asia: Shanghai; Osaka, Japan; Tokyo; and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.)
With an emphasis on inclusivity and community, Caption features funky no-frills rooms and suites, wall art designed by local artists, and a colorful lobby that serves as a communal hangout spot. At the heart of the new Hyatt brand is an all-day eatery concept that Thomas helped pioneer called Talk Shop, which boasts elevated, locally sourced eats and drinks not typically found in accommodations at Caption’s price point.
“When you look across our competitive landscape, most of those brands don’t put food and beverage in the forefront,” Thomas says. “It’s usually grab and go. We’ve been able to find a way within the select service model to have a full-service, all-day place where you can get good food, [from] avocado toast and focaccia to burgers to wings.”
Thomas recently chatted with Shondaland about what inspires the Caption brand, how she empowers her team members, and why she was once against launching a “turn-up hour.”
LAVANYA SUNKARA: How did your earlier jobs in the hospitality industry shape the kind of leader you are today?
CRYSTAL VINISSE THOMAS: The experiences of having strong leaders in the past have really informed the way that I lead my team with a vision. Being able to — in the same way that I cater to my brands — figure out their soul and what they are in order to communicate that to consumers. I do the same thing with my team. I know that I can’t lead every member the same way because they have different needs, personalities, and roles.
LS: You worked at Starwood, then you ended up running the W brand. I was recently at the W Reserva Conchal in Costa Rica and was impressed with a brochure featuring same-sex couples and people of color. How did you influence that brand?
CVT: Back then, W was always really ahead of the game. Certainly, being a Black woman sitting at the table, I was adding more of a voice to that. One of my favorite examples was when one of our agencies proposed a campaign that was called a "turn-up" hour, as opposed to the traditional turndown process. I was like, “Do you guys know what the term ‘turn up’ means?” Nobody in the room had that link to culture, so I was raising my hand saying, “I don’t think we should do that.”
That’s where representation matters. In my current role, I’m mindful of my seat at the table and ensuring that we’re representing ourselves the right way. We’ve introduced marketing principles to our hotels so that when they’re hiring photographers, they’re armed with the way we should be photographing — not that you need to tell people to be inclusive, but being mindful that we need to show the world as it’s reflected in the reality of different people.
LS: As the only person of color at the table, speaking up can be scary. Do you have any advice for women of color in similar situations?
CVT: There are certain challenges to being the only one at the table. I’m blessed to be in a position where I am. I’m a decision maker in some of the rooms that I’m in today, but I can’t be the only one to be mindful. I need the help of the entire team to look out — no matter what you look like — for inclusion, representation, and how communities might receive our own message. Hyatt has such a great culture that is very thoughtful about how we show up, so people really take that to heart.
LS: What drew you to work on the Caption brand?
CVT: I was interested in the opportunity to influence an all-new brand. We had to take a step back because of the pandemic, and there was the moment in May 2020 where there was social unrest following the killing of George Floyd. That was an opportunity — and when I say opportunity, I don’t mean tactically or selfishly — a genuine opportunity for us to impact our industry in a different way. We realized that if we’re going to introduce this brand in this world, we need it to be reflective of this world. The idea within the business proposition was already there. The foundation, the essence of what it represents, I was able to heavily influence it.
LS: How would you describe Caption?
CVT: With Caption by Hyatt, we want folks to know that this is a brand that is reflective of the world we live in and a place where — no matter who you are or where you’re from — you can feel seen and see yourself. I want a place where I feel like I can hang out and see people who look like me. The intention is to also support minority-owned local businesses and those that are relevant to the neighborhood.
LS: I read a statistic that only about 2 percent of hospitality industry executives are Black. Do you envision a world where this percentage is higher, and what advice do you have for women of color aspiring to roles like yours?
CVT: This is near and dear to me because I love hospitality. I’m not surprised by the statistics. By 2025, we have a goal [at Hyatt] to double the representation of women and people of color in key leadership roles. In fact, we are seeing more women in leadership positions. When compared with 2020 and in 2021 alone, we increased our representation of Black leaders among all levels of the organization. But the industry as a whole hasn’t tackled it collectively enough to make the impact that we all want to see. Until we do that, those numbers are going to stay the same.
I’m always trying to go back to Cornell, our diversity group, and even outside of Cornell to teach people about the opportunities that are within hospitality because I think there’s a big gap. A lot of folks think the only jobs in hospitality are relegated to service roles. But you can be a brand lead. You can be a legal counsel. You can be a CFO.
LS: Do you ever experience impostor syndrome, and how do you fight it?
CVT: Yes, all the time. As confident as I am and can be, I still have those moments of “Is this right?” We’re doing what we know based on our past experiences and hoping it works. Women especially are overly critical about ourselves to the point where we’re questioning our contributions and if we deserve to be here. Our male counterparts don’t do that as often as we do.
When I have that impostor syndrome moment, I’m like, “Look at your receipts. Look at what you’ve done. Look at how you got here. Nobody gave this to you.” Growing up, my mother always said, “You have to work twice as hard to go half as far because you have two things working against you: You’re Black, and you’re a woman.” I know what it took to get here, and to question that is a disservice to the work I’ve done and the motivation that my mom and the generations before instilled in me.
Lavanya Sunkara is a New York-based travel writer who has contributed to Travel + Leisure, National Geographic, Fodor’s, and Readers’ Digest. Follow her on Twitter @Nature_Traveler.
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