It's Personal Stories, A Hospitality Podcast

Mercedes Blanco, Chief Partnerships Officer, The Hotels Network, Interviewed by Rachel Humphrey

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Mercedes shares how she became her own best hero and advocate and how she overcomes self doubts. She talks about her experiences with public speaking and how impactful her volunteerism has been on her growth. Mercedes also shares the challenges and rewards her living and working across many cultures have provided.

Rachel Humphrey:

I am Rachel Humphrey with DEI Advisors. We are a non profit organization dedicated to empowering personal success in the hospitality industry and I am really excited to be joined today by Mercedes Blanca, the Chief Partnerships Officer at the Hotels Network. Mercedes, welcome to the program.

Mercedes Blanco:

Thank you. Thank you so much, Rachel. It's a pleasure for me being here today and I really appreciate that you reached out to, to have me here today. So thank you.

Rachel Humphrey:

Mercedes, we are going to jump right in for anyone who is not familiar with you or your background. I'd encourage them to either go over to our website or look you up on LinkedIn. But I want to start with your journey to leadership in the hospitality industry. One of the things I love so much is that no two people's journey is the same. The same, we all chart our own path, yet we can all ascend a different leadership roles. So tell us a little bit about you and about your path to leadership and how you got to where you are

Mercedes Blanco:

today. I think that everything started when I decided to move. to the states. Obviously I've been in hospitality all my life. I started back in the day when I feel is finished college in Spain and I started my career there in hotels. But really it was in 2014 when I decided to leave all of my professional and personal life behind to relocate to the Americas. I thought that because I had an international background, it was going to be very easy for me to start over here in Miami. That's where I live now. This is where I call home, right? But it wasn't. Everyone was asking me for my U. S. background. And I was like, What do you mean? I bring 10 years of experience under my belt with international experience working not only in Europe and as I was in charge of the UK or the German market, but also with Latin America and even with China. So I bring other languages, other experiences, but not the U. S. domestic. That already you have here in the States. So no one was really giving me the opportunity and That was not great for my self esteem. Set me back a little bit, but I had the opportunity to work for a European hotel chain here in the States that gave me access to have that experience that I was lacking to then. Get my feet into technology within travel and hospitality, which is what I really wanted to do when I moved to the States. I guess that it took me a while to realize that I had to set myself back to push myself forward. And then a few years later, I had that opportunity. I continue my career in this country. I'm here. Am I today?

Rachel Humphrey:

I love that saying. I've had to take a step back to move yourself forward. That's such a great thought. And we'll talk about that in a little bit. But you touched on something really important, which was adapting to the United States or working here in the United States was maybe not the simple step you thought it would be. But on the flip side of that, how have adapting to new cultures or working internationally, maybe framed your leadership style or given you skills that you think are really important to your role as a leader?

Mercedes Blanco:

I think that if I learned something in my life is I've learned to listen more. I think that is something that we tend to lack in sales. And my background has been. always mainly between sales and marketing right? So I've learned to listen more and I've become much more flexible. I am someone with strong opinions and ideas of my own, but I've learned that I am not always right. And I might be right while someone else has. a very strong opinion in the same topic that is opposite to mine, and they are right as well. So there are many ways to approach the different things, and they are all okay. So I think that embracing and understanding how others feel and how others think is extremely important to be successful in a professional environment. I don't think that there are much cultural differences between Europe and The Americas or at least the U. S. Or norm from a professional standpoint of view. While I would say that in the I always admire the U. S. And now that I live here in the U. S. There are things that I missed about Europe, right? Which is natural. But I think that we're more or less in the same. We're both under this occidental mentality. But I've worked with other countries or with other regions of the world where the things that I took for granted it. They were not like I was thinking they were perceived. So it's very important to know who your interlocutor is, what their common understanding is, and be able to adapt. Because I think that in flexibility, you will find the success that you need.

Rachel Humphrey:

Listening and adaptability to certainly critically important elements of any good leader. So I like that advice a lot. I want to turn for a second to how we first met, which was through Women in Travel Thrive, an incredible organization that we have both spent some time volunteering with. And I want it before I talk a little bit about Your path with thrive. I wanted to ask about your involvement. You're involved with several boards, associations and nonprofits, and we often hear that people have learned and fine tune skills in that regard through their volunteerism that they may not have had an opportunity to develop in their corporate job or their day job. Do you think that there are skills that have helped you advance your career that you have really learned through your time volunteering?

Mercedes Blanco:

Probably yes, and I've actually learned about it myself because sometimes We approach life like this. We are told that this is the path on. We tell that to ourselves and we just continue. We don't stop along the way to look around or we don't even question what we are doing when you are volunteering yourself and putting yourself out of your own life or your own box and get to experience other things. You are not only learning from others, but learning from yourself. For instance, I remember when I first moved here, I started my involvement with HSMAI at the chapter level, and I always approach HSMAI at the broader level at those conferences from a different angle. Now that I am on the advisory board of HSMAI in the Americas it's totally the opposite. The people that I've met along the way, what I've learned about them, what I've learned about me, it's been... incredibly important. And obviously my involvement with Thrive, which came at a pivoting or crucial point in my career and my personal life was absolutely relevant for me.

Rachel Humphrey:

I really liked the idea too, that while the volunteerism is about giving back and doing for others, the amount that we get back in return sometimes can be even greater than what we're giving in. And that's a great reminder. But I do want to talk a little bit about why I asked. You to join us today as a guest advisor. I, when I first met you and we did not know each other outside of the Women in Travel Thrive environment, I was really taken by your intentionality of where you wanted to go. You raised your hand and you said, I'd like to do some public speaking. You raised your hand again and said, I'd like to moderate this. You raised your hand again and you said, I have a strategic idea here, but it was always with the intention of, I want to push myself out of my comfort zone. I want to develop things that maybe make me a little bit uncomfortable. And I'm curious about that because that's an incredibly powerful. thing to witness somebody else do and tends to rub off on those of us who are lucky enough to be on your journey. Can you talk a little bit about that intentionality or that stepping outside of your comfort zone to really raise your hand and say this is something I would like to try?

Mercedes Blanco:

There are two things. And thank you for appreciating and saying so. It means a lot to me, Rachel. But the first thing that I say is that I've learned that if you don't If you don't ask, if you are not your biggest fan and your best advocate, no one is going to come pick and rescue you. You are your own hero and you have to fight for the things that you want. So I've never been shy asking because the worst that can happen to you is that they say no. And if they say no, You are at the exact same point that you were before asking. So that's how I like to take things. Whenever I know that I want to do something or that I would love to do something, I raise my hand. I volunteer because I'm my biggest advocate, if not who else, right? And if those things scare me, I push myself harder because everything that I have accomplished in life, everything that has mattered, it's been. All of those things that I have done took a lot of courage to do at the beginning. And I live my life actually in a way that I push myself to do things that scares me. Because I think that life starts beyond your comfort zone. Again going back to the ABC of living your lives or following your path the... Most wonderful things that have happened to me. Also, the worst may have been because I stopped to look around and that's when I've grown and I've become a bigger, and I want to say a better person.

Rachel Humphrey:

I love the concept of you are your own hero and you are your own best advocate because I think that we hear a generalization that women are not good at advocating for themselves. And so that's such an important lesson, but that reminds me a lot about self doubt. Sometimes the voices we hear in our own head are the loudest and it's very hard. to either see ourselves how others see us or to advocate for ourselves because we have a lot of self doubt. Do you experience moments like that? And if so, how do you push through to become your own hero, to become your own best

Mercedes Blanco:

advocate? Of course, who doesn't? We all do, right? I said that obviously when I first moved to the States. It wasn't good. It took me a while to recover from that because first of all, I was following my now ex husband's dream which somehow was mine, but I had to resign to what it was, a promising career in Europe. So I wanted Something that I never thought that I would do, which is not follow my own voice, but follow other because of a bigger or assert product project, which I did willingly because I knew that I wanted to live in this country. Okay, but I was doing something that I wasn't comfortable doing. And then here I come and I am no one. I know no one. I have no network, no experience, and they don't value or recognize the experience that I bring with me. It wasn't well received. There was exceptions, of course, right? I remember there were some people that helped me along the way, but it wasn't easy. So that was definitely a moment that affected me and I mentioned that when I started with the amazing woman. I'm especially with Sylvia Thrive, right? I wasn't at my best moment professionally and personally. Professionally, no secret. We were in the middle of COVID. I had to let go of the majority of the team. And I don't think that I've never worked this hard in my life because either you were unemployed or you were working for 20, 50 people, right? And at the same time, I went through some major changes personally in my life, right? I went through a divorce. So that put you in a lot of self doubt as well. And we all have lots of self doubt. And I want to think forgive me for generalizing this way, but I think that women, we tend to judge ourselves much more. than men do. And I think that's because of society, how we are built. I work out a lot. I love a sporty routine, if you wish. And the amount of time that I need to get ready versus the amount of time that a man needs to get ready after a workout, is totally different, right? Here comes a lot of self doubt on how we look, how we speak. Here am I, talking to you. English is not. My first language, right? And I will forever have an accent. I will forever have a hard time finding the right words. We have doubts on our abilities, our competencies on things that we haven't tried. We have self doubts when we are rejected by others, friends, families, husbands, right? So we always self doubt ourselves. And that's how I learn to become my best advocate. There is something that I say to myself every day. And I am not unsocial. I am social and positive by nature. But I say to myself, Mercedes, you are the one person that is always gonna go to sleep with you every night and wake up with you every day. So you have to take care of you the way that you take care of others. And I like to take care of you. My friends, my family. I am. I am caring and I not always have care for me the same way that I've cared for others. So I think that with all of those things that have happened in my life in both ambits, professionally and personally, I became more self consciousness of how important it is to really push for you. Love you. Forgive you. That's also very important. Okay. And admit when things are tough or when they aren't. And don't be afraid. One thing that I, there is one story, professional story that I want to share. When I pivoted from hospitality to tech in travel and hospitality, which is what I wanted to do, I did so at VCD, which later was acquired by Reagan. And I was with them for five years. And On my first year, I remember, I knew that I did great, I knew that I had the numbers to support me, and I knew that there was a story. I knew that the company was a startup back in the day, before the acquisition, and we didn't have much presence internationally. So I built a business case, like you do for your company. But I did that for me, I did a business case and I presented a position that didn't exist to push internationally. One, I had international experience two, the company was just in the U. S., three, my number supported me and I remember I talked to my friends and husband at the time about it and they were like, wow, that sounds too cocky, it sounds like you are saying that you are too good and you deserve more. I'm like, yeah, because I am good. I know my worth. I know that I have this to give. So if I don't believe in me, again, who is? And I did that and I was listened. And that was the beginning of my leadership path, I want to believe.

Rachel Humphrey:

That is incredibly impactful, and I know a lot of people will be inspired by that hearing. Of course, we have self doubt, but all of the ways that you have now worked very hard at overcoming all of those. You talked about self care a second ago and wellness, and I know that this is a very important non negotiable part of your life. Talk a little bit about Those who are maybe struggling, as I've shared very honestly, I was not good at it until retirement, but talk a little bit to those people out there who are really struggling to maybe find either the time or the permission to themselves to really focus on wellness, whatever that means to them.

Mercedes Blanco:

Put you first, because if you are not good, if you are not balanced, you are not going to be your best you. in any aspects of your life. And I remember I did a coaching for a couple of years, session with a professional coach. And I remember that there was one exercise where I had to choose one word and that word was balance because I am not afraid of working hard or pushing me back. If I lost, if I lose me in the process, then I am not My best me, or I cannot be as competitive or think strategically. I cannot. Give what I know that I can. So for some people, self care is cooking, is reading, is meditating, is working out, is spending time with their families. Whatever that is. I think that is extremely important that we have one moment, whatever it is, of the day that is just for you, not for you to give to others, but for you to give to you. And don't forget who you are, right? I think that is extremely hard when you have all the responsibilities whatever your family is, but yet it's extremely important because if you don't give that to you again, any given problem, can potentially affect you to a personal relationship or your commitment to a project in your office, right? So to me, I've learned the wrong way. Like always we all lessons the wrong way. If I don't work out, if I don't practice sports consistently, my natural optimism, that is not that natural. You can also work on that. Okay. It goes away because My frustrations are put into that physical exercise. I do travel a lot Rachel. And the thing that most people ask me when they see me is how do you do it? And I'm like I balance and I always work out regardless of where I am. And if that means a proper sleep, it means a proper sleep. I don't think that consistent nights of not sleeping or consistent days of not looking for you are going to help you long term. And this is, My life. My life is constant travel, so I need constant into that Consistency if you wish, right? So it's extremely important that you find what makes you happy. That makes you connected with you and you put that out there. I personally block myself in my calendar. I work with a lot of different time zones. Yesterday I was speaking with someone that is based in Thailand. That is almost opposite time. And I don't mind. doing so at nights or whenever it's required, but I always block time for my workout. or whatever that is because it's extremely important for me.

Rachel Humphrey:

Again, there's the intentionality that we talked before and I love hearing so many leaders now are really making that part of self care or wellness non negotiable. And you're right. It can be very different things. It can be reading, it can be cooking, it can be exercise, but just finding the time for you. I mentioned earlier saying yes to public speaking, raising your hand, asking to do and for many women, Especially their fear of or hesitancy to speak publicly can be one of their identified as one of their biggest challenges to accelerating their careers. How do you prepare for speaking opportunities? Do you? Is it something that you think comes naturally to you? I've watched your progression actually firsthand over the last couple of years in bigger and bigger venues. Obviously, we all didn't start off at the biggest of the venues, but how do you really prepare? How do you, what would you tell people who maybe are a little bit uncomfortable or hesitant to raise their hand to say yes to speaking?

Mercedes Blanco:

First of all, I think that I love public speaking because of the rush that comes with it, and because of the opportunity of sharing. I don't think that I've ever shared this with you, but back in Europe, I used to do a lot of public speaking, but of course, in Spanish. I was well versed because that was my language. I felt like I had more resources and I always wanted to do the same here, but I was afraid because I don't have those resources. I am not sure if I am bilingual or not. I may or may not, but definitely is not what comes naturally. It does come more naturally now, but not before. But, In when I was doing so in Europe, I think that I did it because of two things. One, I always thought that we were lacking professional lists, sharing with younger people. When I was studying, I was, my professors they were not professionals. They were professors. So they did not have the practical knowledge that comes from working. And when I put myself into work, most of the things that I thought that I knew. I didn't. So I wanted to help close the gap. And that's how I started to do public speaking in Europe. And this is the personal story that you maybe haven't heard about me. My dad. in the radio. So when I w microphones in my home al my dad used to take me to and I was recording commer a child voice. So I am no Speaking in front of people. Because who am I? Do I really have that much to serve? Do I have the right words or the right ability to communicate myself, especially here in another language? So I think that that is my story about how I started public speaking and why it was important to me to close the gap and why I wanted to continue to do so here, but I want to answer your question about my advice to others and if I can overcome my fears of not even speaking in my own language for you that you can choose your words because they come naturally. To you, you to then be afraid of doing so. If it makes you uncomfortable, you can always prepare a little bit. I personally always like to be prepared because I don't like to not have the information or the right data. And obviously there are certain types of presentation that requires a deeper work before going into the stage, right? But I always speak from the heart. I. I personally would like to think that my personal brand is linked to who I am and how I am perceived and being true to who I am and being a little bit more vulnerable than I've been before. I think that is defining who I am professionally as well.

Rachel Humphrey:

I love you're talking a little bit about your personal brand. I did not know that about your dad and the radio station. I told you before we started today that I was excited to learn so much more about you while our audience did as well. But you're right. Standing with a microphone in a radio station while. Practicing and honing certain public speaking skills is not the same as stepping out in front of a live audience or a group of people. And I love the concept of both being prepared, but also speaking naturally and from the heart, because I think that's really important to make sure that you're sharing really an authentic or genuine you. I want to talk a little bit about Relationship building and networking. You come to the U. S. You mentioned early on that you didn't have a network here. You didn't have industry relationships here. It didn't come as easily as perhaps you thought it would with what you brought to the table. How do you really fine tune? networking to your personality because you and I may be very different people. We may have very different strategies for relationship building and networking, but we could end up with very similar networks. How have you tailored yours to your personality?

Mercedes Blanco:

I'd like to say that it's better to have quality than quantity. When I knew nobody here, I think that I made the mistake of trying to meet many people. As many people as I could, right? Because I wanted to overcome the fact that I didn't know people here in this country. And then, soon enough, I noticed that I, there was no way that I could continue. leverage those relationships. So I think that quantity it's more important. And just allocating the time to the people that you know it's important, right? And I think that naturally, because of the nature of my work as well, my work has become my biggest network builder, if you wish, because I think that if I am a huge believer in meritocracy as well if you Put yourself into working with a client or a partner or a vendor, and they enjoy working with you because you help them and you do things together. That is the best way of having another advocate for next time that you go to another conference and that person can introduce you to another person. And so I think that PR or building your brand or networking is not just about going to a cocktail, have a glass of wine and share a personal story. That is important, but it's not the only thing that matters. I think that it's a mix of again, being you at every single moment of your professional life. You don't want also to fake another person that you are not. right? You are not comfortable speaking to stranger. You have to push yourself, but not to the extreme that they don't even recognize the person that or that you don't even recognize the person that is doing the speaking right now.

Rachel Humphrey:

Set that genuineness and that authenticity so important in building real relationships because you're right. Lots of people know a lot of people, but to really have genuine relationships needs to be something deeper. Mercedes, I could speak with you all day long. Not a secret there. I love hearing so much of your great advice, but we're gonna run short on time. So I wanted to pivot to two last questions. Frequent listeners of the program know that I love the question. What advice would we give to our younger self? Because I do think reflection is an credibly critical part of personal and professional growth. So as you sit here today and you think back to 21 year old Mercedes, what do you tell her either about something you wish you knew that might have made your path a little different or how it plays out for you today

Mercedes Blanco:

that you are not alone? I think that All my life, I look for external validation, teachers, bosses, friends, family, and obviously, I don't intend to imply that you can do everything alone because that is not what I am implying, but what I am saying is that sometimes we really don't understand or appreciate the fact you have you. I love that. I think that I've always needed the push that I wasn't given me. And what I would like to tell me is that whatever happens before or now, I am not alone. I am fortunate enough to have an amazing network of people that love me, that is going to be there for me, but I am going to be there for me. And remember that I said before to, to forgive you. And I think that is also important because I'm also perfectionist and I try to do everything right. So sometimes when I failed into things, I blame me. So I've learned to forgive me and to learn that. If I failed, I can try again. And I think that is very important to look always back to the past and say, Hey, I know you've experienced hard things in life, but here you are stronger and better, whatever life throws at you, you will overcome it. I'm not going to say that it's going to be easy because most problems in life aren't, but you can do it.

Rachel Humphrey:

What a great lesson to yourself. And then as we wrap up, I want you to think for a second about our motto for DEI advisors of empowering personal success and ask, is there one final nugget or piece of wisdom or something you'd like to share with our listeners?

Mercedes Blanco:

I would love to share something. I have had the opportunity to mentor some. Some people in the industry and to be M and T for some others, right? And lots of people approach me because they see me at one conference and they ask, but then they disappear. So my advice to anyone looking for advancement on their careers is one. Don't be shy. Raise your hands and ask. Always ask. And two, if you really find that someone can be an example or can help you, don't go and disappear. Really develop that relationship because I am telling you that most of people that I've met along the way, they are willing to help, but people is just not consistent enough. to help. And even when volunteering, I have seen people saying, Oh, I want to help you with this or with that. Then they come, they do one thing and that's it. Commitment is very important.

Rachel Humphrey:

No, that's great advice. We hear that a lot. Follow up and making sure that you become a reliable source. So that's great advice. Well, Mercedes, thank you so much for sharing your path to leadership with us. Your advice to yourself and to others is incredible and an inspiration. You know that I have learned so much from you and continue to really be inspired by your intentionality and what you're doing to really develop yourself. So thank you so much for joining us on today's program and for all you're doing for the hospitality industry.

Mercedes Blanco:

Thank you, Rachel. It's been my pleasure and I hope that I didn't speak too much.

Rachel Humphrey:

And to our listeners, thank you so much for tuning in. We hope that you will go over to DEIadvisors. org and hear from other industry leaders who will likewise share their paths to leadership and the insights they've learned along the way. And you can also stream us from your favorite podcast streaming service. So Mercedes, thank you so much again. Thank you.