The Easton’s Group of Hotels & The Gupta Group announced today that for the second consecutive year, Reetu Gupta is the recipient of the Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award in the BMO Entrepreneurs category by the Women’s Executive Network.
Reetu Gupta is President and CEO of The Easton’s Group of Hotels and The Gupta Group, and the Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Rogue Insight Capital. In June, Reetu re-imagined her family foundation, The Gupta Family Foundation, where she sits as President and CEO as well.
“Being named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women last year changed my life. This second win is a blessing and also a responsibility. I believe I have been chosen to empower, inspire, and elevate other women. I have been asked ‘What does it mean to be powerful?’ many times. For me, power does not come from control nor leadership, rather it comes from unshakable faith and unconditional love.” Gupta says.
Despite the impact that COVID-19 has had on the hospitality sector, it has not stopped Gupta from making innovative and compassionate decisions within the organizations she leads.
“In January, we saw the effects of COVID-19 in Asia and I felt this pandemic would cause international tourism to crash. My goal was to protect the company and arm it with exclusive domestic hotel sales strategies to keep us operational when the damage inevitably spread. These strategies provided a strong base occupancy during the heart of the crisis in North America.” At the height of the first wave, when the hotel industry saw only five per cent of hotels staying open, Gupta was able to keep 75 per cent of her properties running. She also created a program called #HospitalityIsLove, used to educate guests, clients and stakeholders on safety protocols going forward.
“When occupancy dropped to single digits however, keeping our team inspired became even more important.” says Gupta. “Furthermore, there were so many people who needed our help. Though I was disturbed by what was happening in the world, I knew that kindness was also contagious.”
Overnight, Project Kindness was conceived. “Our hotels had a great deal of fresh produce that was going unused due to low occupancy. I did not want to simply throw it out with so many in need. We were able to gather 1,800 pounds of food from across our hotel properties in a single day and donated it to Second Harvest.” Additional donations spread across the city of Toronto have included 2,500 masks to the University Health Network, Mother’s Day breakfasts to retirement homes, snack food grab bags to emergency medical services (EMS) teams, toiletries to local shelters, and many others.
Her passion for helping women succeed in her organization led Gupta to introduce Project Lotus; a program that encourages others to mentor women. Through Project Lotus, six company executives are each mentoring two or more women across the organization, helping them grow in their current positions while grooming them for the next steps in their career.
To help those both inside and outside of the business, Gupta also teaches free meditation classes which are helping others better cope with the current environment. “When I first learned meditation, I found it brought me peace and clarity. I believe I have a duty to teach others so they can enjoy the same benefits. What began with three friends has grown to between 50 and 100 people each month including peers, colleagues and spiritual group members. During the pandemic, the classes are delivered live online through YouTube and Instagram.”
Gupta’s kindness and passion also stretch beyond Canada’s borders. She was invited by the United Nations and the Nexus Global Summit to assist with Verified. Verified is a program to share facts about COVID-19 to help countries fight the virus and misinformation by being equipped with facts about treatment and prevention. Additionally, through The Gupta Family Foundationover which she presides, Gupta and her family aim to help solve and mitigate major world issues. “I am working with the Obama Foundation to bring some of their programs to Canada as a first project. I also believe in the power of education, so we are planning to create schools in rural India and Africa to help empower children. The curriculum will include teachings from my guru, which revolve around living life with happiness. Being a victim of racism and wanting to see a change in my industry, I also took a firm stand on Black Lives Matter and have started to build programs that will help us all move forward in unity.”
Gupta has been named a Most Powerful Woman by WXN in back to back years, which is exceedingly rare. The 2020 Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award Winners list was released by the Women’s Executive Network and Presenting Partner KPMG in Canada today; recognizing 106 outstanding women across Canada who advocate for workforce diversity and inspire tomorrow’s leaders. “In a difficult year, we’ve been inspired by Canada’s highest achieving women who unite those around them and help us all rise above our challenges,” said Sherri Stevens, Owner and CEO of WXN. “These powerful women continue to lead the way, which is why it’s important to celebrate their achievements.” The Top 100 Awards span the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors, with the winners selected by WXN’s Diversity Council of Canada.
“KPMG is proud to support WXN as they fiercely advocate for the development, advancement and recognition of women across Canada,” said Elio Luongo, CEO and Senior Partner, KPMG in Canada. “It takes an inclusive community, sharing their strength and voices to make a change. Together we can ensure the successful achievement of women everywhere.”
For Press Inquiries please reach out to Jennie Lashley at jennie@eastonsgroup.com
For more information about Easton’s Group of Hotels please visit www.eastonsgroup.com
About The Easton’s Group of Hotels
The Easton’s Group of Hotels, A Steve Gupta Company, is a major force in the hospitality and service industry with 19 hotels under ownership with another 6 under development. Its flagship hotels include industry – renowned brands such as Marriott, Hilton, and IHG.
With a dynamic leadership team and an abiding passion for excellence Easton’s Group’s core advantages are prime locations, premium quality and superb service. Every Easton’s Group hotel is located to cater to the needs of its clientele while being on the cutting edge of offering the best advantages to its guests. Marked by efficiency and a high degree of personal comfort, every Easton’s Group hotel is truly a home away from home. Our core values work together to ensure total satisfaction for every guest we have the pleasure of serving during their stay. For more information, visit www.eastonsgroup.com.