In her current role with Extended Stay America (ESA) Hotels as vice president of sales, strategy and support, Angela Galeziowski oversees a 20-member business development and BTA/Consortia team, as well as directs sales strategy, sales operations, analytics, and B-to-B marketing for the 120-team sales organization.

Prior to ESA, Galeziowski enjoyed a successful 15-year career at InterContinental Hotels Group, including several roles in finance, hotel operations and sales. In her last role at IHG, she served as vice president, worldwide sales strategic insight, where she directed sales strategy and operations on a global as well as regional level, supporting more than 5,500 hotels. Following IHG, Galeziowski held senior positions with Choice Hotels and Radisson Hotel Group before joining ESA in 2019. She’s also a Women Leading Travel & Hospitality member! In this member spotlight, we asked Angela a series of questions so you can get to know her better.

  1. What’s the best book you’ve read recently?
    Radical Candor” by Kim Scott. I practice a lot of the strategies and tactics already, but it validated that we need honesty in the workplace to become the best version of ourselves.
  2. What’s a tip you have for productively leading a remote or hybrid team?
    Keep in touch daily using communicating platforms like Microsoft Teams where a quick chat or question can be easily and quickly sent. Also, use video during scheduled calls to keep engaged and promote collaboration. Being able to look at each other in the eyes and really listening is immeasurable.
  3. What’s a mistake you made early on in your career? 
    Women want to be experts in their specific field and are less comfortable stepping out of their comfort zones and trying new roles. I should have been more “adventurous” early on in my career in expanding my breadth of experience.
  4. What’s the toughest part of being in charge?
    Helping people realize that going out of their comfort zone isn’t easy, but that it will help them develop personally and professionally.
  5. What’s the best way you motivate team members?
    Share a common vision, help them understand how what they do fits into the big picture, and remove barriers for them so they can succeed on their own. And most of all, just be real with them. Speak human to human with respect and honestly. They will be motivated when they know that you care and you’re here to help them succeed and grow.
  6. What woman inspires you right now and why?
    So many women inspire me, including famous women such as Angela Merkel, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, but mostly women I’ve worked with and am working with … too many to list. Right now, Ketanji Brown Jackson inspires me. She broke through the glass ceiling of the Supreme Court of the United States by working hard, making smart decisions, and staying true to her values.
  7. What are you looking forward to the most for the industry this year?
    The trends in the hospitality industry mirror the moods of everyday people. Now that we’ve been able to overcome a pandemic, people and businesses are ready and eager to travel again. We want to see each other, hug each other, learn from each other, sell to each other … people and companies are ready to get back to normal. Hospitality is people being together for progress, and we all need more of that again.
  8. What’s one thing you look for when interviewing a job candidate?
    Someone who is confident and curious. Confident that they can learn, contribute and be successful, and curious enough to know that they will always learn more.
  9. What’s something that you learned about yourself in the past year?
    I always was a big supporter of women and helping them achieve their dreams in the business world, and this year I learned that I need support, too. I need a network of successful women to help guide me, coach me, teach me, support me, and be real with me. Being a strong woman doesn’t mean that you don’t need support. Sometimes you can get crushed lifting up everyone around you and you need that support as well. It doesn’t make you weak; it just makes you human.
  10. What’s your favorite podcast?
    Right now, I listen to a lot of comedians. Life is so serious that sometimes you just need to laugh. With everything that’s going on around us, we can all become overwhelmed. For me, making sure to take time to laugh is important for everyone’s well-being.
  11. What values are most important to you as a leader?
    Integrity, honesty, effort, caring about your community and the environment, and responsibility. And being true to your values, not compromising, is critical.
  12. What’s the most important thing people should know about you?
    I’m very analytical, but in a functional, practical and executable way. I like to deliver prescriptive processes that take the analysis and serve actions up on a platter for people to execute easily and efficiently.
  13. What’s one habit you adopted while working from home?
    I started working remotely in 2015, and I will likely continue to work remotely so I adjusted a while ago. I schedule time for planning and make sure to have regular touchpoints with team members. I also make sure to get in my daily walk to refresh and recharge.
  14. How would you describe yourself in a single sentence?
    I’m driven, loyal, constantly working to improve (a strategy, tool, process, analysis, etc.) things, and want to be challenged.
  15. What’s your favorite app?
    Google Translate! I’m brushing up on my Italian skills and refer to the app to help me think of the right words and phrases.
  16. What do you do to recharge?
    I walk in nature. I’m fortunate to live in Florida where we can be outside most of the year. We have so many beautiful animals, including alligators (yes, gators are beautiful too!), sandhill cranes, and lots and lots of colorful birds. Being outside, feeling the sun on your face, hearing the beautiful songs of cardinals, watching an alligator swim across a lake, and walking among trees and lakes fills my soul.
  17. What’s your biggest accomplishment?
    To be honest, it’s being a mother, wife and professional at the same time. Being a mother is challenging enough (and yes, it’s rewarding too) because you have to rear these little beings who are not on a nine-to-five schedule, who sometimes can’t communicate what they want or need, who need your whole being all the time. And to be a wife who also meets her partner’s needs and a professional who has responsibilities is enormous. My German mother’s favorite saying is “Kleine Kinder, kleine sorgen, Grosse Kinder, grosse sorgen” which means “Small kids, small worries, big kids, big worries.” Being a mother, wife and professional is an incredible accomplishment that allows you to touch so many lives and give so much of yourself.
  18. What advice would you give to the next generation of female leaders?
    Go outside of your comfort zone. Ask for what you’re worth and don’t settle. Remember your value and make sure to spend time growing your network.
  19. What gets you up in the morning?
    Knowing that I’m making a difference to the people I love, the people I support, and the people I serve.
  20. What do you like most about being a member of Women Leading Travel & Hospitality?
    Being surrounded by female leaders in my industry who I can learn from and lean on and who can learn from and lean on me.

If you would like to become a Women Leading Travel & Hospitality member or need additional information about our organization, click here.