Caroline Meyer DeBruyckere is the corporate director of marketing at Atlantic Hospitality. She’s also a Women Leading Travel & Hospitality member! In this member spotlight, we asked Caroline a series of questions about both her professional role and personal life, including the woman who inspires her, her leadership style, her advice for the next generation of female leaders, and much more.

  1. What’s the best book you’ve read recently?
    “The Art of Gathering“ by Priya Parker. It reminded me that every shared moment is a chance to create meaning. Not just an event, but a feeling. Not just a table, but a sense of belonging. I come back to it often as a reminder that intention is the first ingredient in any unforgettable experience. That said, my nightstand tells a different story. Give me a moody beach, a twisty plot, and a female lead with something to hide, and I’m in. Ruth Ware, Liane Moriarty, Lucy Foley … I can’t say no. If there’s a secret in the guest house or a body in the vineyard, I’ve probably read it.
  2. What do you love most about the travel and hospitality industry?
    Hospitality isn’t just what I do, it’s how I move through the world. I love this industry because it’s built on care, on the quiet art of making people feel held. As a marketer, I get to translate that into story and experience: to guide people toward joy, toward pause, toward a place that helps them feel like the best version of themselves. I believe warmth is a brand pillar. Presence is a product. When we communicate well, we don’t just fill rooms, we evoke feeling, we create longing, and we remind people that time well spent is its own kind of luxury.
  3. What is something the community may be surprised to learn about you?
    I’m an introvert in an extroverted industry, but it’s that quietness that fuels my creativity and shapes how I lead. I’m most alive when observing the subtleties others might miss: the flicker of mood in a guest’s body language, the way a space can shift with music or scent, the unseen thread that connects team morale to mission. The art of hospitality begins with the art of noticing, and that’s where my leadership lives: in the details, in the listening, in the beauty behind the curtain.
  4. What’s the toughest part of being in charge?
    Holding the vision while keeping the wheels turning. Leadership is equal parts choreography and compass … and sometimes the music changes mid-step.
  5. What are your non-negotiables when it comes to work-life balance?
    Evening light around the dinner table. Breathing in salt air before the inbox opens. Leaving room in the day for a walk, a laugh, a second cup of coffee just because. I believe in graceful boundaries, the kind that protect what matters without hardening the heart. My best ideas come not from the grind, but from the quiet: in the woods, on the water, or somewhere between a to-do list and a moment of stillness. I’ve learned that presence is its own form of power, and that building something beautiful is only worth it if it allows you to live beautifully, too.
  6. What woman inspires you right now and why?
    Aurora James. Her creativity is courageous, her advocacy unapologetic. She reminds me that style and substance can, and should, coexist.
  7. What is one industry trend you’re closely tracking and why?
    I’m fascinated by the shift toward immersive, slow-designed travel, where guests aren’t chasing novelty, but depth. They want to feel something. To connect with a place, not just pass through it. As someone who builds story and experience through brand, I love watching how narrative and sensory design are shaping this new kind of luxury: one rooted in meaning, not excess.
  8. What’s one thing you look for when interviewing a job candidate?
    I listen for language. For signs of curiosity, ownership, warmth. I look for someone who doesn’t just want a role, they want to bring something to life. Skills matter, of course, but I’ve learned that the people who light up a room are the ones who treat their work like a craft, not a checklist.
  9. What’s something that you learned about yourself in the past year?
    That softness isn’t the opposite of strength. It’s the secret ingredient. The quiet resilience that steadies a room, a team, a self.
  10. What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
    Don’t contort to fit the room. Make space with your presence, and trust that those meant to stay will adjust their gaze.
  11. What values are most important to you as a leader?
    Clarity. Joy. Integrity. The ability to weather a storm without losing your spark.
  12. What’s the most important thing people should know about you?
    I lead from the inside out. I care, deeply and relentlessly, about people, about the energy a message carries when no one’s watching. I’m not always the loudest in the room, but I’m the one noticing where the story could sing louder, where the tension lives, where we could say it all more simply, more beautifully. I believe in big dreams made real by small, consistent actions. In softness as a leadership strategy. In clarity without cruelty. And in joy, not as a bonus, but as a metric of success.
  13. What’s a tip you have for productively leading a hybrid team?
    Don’t mistake silence for disconnection. Connection takes creativity in a hybrid world. Thoughtful check-ins, shared rituals, and generous communication. I try to create moments that feel human, not just efficient. The more your team feels seen, the more they’ll rise.
  14. Where is your favorite place you’ve traveled to? Why?
    Ireland. I’m Irish by blood, but also, I think, by soul. There’s something about it that feels like Maine’s sister in spirit: the wild coastline, the purple-lit mornings, the salted air and warm laughter echoing from every pub and porch. There’s grit, kindness and a reverence for both silence and story. I’ve never felt so instantly folded into a place. It didn’t just feel like travel, it felt like coming home.
  15. What is the top item on your bucket list?
    To write the book that’s been quietly tapping me on the shoulder for years. It’s part memoir, part field guide, and part love letter to women who lead with both warmth and edge. I want to explore what it means to draw graceful boundaries, to hold space without disappearing into it, and to protect your joy without apologizing for it. Working title? Still flirting with a few. But it’s coming!
  16. What do you do to recharge?
    I make things. I paint, I draw, I rearrange the room until it finally breathes. I cook, nothing fancy, just food that feels like care. Creating beauty, even in small ways, helps me reset. And sometimes rest looks like staring at a half-finished project with a glass of wine, convincing myself that “thinking about it” counts as progress.
  17. What is your biggest accomplishment?
    There have been titles earned and milestones met, but my greatest accomplishment is learning to trust myself. Trusting that I can walk through the fog and find clarity. That I can say yes before I know all the answers. That not knowing isn’t a weakness, it’s the beginning of wonder. The more I’ve leaned into that trust, the more magic I’ve been able to make, for myself and for others.
  18. What advice would you give to the next generation of female leaders?
    Don’t waste time sanding down your edges to make others comfortable. Your intuition is a tool. Your empathy is a skill. Your joy isn’t a distraction, it’s your compass. Lead like softness is a strength, because it is. Lead like you have nothing to prove, because you don’t.
  19. What gets you up in the morning?
    The New York Times daily trifecta: Wordle, Connections, and the Mini. I tell myself it’s about “mental agility,” but really, it’s just how I like to win something before 8 a.m. Then coffee, of course, preferably from a mug that’s aesthetically perfect and physically useless. After that, I chase whatever’s calling that day: a sentence, a spark, an idea that might turn into something real. Most mornings, it’s a mix of caffeine, progress, and a well-timed inside joke that gets me going.
  20. What do you like most about being a member of Women Leading Travel & Hospitality?
    This community is rare. It’s filled with women who aren’t just making noise, they’re making meaning. There’s a shared spirit here: of generosity, grit, and grounded ambition. We show up for each other not to impress, but to connect. To swap stories and truths. To remind one another that we can lead well and live well. It’s a space where I feel seen, stretched and inspired!

Interested in connecting with women like Caroline? Apply today to become a Women Leading Travel & Hospitality member!