Olivia Hoblit is the board chair for the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association. She has experience in all aspects of general hotel management and vacation rentals, including financial control, customer management, staff development, hotel maintenance, engineering, revenue management, sales and marketing, and food services. She took the time to share about her experiences gaining and retaining her chairwoman position, as well as provided advice for other women interested in getting a corporate board seat.

Women Leading Travel & Hospitality: Tell us about your background and how you got into the travel and hospitality industry. Have you always wanted to be a leader?
Olivia Hoblit: I always a dreamed of becoming a leader, but I got into travel and hospitality via a winding road!

I grew up in the Philippines and moved to the U.S. with my parents and three sisters at age 15, when my father retired from the Navy. I was scared because I was no longer in my comfort zone. Instead, it was a new environment and a new culture. I had to push myself. When I was 17, I got my first jobs, working at Wendy’s and serving at a Chinese restaurant at night. I met Teresa Blunk, a regular customer at the restaurant. She was a strong leader who worked as a case manager at a local attorney’s firm. She got me interested in working in the legal field, so I studied while working two jobs. She took me in as a part-time legal secretary and I worked my way up to paralegal. Teresa and a local attorney, Mike Broussard, took me under their wings and mentored me. I enjoyed the legal field so much and I dreamed of going to law school and becoming a lawyer.

But when I started working part-time at a 25-room, luxurious beachfront boutique hotel, Elizabeth Pointe Lodge, with the owners, Susan and David Caples, I began to have mixed feelings about which field interested me the most. Not only did I enjoy meeting new people from all over the world, but when I was there I felt as if I was running my own inn and serving my own guests. That’s when I realized I wanted to be an entrepreneur and one day own an inn. So I left law and chose hospitality as my career. Being in this field has reminded me how much I love working with people. It showed me the importance of being patient, understanding, sincere and empathetic. It has allowed me to make a difference by creating memorable experiences that people will cherish for life.

Susan and David took me under their wings to mentor me, invested in me, and showed me that the sky is the limit. My mother, Susan Matthews, who is the most giving person I know, has constantly reminded me to remain a strong woman, work hard, find my passion, better myself, and always give back. As I asked myself where I wanted to be in five years, I set a goal to become a hotel manager. After several years of hard work and commitment, I was promoted as the general manager of the Elizabeth Pointe Lodge.

Following my tenure with Elizabeth Pointe Lodge, I served for five years as the general manager of the Seaside Amelia Inn, owned by Innisfree Hotels. In 2019, I joined The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, a 446-room, AAA Five-Diamond luxury resort, as assistant rooms executive. While at The Ritz-Carlton, I served as a member of the team that successfully reopened The Ritz-Carlton, St. Thomas. I was honored and humbled to be nominated as “Marriott Ops Star” for going above and beyond operational expectations and for being selected as one of the Top Women in Lodging Leaders with the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association. I was supported and mentored by great leaders who trusted me, believed in me, and invested in getting me where I am today.

I’m genuinely grateful to Julian MacQueen, founder/owner of Innisfree Hotels, CEO Ted Ent, and Vice President of Operations, Jason Nicholson, for giving me the opportunity to grow to the next chapter by inviting me to rejoin Innisfree Hotels as the regional manager to open and operate the newly built Courtyard and SpringHill Suites by Marriott, Amelia Island. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy building and opening not one but two hotels during the pandemic. It has brought a few challenges where I lost much sleep at night. I was so blessed to have such outstanding and hardworking leaders and team members with the same goal of opening before summer 2021. Being on this path of my career under the support and mentorship of my regional director, Pat Sidler, who has over 30 years of experience in hospitality, has helped broaden my knowledge and given me the lessons of new experiences.

In addition to serving as 2022 Chair of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, I’m an active member of the community, lending my support to various organizations. I serve on the board of the Amelia Island Tourist Development Council, Nassau County Chamber of Commerce, and as an Advisory Council member for the University of West Florida Global Hospitality and Tourism Management program.

As a leader, my passion and my goal is to pay it forward by mentoring others and helping grow their careers. It warms my heart when I see others become successful leaders and providers to their families. When individuals grow, their family thrives and benefits.

WLT&H: When did you first develop an interest in serving on a board, and did you take specific steps to ready yourself?
OH: A friend and a great mentor, Jim McManemon, got me involved in joining the local chapter of FRLA. I was nervous, but I knew I needed to push myself. If I didn’t go for it, I would never stop contemplating “what could have been.”

I learned so much from Jim and an FRLA regional director, Danette Lynch, who guided me to Robert’s Rules of Order. I’ve asked many “Why’s” so I could gain an understanding of the goal, mission and purpose so I could better serve the association.

As it turned out, I never thought I would be establishing a foundation with my husband, Phil, to honor and continue the light-filled legacy of our sweet Trinity who, at the age of 14, passed away from a ruptured brain aneurysm two days prior to her pre-op in 2015. Because of the knowledge I’ve gained from the FRLA, we successfully run the foundation with a team of highly accomplished and talented leaders, and we’re helping save lives in the U.S. and around the world. The Trinity Love Hoblit Foundation is now celebrating its sixth anniversary. I couldn’t have done it had I not taken that leap to serve on the FRLA board.

All along the way, I’ve felt that inner sense that there’s a purpose to whichever path one chooses and the people who enter your life do so for a reason. I’ve learned to always push myself and not be afraid to learn new things as that new thing could be the missing piece to the next chapter in life. As Susan and David said, the sky is the limit. I will always remember that faith, family, relationships, trust, integrity and connection are the key ingredients of my success.

WLT&H: Has anything surprised you about serving on, and now chairing, the board?
OH: As 15-year-old Filipina trying to fit into a new environment, I never thought that I would one day become a chairwoman of one of the largest and successful associations in Florida led by a great leader, Carol Dover.

It warms my heart how the staff, the members, and the executive committee members entrusted me to this position and welcomed me to the seat. My passion for this industry and the people in it gives me the drive to work hard with the team to protect and grow the businesses that create growth not only for the people in the industry but also for the entire state of Florida.

WLT&H: Serving on a board is a huge commitment. How do you balance this with your other career and personal responsibilities?
OH: Commitment, time management and support. I’m truly blessed and couldn’t have done it without the love and support of my husband and my children, who stand by my side and support everything I do in my career. Working for a great company like Innisfree Hotels that supports my responsibility and commitment to serving on the board and the community has been a blessing.

WLT&H: From your perspective, what does the future look like for the travel and hospitality industry?
OH: If we know one thing for sure, it’s that making predictions isn’t easy in this environment! At the present moment, even in light of Omicron and airline service disruptions, we have seen an increase in occupancy, which started in the fall. There’s been an uptick in leisure as well as group bookings for weddings, small meetings, and association events for the first half of 2022. Recently, Blake Reiter, Director of STR’s custom forecasts, stated that they anticipate consumers will be willing and able to spend saved money on travel, despite waves of inflation in locations around the world. Here in Florida, with the demand forecasted for 2022, we have to address staffing issues and keep working hard to operate safely, to take care of our teams and our guests.

WLT&H: In your opinion, what’s the No. 1 must-see place to visit in Florida?
OH: Amelia Island! When people come to visit us, you can literally see them exhale and relax, surrounded by the natural beauty and the feeling of the island. You can look for shark’s teeth on beautiful wide-open beaches, go shopping in a beautiful 50-block Victorian Historic District, ride your bike through Fort Clinch State Park, and, in between it all, eat at some amazing restaurants (the island has close to 100 of them!).

There’s a rich history, with eight different flags flying over Amelia Island and the legacy of being Florida’s first luxury tourist destination in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Our guests tell us the best thing is that you can do a lot here — or happily do nothing at all!

WLT&H: Any closing advice?
OH: In summary, that inner sense or compass that has guided me to this point in my life has chartered a course where it’s clear what an important role faith, family, relationships, trust, integrity and connections play in your success. I’m living proof that you can do anything you want to by setting your mind on reaching your goal. You will make mistakes, but that’s OK because mistakes lead to reflection, which leads to innovation. The sky is, indeed, the limit, so never be afraid to take a chance, push yourself a little further down an unfamiliar path, and experience all life has to offer while remaining humble, genuine and empathetic to all you meet along the way.