Trix van der Vleuten: Why Emotion Is Hospitality's Next Competitive Advantage

After building brands for PepsiCo, Kraft Heinz, KFC and Versuni, Trix van der Vleuten brings an outsider's perspective to hospitality as Chief Marketing Officer of The Social Hub. She explains why emotion is becoming hospitality's greatest competitive advantage, what hotels can do to make women feel safer and why mentoring, motherhood and even grandmothers are helping shape a more inclusive future for the industry.

Trix van der Vleuten has spent her career helping some of the world's best-known brands find new momentum. Whether in consumer goods, food, retail or technology, Trix has consistently been drawn to businesses with strong foundations and the ambition to transform.

That instinct led her to The Social Hub, where she brings an outsider's perspective to an industry she believes has enormous untapped potential.

Rather than accepting hospitality's traditional playbook, Trix challenges some of its longest-held assumptions. She believes the industry has become too cautious, leaving enormous opportunities to create emotional connections with guests at a time when AI is rapidly commoditising functional experiences.

A mother of three, mentor, keynote speaker and author of the children's book May for President, Trix is equally passionate about helping women advance. She is outspoken about salary negotiations, the importance of male allies and why women need to stop underselling themselves. She is also challenging long-held assumptions about who hospitality is designed for, championing safer travel for women and creating opportunities for older workers through The Social Hub's upcoming cafe concept staffed by grandmothers.

Trix shares why emotion is becoming hospitality's greatest competitive advantage, what hotels can do to make women feel safer, how motherhood shaped her leadership style and the career advice she wishes she'd heard at the start of her journey.

You built your career transforming brands before moving into hospitality. What struck you when you looked at the industry through fresh eyes?

I've always been drawn to businesses with a great story and the opportunity to transform them. Throughout my career I've worked across consumer goods, food retail and technology, helping brands return to growth, and each industry taught me something different about building brands and understanding customers.

When The Social Hub approached me, I saw another transformation opportunity, but this time in hospitality. What excited me most was bringing an outside perspective to an industry with so much potential. I learn every day from colleagues who have spent their careers in hospitality, but I also see opportunities to apply ideas from other sectors.

Sometimes it helps to have someone ask, "Why do we do it this way?" As a disruptive brand, having that outside perspective allows us to challenge convention while working closely with people who understand hospitality inside out.

You've said hospitality has become a little too cautious. What do you think the industry is getting wrong?

Hospitality is one of the most emotional industries in the world. People don't just book a hotel stay. They buy experiences, memories and moments they'll remember for years.

That's why I was surprised by how cautiously the industry often markets itself. Operational excellence is incredibly important, of course, but we've become very focused on standards, processes and certainty. I think there's still enormous room for creativity.

I recently went to Cannes Lions, and it struck me how few hospitality brands were being recognised. This is a huge global industry, yet we're not always telling our stories in the most imaginative ways.

That's becoming even more important as AI changes how people search and book travel. Large language models are brilliant at answering rational questions and comparing options, but they're naturally drawn towards facts and functionality. That's where hospitality has an opportunity to differentiate, because emotion is where the margin sits.

The brands that create genuine emotional connections with people, and become part of culture rather than simply a place to stay, are the ones that will continue to stand out.

"As AI becomes better at the functional side of hospitality, emotion becomes the real differentiator. That's where the margin sits."

One of the things that makes The Social Hub so distinctive is that it isn't built around a traditional hotel customer. You've said people don't want to be boxed into demographics anymore; they want to belong to a mindset. What do you mean by that?

That's probably one of the biggest shifts we're seeing in marketing today. For a long time, brands were built around demographics. Today, consumers are much more fluid than that. They don't necessarily want to be defined by their age or life stage. They want to identify with a way of living and a set of values.

That's exactly how The Social Hub has evolved. We started as student accommodation, but we listened to our community. Parents wanted somewhere to stay when they visited, so we added hotel rooms. People started working from our lobby, so we created coworking spaces. We saw guests connecting with each other, so we built events and rituals around that.

None of that was part of a master plan. It happened because we kept listening.

Today we have around 13 different products under one roof, serving everyone from students and entrepreneurs to business travellers, neighbours and long-stay guests. On paper those audiences look completely different, but what connects them isn't their age. It's their mindset.

People want places where they can work, stay, meet and belong. That's what we've tried to create.

The Social Hub recently published its Room for Her research, which found that 75% of women worry about their safety when travelling alone. Why was it important for you to explore that issue?

We're a B Corp, so our purpose is to make society work better together. If that's what we believe, we also have to understand how people experience travel today.

We surveyed 2,000 women across eight European markets and found that 75% worry about their safety when travelling alone. I thought that was a huge number. We also found that 29% had personally experienced unwanted encounters while travelling, rising to 41% among younger women. Those figures really brought home the scale of the issue.

It also resonated with my own experience. When I talk to my male colleagues, I often ask them, "Have you ever put a chair against your hotel door? Has someone ever knocked on your hotel room door unexpectedly?" They usually just look at me and say no. They've never even thought about it because it's never happened to them.

I've experienced it myself too. Earlier in my career, when I travelled frequently for work, people would approach me while I was eating dinner alone or knock on my hotel door for no reason. Those are experiences many women simply accept as part of travelling, but they shouldn't have to.

I'm also the mother of a daughter, and I don't want her generation to grow up thinking that's just the way business travel is. That's why we wanted to start this conversation. Hospitality has an opportunity to understand these lived experiences and make travel feel safer for everyone.

Based on what you learned, what are some of the practical changes hotels can make to help women feel safer?

Some of the biggest improvements are surprisingly simple. Women told us that knowing someone is there to help makes a real difference, so having a 24-hour reception, visible staff and well-lit public spaces all create reassurance. None of those things eliminate every risk, but they can significantly reduce anxiety and make women feel more comfortable travelling alone.

Hospitality has always been about making people feel welcome. Feeling welcome also means feeling safe.

This isn't just the right thing to do from a human perspective; it's also a smart business decision. Women are one of the fastest-growing travel segments, and they increasingly influence travel decisions for families and businesses. Creating environments where they genuinely feel safe isn't just good hospitality. It's good business.

"People don't want to be boxed into demographics anymore. They want to belong to a mindset."

Many of these ideas, whether it's women's safety or age diversity, come back to having different perspectives around the table. You've spent much of your career in male-dominated industries and have often been the only woman in the boardroom. How has that shaped the leader you've become?

I've spent most of my career in male-dominated industries, and I was often the first woman on the board. In the Netherlands, we often talk about the importance of having at least 30% representation because that's when a minority really has a voice at the table.

Sometimes it has been challenging, but I've also been fortunate to work with some wonderful male allies. I don't think we change the world only through a female lens. We need men who actively support women and help move the conversation forward.

That's also one of the reasons mentoring has become so important to me. I didn't have many female role models when I was building my career, so I feel a responsibility to help the next generation and hopefully make the path a little easier for them.

The Social Hub lobby in Glasgow

Now that you've reached the C-suite, mentoring the next generation has become an important part of your work. What's the advice you find yourself giving women most often?

The first thing I always say is: ask for what you're worth.

Women often underestimate the value they create. If you're helping a business grow and making a real contribution, it's perfectly reasonable to expect to be rewarded accordingly.

I also encourage women to become more visible. One of the best pieces of advice I ever received was to publish one LinkedIn post every month. It doesn't have to be about you. It can be about your team, something you've learned or a project you're proud of. The important thing is that it helps you find your voice.

Over time, it also makes it much easier to talk about your achievements, whether you're speaking to your manager, interviewing for a promotion or simply meeting someone at a networking event.

I always tell my team to think about their one-minute pitch. If you happened to find yourself standing next to your CEO for sixty seconds, what would you want them to remember about you?

At MEWS Unfold Charlie MacGregor spoke about The Social Hub's new cafe concept staffed by grandmothers. It's such an unexpected idea in an industry often focused on youth. Where did it come from?

If we genuinely want to build a better society, people need to see themselves reflected in it. That includes older generations. Our guests span every age group, so why shouldn't our teams?

The idea behind the cafe is to create opportunities for people over 60 because they bring something incredibly valuable to hospitality. They bring warmth, life experience and authenticity. Rather than expecting everyone to fit the same working model, we're designing the roles around people. For some, that might mean shorter shifts or more flexibility. The question we ask is, "What allows someone to do their best work?"

Hospitality talks a lot about diversity, but age isn't always part of that conversation. I think there's a real opportunity to broaden our thinking and recognise that different generations bring different strengths. If we're serious about building communities where everyone feels welcome, then our teams should reflect that too.

We’re excited about the first Grandmother's cafe opening in Barcelona later this year.

You're also a mother of three. Has becoming a parent changed the way you lead?

Completely. Becoming a parent changes the way you look at almost everything, including leadership. It teaches you very quickly that life doesn't fit neatly around work and that sometimes people are carrying things you can't see.

As leaders, we need to create space for that. Sometimes work has to take priority, but sometimes life does. If you support people through those moments, they become incredibly loyal because they know they're valued as people, not just employees. Of course there's a human reason for leading that way, but I also think there's a business reason. People do their best work when they feel trusted and supported.

I also tell young women that having children doesn't mean your career stops. I actually received promotions after each of my three maternity leaves, so I'm living proof that it's possible. Motherhood has actually helped me become a better leader because it taught me to focus on what really matters, both at work and at home.

Alongside your corporate career, you've somehow found time to write a children's book. What inspired May for President?

It started during the US Presidential elections…I remember looking at the candidates and thinking about the role models my daughter was growing up with. At the same time, I noticed that so many children's adventure books featured boys as the main characters. I wanted to write the book that I would want to buy for my daughter, one where she could see herself as the hero.

Trix showing off her book on our Zoom chat

May For President was published in September 2024. The response has been incredibly rewarding, especially from parents. One message that has stayed with me came from the father of a boy with dyslexia. He told me that by listening to the audiobook while following the printed book, his son finished an entire book by himself for the first time. Moments like that remind you why stories matter. They help children believe they can become something before they've ever seen it happen in real life.

If you could go back and give your 21-year-old self one piece of advice, what would it be?

I'd tell her to stop trying so hard to prove herself. I think many young women feel they have to work twice as hard before they deserve a seat at the table, and I certainly felt that way.

I'd also tell her not to underestimate her own value. It's easy to be humble, but humility shouldn't stop you recognising what you bring to a business or asking to be rewarded fairly for it. Confidence grows with experience, but I wish I'd realised earlier that you don't have to wait for someone else to tell you you're ready.

What change do you hope the next generation of women in hospitality won't have to fight for?

It’s up to us female leaders to open the door and make sure this next generation has every opportunity to shine. The future is in our hands, and we can’t afford to leave anyone behind. I hope that they don’t have to fight to get their voices to be heard. We as women should collaborate, utilize each other's strengths and build each other up is the best asset we have.

Quickfire with Trix

Ideal morning routine Taking my children to school if I can, then walking the dog with my husband before heading to work.

Book you're reading R.E.D. Marketing: The Three Ingredients of Leading Brands.

Podcast recommendationThe Power of Kindness (While Building a Billion-Dollar Brand) from Uncensored Renegades.

One thing everyone should do in Amsterdam Hire a bike and ride along the canals around 9 p.m. The city becomes quieter, the lights reflect on the water and you experience a completely different side of Amsterdam. It's still my favourite way to see the city.