Image courtesy of Titus Negrescu
Raised in the Transylvania region of Romania, Titus Negrescu, General Manager of The Beekman, a Thompson Hotel, always had his sights set on New York. Even after becoming a hotel general manager at the young age of 22, Titus was eager to leave Romania and start a new chapter in New York, mostly thanks to the vision of his grandmother.
“My grandmother was the love of my life, and she said that the sun rises in New York City,” Titus shared.
Titus’ grandmother planted the seed of New York as an aspirational destination at an early age, saying that if there was somewhere Titus should live and make an impact, it was New York City. So when he had a chance to move 10 years ago, he took it.
“I kind of started my career from scratch when I moved to New York,” Titus said. “And it took me about three years to get back to the general manager role. And about four-and-a-half years ago, I joined Hyatt.”
Creating a new home in New York
Images courtesy of Titus Negrescu
Relocating is never easy, particularly when you’re heading to a new country. But after going to school in Romania and living all over Europe as a professional ballroom dancer, Titus said he was looking for somewhere he could really be himself and dive deeper into his hospitality career.
“Part of the reason why I left my country is because I couldn't be who I really am,” said Titus, who shared that he is part of the LGBTQ+ community.
Titus spoke of his love of Romania but acknowledged that some places culturally evolve at a slower pace.
“Even when I moved to New York, I was a little bit hesitant to be myself,” Titus said.
But when he was sent for training in Hyatt’s Chicago office on a gloomy January day, the first thing he saw was an LGBTQ+ booth touting the company’s diversity business resource group called HyPride. Impressed by this visibility and support, Titus took this as a confirmation that he’d found a new career home in Hyatt, the parent company of Thompson Hotels.
And even though he didn’t know it at the time, the first person who welcomed Titus to this training would eventually become his partner for life. Two years after that initial meeting, they reconnected and have been together ever since, working out the long-distance aspect with the full support of the company.
“I flew to Chicago to tell our President of the Americas [about the relationship]... and the entire corporate office was in tears, so happy for us,” Titus said, noting that his partner’s position was changed to be remote so he could move to New York. “This is a family – you know, we don't just put a Pride flag in June and then take it away.”
Mentoring and career milestones
Along the path to his current position at The Beekman, Titus had several key people encourage and empower him. The first was a woman who helped him secure his first New York general manager position.
“I had someone at Leading Hotels of the World who really jump started my career,” Titus said. “She saw something in me, like my passion and my dedication to hospitality and to people, because we're in a people business.”
The second connection that proved valuable was a former colleague who moved to Hyatt, then invited Titus to join the brand to renovate and reposition hotels.
Making a difference for inclusivity
Image courtesy of Titus Negrescu
Finding his own personal community was a huge milestone, but creating that opportunity for others has developed into another passion for Titus, going hand-in-hand with his role in hospitality.
Hyatt has created several avenues of support for the LGBTQ+ community. Internally, the company’s HyPride group ensures that employees have both the resources and education to help make cultural issues more visible.
Externally, Hyatt hotels raise funds from Pride events and bookings in June, contributing the proceeds to the Ali Forney Center, a New York-based group dedicated to protecting and empowering homeless LGBTQ+ youth. Hyatt also has volunteer opportunities for employees throughout the year, supporting local groups for improved visibility for LGBTQ+ causes.
In June, Hyatt is putting together their fourth annual Pride Extravaganza, an event that will host representatives from about 40 Hyatt hotels and 200 top clients.
“We have a celebration with all of our hotels,” Titus said. “We invite the Ali Forney Center to create more awareness and do a silent auction. We also invite IGLTA, the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association.”
IGLTA accreditation signifies a hospitality company’s commitment to inclusivity, making LBGTQ+-friendly travel easier to plan.
“This robust program includes how we address our travelers, what internal training we do for pronouns, appreciation, inclusivity and what policies we have in place as a hotel and as a company to have zero tolerance for any kind of discrimination,” Titus said.
A tangible asset Titus helped develop to improve inclusivity and awareness internally at Hyatt is a toolkit. This valuable resource can be scaled at hotel brands across the Hyatt portfolio, guiding individual properties on how to not only celebrate Pride but also incorporate more inclusive marketing all year round, as well as educate staff on respectful and sensitive client communications.
How everyone can have an impact
Image courtesy of Titus Negrescu
Titus believes everyone has a part in embracing and supporting the LGBTQ+ community. And it starts with education. Within the hotel, they run workshops to learn the best ways to communicate not only with each other, but also with clients.
One example of internal education is a workshop on pronouns.
“We did a workshop regarding pronouns,” Titus said. “We took it to the next level at each hotel, putting it in our signatures, our newsletters and in every communication that we have.”
“It's not a boring educational session. It's something that's engaging,” Titus continued, saying that when you tell people the reasoning behind pronoun usage, they are more likely to accept and embrace it.
Within the travel community, Titus sees lots of room for improvement, particularly in travel marketing. Whether it's inclusive marketing on a travel advisor’s website, creating LGBTQ+-specific packages or communicating effectively with a hotel’s concierge, each step toward broader visibility helps support the community.
“To include all people – that's really important,” he said.
