David Kelly, Hilton : “Our mission to be the most hospitable company in the world starts with our teams”

How would you define Hilton’s corporate culture?

As a business of people serving people, our team members are critical to our success. We’re proud to have built a culture that focuses on supporting them, creating exceptional experiences for our guests, driving positive impact in our communities and high value for our owners.

Our mission to be the most hospitable company in the world starts with our teams, and we’re united in our efforts to build an environment which prioritises inclusiveness, fully representing many different cultures, backgrounds and viewpoints.

We’re proud to be consistently recognised for these efforts. We ranked #1 on DiversityInc’s Top 50 Companies for Diversity. We’ve also just been crowned as #2 World’s Best Workplace by Fortune and Great Place to Work. This is in addition to being named as #2 and #3 best place to work in France and Europe respectively by Great Place to Work, alongside many similar accolades around the globe.

What are to you the key topics that must be addressed to regain attractivity for the hospitality industry?

We’re seeing a real shift in favour of careers in the hospitality industry. In fact, a recent Workplace of the Future study ⁽¹⁾ we commissioned found that almost half of Millennials and Gen Zs have considered a career in hospitality in the past 12 months. This is largely down to the opportunities the industry provides – whether that’s learning new skills, meeting people from different backgrounds, travelling or the chance to work on a variety of different projects. It really is a fantastic industry full of opportunity for all different ambitions.

A career in hospitality also responds to the broader priorities of young people as they look to balance their careers with their beliefs and personal priorities. For example, the data shows that when searching...