Hilton CEO on Balancing the Luxury Push in the Middle East
Photo Credit: Hilton CEO Christoper Nassetta (left), appearing via a hologram, was interviewed by Skift founder Rafat Ali at Skift Global Forum East in Dubai December 14, 2022. Skift
Skift Take
Hilton's brand development formula is working. Never say never on acquisitions, but Nassetta doesn't want to be distracted by disadvantages inherited from rivals.
CEO Christopher Nassetta said Hilton expects to organically develop its own new brands rather than chase costly acquisitions in part because "we don't want to have to fix other people's problems."
He said Hilton's brand portfolio more than doubled to 19 in the 15 years Nassetta has been at Hilton and they are all successful, although some are "a little bit early in gestation."
"We have designed these in a modern context around exactly what customers want and we built it out of the dust," Nassetta said. "We built it with our own blood, sweat and tears rather than paying a big price. It's been great for our shareholders, infinite yields effectively by creating these, and creating brands that really resonate with our customer base."
Hilton, with 1.2 million rooms and 7,000 properties around the world, has indeed done several major transactions, includ
