Hilton CEO: ‘We’re Not Trying to Compete With Google, Amazon and Apple’
Photo Credit: Hilton CEO Chris Nassetta at the 2017 Skift Global Forum. He recently spoke to Skift about his strategy for the company, which turns 100 this year. Skift
Skift Take
Can a single brand ever really own a customer? We think Hilton CEO Chris Nassetta is onto something here, but that won't necessarily stop his travel peers from trying to do that in their own ways.
At a time when a number of travel and hospitality CEOs are increasingly concerned with the idea of who "owns" the customer — and are attempting to build extensive "experience platforms" to do just that — Hilton CEO Christopher Nassetta has a slightly different take on those efforts versus peers.
Whereas AccorHotels CEO Sebastien Bazin and Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson see technology companies such as Google, Amazon, Apple, and others as direct competitors, Nassetta doesn't necessarily see things in the same light.
"We're not trying to compete with Google, Amazon, and Apple," Nassetta told Skift recently at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit. "We're not trying to. We're a platform and a network, and our view is that we're on the fulfillment side, that we're the experience. We're the hearts and souls that make that stay different, and we make sure that product is right, along with the amenities, and the service delivery. I don't think those guys are going to want to be in t
