Hospitality, Travel Trends, and an Emerging Brand: Insights from Guy Hutchinson, President, MEA for Hilton

For over six decades in Egypt, Hilton has been consistently cultivating memorable travel and hospitality experiences across its expansive hotels and resorts portfolio. Growing exponentially in the capital and the country’s most prominent sites and cities, Hilton has perfected the art of hospitality, showcased in its unrivalled services and its expertise in delivering exceptional human experiences.

 

With an eagerness to explore more about the global hospitality company’s culture and DNA, future expansion plans, and latest travel and hospitality trends, we had an insightful talk with Guy Hutchinson, President of Middle East & Africa (MEA) for Hilton, delving deep into the Hilton’s future plans in Egypt, the latest travel and hospitality trends, and the importance of the human experience in the hospitality industry.

We are very excited to be bringing Signia by Hilton to Egypt. Signia is one of our newest luxury brands; however it is not your traditional or classical luxury brand, it is rather more contemporary. It is a unique premier hotel providing a comprehensive experience that brings together great architecture and design, destination restaurants, superior meeting facilities, and refined leisure facilities, all complemented by elevated and personalized service. Signia is a versatile brand with a broad appeal, delivering a modern stay to guests whether they are traveling for business or leisure.

 

The new brand is coming to SKYWALK, a new development in West Cairo with Signia by Hilton Cairo Skywalk and Signia by Hilton Residences Cairo Skywalk. The two properties signify the second Signia development outside the US, with the first being Signia by Hilton Amman in Jordan.

 

In what way will this new brand stand out in the Egyptian tourism sector and why have you chosen Egypt as a destination to launch this brand?

Egypt has always been important to us, and Cairo, with the richness of its culture and heritage, is truly a prominent city. We wanted to land Signia somewhere between the Middle East and Africa, and Egypt perfectly bridges these two regions. I believe this project in this destination will really do the brand justice and will showcase it well enough for people to discover it.

 

Coming to its location, and as we already have our presence in Cairo and New Cairo, we decided to land on the other side of the city -- West Cairo. Its strategic location makes it highly accessible, being close to the airport and surrounded by all those cultural and historical landmarks such as the Great Pyramids and the Grand Egyptian Museum.

 

In summary, Egypt’s growing appeal as a destination for both leisure and business, combined with our legacy and the convenience and attraction of the site, made it feel like the stars were aligning for us, knowing this is the perfect destination for this project and this brand.

 

With this new launch, we are creating a lifestyle community project that transcends far beyond the conventional hotel model. Signia will be offering a harmonious blend of different experiences, seamlessly integrating a hotel, residences, world-class dining and 5,000 sqm of meeting space in one of Cairo’s most highly anticipated developments.

 

Could you elaborate on Hilton’s views on Egypt’s current tourism and travel sector, and the perspective regarding its growth?

Egypt is a focus market for us and we are excited to be part of the current growth spurt that we are witnessing here in terms of hospitality. Egypt is one of the countries with a really well-evolved economic strategy to boost tourism and sustainable tourism by 2030, with the country’s intent to boost hotel capacity to 430,000 rooms.

 

Looking closer at Hilton and our hotels, last year alone we observed a 16% increase in the number of international visitors to Egypt -- a testament to our growth plans. Over the coming years, we plan to open more than 25 hotels, tripling our presence in the country to over 40 hotels.

 

How is this new launch going to contribute to creating more job opportunities in the travel and tourism sector, and on a wider scope, how will it impact the economy?

The tourism industry is probably one of the most under-recognized forces for social change and impact in the world. On a closer look, in launching this new brand, these two properties alone, with all their rooms, facilities, and residences, will create hundreds of jobs. In fact, these are not just jobs, but rather careers. We’ve witnessed many stories where people progress. Some have been in this industry for decades, some have grown their way up from waiters to directors, and it is, in that sense, that this industry grants people not only jobs but rather progress, a lot of learning, career development, altogether generating positive social change. 

 

As a group, Hilton has been shaping careers and offering various growth opportunities. With plans to grow with more than double our portfolio from 103 to over 240 hotels in the Middle East, our pipeline of hotels will create about 30,000 jobs in the region, including 5,000 in Egypt.

 

As the world around us changes rapidly, travel and tourism dynamics change too. What are the latest hospitality trends in the Middle East and Egypt?

When you look at travelers of today and the demographics, there is definitely a shift towards community-based lifestyle and sustainable hotel operations. We are glad to have succeeded at balancing that equation. 

 

We also see huge demand for mid-market hotels driven by a growing middle class and younger people with a hunger for travelling, even domestically, and the informal hospitality experiences are becoming a very strong trend and we are seeing that in Egypt. I think one of the biggest opportunities in the Middle East, and in Egypt in particular, is that there is a lot of room to serve this massively growing middle class with mid-scale hotels. In fact, here in the Middle East, middle-class households are expected to grow by 40% by 2030. The mid-market segment now accounts for more than a quarter of our pipeline in the Middle East across our Hampton by Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn brands. We definitely see growth in that area, and we are signing quite a lot in that space, particularly in Cairo, where we recently signed two Hilton Garden Inn properties. 

 

We are also seeing a significant demand for authentic experiences. In the Middle East, including Egypt, our lifestyle category of hotels is expected to double in the coming years to more than 25 hotels across our Canopy by Hilton, Curio Collection by Hilton and Tapestry Collection by Hilton brands, and we recently announced the debut of Curio and Tapestry to Egypt with the signing of properties in Marsa Alam and Sharm Al Sheikh. 

 

Egypt is such a dynamic country to serve, and we see growth across our segments from mid-scale to luxury. 

I believe it comes down to a very simple and fundamental principle – hospitality is inherently a human experience. No matter how you position your brand or talk about it, the reality is that, in the end, what matters most is how the guest feels. Hospitality is a 100% people business, and no matter how big you get as a brand, you have to always remember that the core of hospitality is people serving people. The minute you lose that connection, the brand becomes commoditized.

 

In hospitality, it is integral to have a superior level of engagement, in addition to a focus on quality, service, and training. A brand can do great things with design and aesthetics but that will never create memorable experiences if the guest doesn’t feel they are served the right way. As such, this level of connection and human experience is engrained in the DNA of who we are and what we do, and this is why our brand is where it is. We lead with culture, we lead with experience because we want travelers to choose Hilton for the stay. 

 

What can be one of the biggest challenges in running such a big brand, especially as you spearhead expansion plans across different regions with different natures and market needs?

I wouldn’t label this as a challenge, but one of the areas we put quite a bit of thought into is maintaining the balance between the integrity and consistency of the brand, and localization which can be achieved through subtleties in which the guest can recognize the difference of culture and how they can experience it. For instance, if you stay in a Hilton or a Signia in Orlando or in Cairo, the brand experience will be consistent, however there will always be space for localization –be it in the design elements, such as the artwork, or the culinary offering. There needs to be subtleties in which the differences in culture and how it is experienced is addressed. So, the key here is to remain true to the brand while at the same time integrating that element that speaks to the local culture to connect in the right way.

A career in hospitality, depending on how you approach it, changes you fundamentally, basically through travel. When you choose this career passionately, it is not the same as travelling for just a few weeks -- it takes you around the world. I’ve lived in Amsterdam for three years, I lived in Japan for three and a half years, Australia for three years, China for five, and India for a year and a half, so yes, it takes you around the world and immerses you in different cultures. Along the way, you learn to adapt and you grow, and it is in that very sense, that this career changes your world view, your perspectives, the way you look and interact with people, and the way you integrate with the local culture. It is a transformative career and an interesting trajectory that opens you to wider human experiences and redefines the way you connect with different cultures. 

 

Finally, a piece of advice you would like to share with anyone who wants to become distinctive in the hospitality industry.

I think the answer is in the word ‘distinctive’. You need to be clear on what you want to do and focused on how you want to deliver it. At its core, hospitality is about creating memorable experiences and being responsible for shaping remarkable moments or events in people’s lives. As a hotelier, you need to be different. Distinctive. You cannot be lost in a sea of sameness. Always add value to this human experience, strive to go a step above the guest’s expectations, and create authentic moments; this, in my opinion, is what lies at the heart of hospitality and will always make you memorable.