No. 1 on the Best Workplaces in Asia, Hilton opened its 1,000th hotel in APAC a year ahead of schedule. With hundreds more on the way, here’s how it finds the people to grow.
The hospitality industry is booming in Asia, and brands like Hilton are rapidly expanding their offerings to meet rising consumer demand.
With a cumulative annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25% over the last five years, the hotel chain opened its 1,000th hotel in the Asia-Pacific region (APAC) in 2024 — a full year ahead of schedule. With another 915 hotels in its pipeline, Hilton has immense staffing needs in the region.
“In the next four to five years alone, we will have to fill at least 30,000 new roles just in Asia to meet our growing talent needs,” says Patsy Ng, senior vice president of human resources for APAC at Hilton.
However, the rapidly growing hospitality industry in Asia has sparked fierce competition for talent.
“We continue to face a talent shortage,” Ng says. “There is a lot of organic growth in the industry, and the whole talent landscape has become increasingly competitive.”
Job seekers might want to consider a career at Hilton. The company earned first place on the 2025 Best Workplaces in Asia™ List, produced by Great Place To Work® after analyzing more than 3.2 million employee surveys in the region.
In Asia, 88% of Hilton employees say they want to have a long career with the company, compared to just 64% of employees who said the same at a typical workplace in Asia, according to confidential surveys analyzed by Great Place To Work. A similarly staggering 91% of Hilton employees in Asia report giving extra effort at work. Only 63% of employees say the same at a typical workplace.
Why is Hilton able to compete with companies in industries like technology and finance to create the best workplace culture? It’s not just the perks or the compensation.
“At Hilton, I think what differentiates us is the team member experience that money alone cannot buy,” Ng says.
Hilton team members celebrate their culture in Vietnam.
What workers value at Hilton
The employee experience at Hilton is built on the values of inclusion, wellness, growth, and purpose.
“We believe that travel with purpose can make the world a better place,” Ng says. This belief in the value of hospitality as a force for good, a founding principle introduced by Conrad Hilton in his earliest visions for the business, requires Hilton to build a workforce that is a relection of the diverse and varied guests that Hilton serves across Asia.
Today, more than 40% of the Hilton workforce is Asia is under the age of 30, and the number of employees with a disability has increased to 2.5% of its workforce in the region. The number of women in management roles has increased from 11% to 25%, demonstrating Hilton’s commitment to opportunity for all employees.
For Hilton in Asia, that means increasing the percentage of its workforce that has a disability from 0.8% to 2.5%, increasing employment for people under age 30 to more than 40% of the team member population, and increasing the number of women in management roles from 11% to 25%.
“We’re always listening to team members and we’re shaping our new initiatives and launching programs that truly matter to them,” Ng says. As an example, Hilton learned from employee listening that mental health and managing stress were top concerns for team members in Asia. In response, they launched a mobile phone app that delivers on-demand coaching with a human being who can offer support.
Hilton also ensures every team member has the opportunity to grow and learn. In Asia over the past two years, Hilton employees have completed more than 33,000 LinkedIn and Harvard courses and logged more than 310,000 hours of customer service learning.
Team members who invest the time to learn new skills are rewarded. In the last two years, 16,000 team members in APAC have experienced meaningful career growth, either through expanded responsibilities, new roles, or new development opportunities. As a result, 85% of employees at Hilton in Asia say that promotions are fairly awarded, compared to just 57% at a typical company in Asia.
Flexibility attracts new talent
Another way Hilton entices new talent is by increasing flexibility with shift work and investments in technology.
“In order for us to tap into different or diverse talent pools out there in the market, we know that we need to enable flexible shift work,” Ng says. “In Singapore, for example, a Ministry of Manpower survey found that over 258,000 Singaporeans prefer part-time work, citing reasons such as family or educational commitments.”
To attract these workers, Hilton is investing in technology, like the AI-powered smart scheduling system being piloted in China and Australia. These investments aim to create better outcomes for employees and for the business, Ng says. “This AI-based system will not only enable flexible shift work — it will help us find labor cost efficiencies and more precise rostering forecasts.”
A family of team members
While some might question calling a workplace a “family,” for Hilton’s leaders, it’s the only term that seems to really capture the emotion and connection Hilton team members feel for their colleagues and leaders.
Ng gives the example of the COVID-19 pandemic, when many Hilton team members were furloughed or let go amid a global crash in travel and hospitality. The few team members who remained — on reduced salaries and facing their own challenges — rallied together to pool resources for their colleagues who were less fortunate.
“They took money out of their own pockets to buy milk powder, diapers, or groceries for team members who lost their jobs or who were compelled to go on leave because of the pandemic,” Ng says. “This is what family means in Hilton — that we are here for each other.”
HIlton team members in Sri Lanka.
It’s a simple way to express the level of genuine respect and empathy expected from others at Hilton. “What if your team member were your child?” Ng says. “What if your team member were your parent?”
That doesn’t mean every company should describe itself as a family. For other companies looking to create their own award-winning culture, Ng recommends looking inwards rather than just focusing on comparing yourself to others.
Her advice: “Never forget the power of listening to your team members to understand what matters most to them,” she says. “We’re talking about winning the hearts of our team members — so focus inwards.”
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