Guy Hilton has more than just the perfect name to be General
Manager of the Hilton London Gatwick Airport hotel.
Sometimes it is best to get the blindingly obvious question out of the way. When you are the GM of one of the flagship Hilton hotels and your name is Guy Hilton, the obvious question must be fairly tiresome.
But I will ask it anyway. Are you part of the Hilton dynasty? Is Paris your sister / cousin / daughter?
At this point, Guy could have made up some outlandish stories, but thankfully he had the decency to tell it as it really is: “No! It’s pure coincidence. But I guess with a name like this you have got to work for the leading hotel group in the world at some point in your career!”
How did you get into the hospitality industry? It’s strange because at the school’s careers fair I wanted to be a fireman, estate agent or chartered surveyor. A friend of my mum found me a summer job in an Irish bar in Italy and I soon gained enthusiasm for the industry. Another friend of my mother’s also helped me on my way. She introduced me to Brian Ball who was running Calcot Manor in the Cotswolds, where I was offered the chance of work experience over Christmas and New Year. It gave me the bug and I was hooked. I liked it and so worked in Italy for two more summers. I then took a BSc Honours degree in Catering Systems - which
was a more systematic approach to hospitality including management. I graduated with a 2:1.
I got my first job with Crown and Raven Hotels (owned by Wolverhampton and Dudley Brewers) I moved on to open the first ever Howard Johnson hotel in the UK and followed this by opening the The Park Plaza in Nottingham. Then a friend advised me of an opening in Hilton Hotels where there were greater opportunities.
My first position with Hilton was Director of Operations at Hilton Leeds on maternity cover, but the lady I was covering decided to not come back. This was eleven years ago. I was promoted to hotel manager
followed by a move to the Edinburgh Grosvenor as General Manager, where I oversaw a £3.5m upgrade. Since then I have moved three times: first to Newcastle, then Brighton and finally to Gatwick.
