Linh Chi Nguyen

101133319

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is defined as a business self-regulation policy

with the aim of being socially accountable (Schooley, 2020) and “take actions which protect

and improve the welfare of society as a whole along with their own interests” (Dudovskiy,

2016). With the growing concern about the environment in recent years, businesses and

organizations are expected to strengthen and perform social responsibilities. One of the

leading companies in commitment to developing a socially responsible operation and

performance is Hilton Hotels and Resorts. Hilton’s corporate social responsibility strategy is

“Travel with Purpose”, aiming to “drive responsible travel and tourism globally. They have

committed to double their investment in social impact and cut their environmental footprint

in half by 2030” (Hilton Corporate Responsibility, n.d.). This discussion looks into how

Hilton is implementing actions regarding the “people” component of the triple bottom line.

Hilton invests greatly in “people” and believes that employees are crucial to the

company’s operations and CSR strategies. Christian Grage, Hilton's Vice President,

Operations, admitted that” “For us at Hilton Worldwide, a key aspect of overcoming this is to

focus on young people and ensure that they have the right skills to enter our industry and that

we are attractive to the best and brightest. Understanding these future leaders is a solution to

ensuring CSR initiatives are implemented positively in the future." (Understanding Future

Leaders is Key, 2014). According to the 2016 Cone Communications Millennial Employee

Engagement Study, “64% of Millennials consider a company’s social and environmental

commitments when deciding where to work and won’t take a job if a company doesn’t have

strong corporate social responsibility (CSR) values, 83% would be more loyal to a company

that helps them contribute to social and environmental issues”. Based on these statistics,
Hilton’s are motivated to create a more effective and influential CSR policy. Max Verstraete,

Hilton's vice president of corporate responsibility claimed that the younger generations want

their employers to do the right thing. They are more likely to stay with a company that is

doing the right thing” (Clausing, 2018). Hilton Worldwide is devoted to “double its

investment in global initiatives such as sourcing from local and minority-owned suppliers and

programs to empower women and young people” (Clausing, 2018).

Hilton claimed that “we are in the business of people serving people, and we invest in

our Team Members to ensure their continued success. We engage with our Team Members

around the world to support their careers and development, and we train our Team Members

on relevant environmental and social issues in support of our 2030 Goals”. Regarding the

company’s CSR, there is a huge focus on “people” and “society”, which can be seen in their

plans to engage with employees and help them grow through their free online learning on

Hilton University and Cornell University, assisting team members in completing a college

degree or pursuing a graduate certificate as well as aiding growing leaders by providing

development opportunities and resources to help them achieve their career goals. Besides

creating an engaging work environment, Hilton also offers perks and benefits for careers and

well-being, including family support to employees so they can thrive and grow in their

chosen career path (Hilton Team Member Engagement, n.d).

Besides the concern for employees’ growth and benefits, Hilton also promises

diversity, inclusion and human rights to them and customers. “Hilton scored in the top ten in

multiple categories of DiversityInc’s Top Companies for 2019 list as a result of their culture

of inclusion – for guests and Team Members of every background, gender, sexual identity,

ability, heritage and belief”. Matt Schuyler - Chief Human Resources Officer- expressed that

Hilton have created numerous initiatives to expand our culture of diversity and make Hilton a

“for all” career destination through “partnerships with multicultural, LGBTQIA+ and
disability-focused organizations, recruitment and scholarships that support diversity and the

economically disadvantaged, non-college-degree-based hiring and promotion,

accommodations for employees with physical or cognitive disabilities” (Diversity and

Inclusion, n.d). “As a business of people serving people, respecting human rights is a core

part of our mission. Our human rights strategy is informed by the UN Guiding Principles for

Business and Human Rights. To best equip our teams to identify the signs and report them

appropriately, annual anti-trafficking training is mandatory for all hotel-based Team

Members” (Human Rights, n.d).

Not only serving employees, Hilton is also dedicated to the community and aims to

bring better to the society, promising “support to build communities’ resilience and growth”

(Community Investment, n.d). “Hilton invests in communities around the world through their

primary international philanthropic arm” (Community Investment, n.d), the Hilton Effect

Foundation, launched in 2019, which targets “nonprofits that are working to improve travel

destinations, create higher-skilled jobs and increase youth outreach, as well as communities

suffering from the effects of natural disasters and water scarcity” (Sinha, 2019). Hilton

expresses their mission to leave the communities and the environment more resilient for

generations of travelers to come through sustainable actions and CSR policy, “from investing

in Hawaii watershed improvement projects that increase water conservation to tackling youth

unemployment through skills training in Italy” (Community Investment, n.d). Additionally,

Hilton also developed “a grassroots service initiative called Random Acts of Hospitality,

whereby team members were encouraged to conduct meaningful, simple gestures for others

to extend the group's hospitality beyond its hotels and into local communities” (Hilton

celebrates 100th anniversary, 2019). Recently, on being named the 'Most Socially

Responsible Hotel Management Group of China', Qian Jin - Hilton’s Greater China Area and

Mongolia Presiden said: "It is our mission to fill the earth with the light and warmth of
hospitality, and a privilege to serve the needs of our frontline medical professionals, guests,

owners, and fellow Team Members who have been impacted by the pandemic” (Hilton

Named Most Socially Responsible Hotel, 2020). Even through the global pandemic, Hilton is

still supporting the community by hosting medical professionals. “To create comfortable stay

experiences for medical professionals, Hilton Team Members overcame multiple hurdles in

disinfection, logistics, materials, and staffing. They served delicious and nutritious food and

curated a rich variety of activities that the medical professionals could enjoy in their free

time” (Hilton Named Most Socially Responsible Hotel, 2020).

As discussed above, it is without a doubt that Hilton is extensively invested in and

committed to the “people” or “social” aspect of the triple bottom line in the CSR policy.

Their mission statement is “Travel with Purpose”, thus they are serving the community to the

best of their ability, helping it prosper in the best time and help it stand strong in hard times.

From a social standpoint, Hilton has recognized the impact that a corporation could have on

the community and make efforts to enhance it and invest in strategies that could bring out

better welfare and environment for the people living within it.

Reference:

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Hilton celebrates 100th anniversary with new CSR foundation. (2019). Hotelier Middle East.

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Hilton Named “Most Socially Responsible Hotel Management Group of China.” (2020). PRN

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