About Christopher Silcock
At the Skift Data + AI Summit in June 2025, Silcock discussed Hilton's use of data and artificial intelligence to improve guest loyalty and the on-property experience. He stated that Hilton had shifted its core technology to the cloud, enabling faster innovation)Skip, and described the deployment of messaging technology to 99% of hotels, which he said resulted in a three-point improvement in customer satisfaction. Silcock said Hilton's strategy is "brand-led, not platform-led," and that the company's AI focus is on enhancing the stay experience rather than just the booking process. He also noted that Hilton had transitioned its listening tools to allow for "micro listening" during a guest's stay.
In a June 2021 interview on CNBC, Silcock reported that Hilton had a "blockbuster weekend" with 93% occupancy across the United States on a Saturday night, which he described as the best since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. He stated that he believed business travel would return to pre-pandemic levels and grow beyond that, citing pent-up demand. Silcock also noted that 60% of Hilton's pipeline was outside the U.S. and that the company expected one of its best years in China.
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Christopher Silcock's recent appearances.
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Transcript (6 segments)
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Interviewer0:12
Economy reopens as we head into the summer travel season. Lodging stocks have soared over the past year, even outperforming the overall S&P which has done well. Joining us now is Hilton Worldwide President Christopher DeSeta. Here's all I'll tell you, Chris. We tried to do something on the airlines yesterday and I finally put it on speaker phone to get someone to pick up. I don't know whether people aren't there or the call volume is so heavy.
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Christopher Silcock0:53
We had a really busy weekend. First of all, thanks for having me. Yeah, we had a blockbuster weekend. I think we had Saturday night across the United States we were 93% occupied, which is certainly the best since COVID hit and probably honestly the best Saturday night we've ever had. Every night is not like that; it was a holiday weekend. The business is coming back very strong. It's obviously being led by leisure at the moment, but business travel is starting to pick up some steam. The meetings business is starting to pick up some steam. We would expect as we get into the fall of next year you'll see a much steeper recovery. Right now, this weekend should be a really good summer for travel.
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Interviewer2:14
I'm wondering whether the inclination to want to see people face to face business wise overcomes the new normal because a lot of people have seen you can do things through Zoom. But then again, I can imagine some big companies would love to have a meeting or a convention or something where everyone gets back together. That could be some pent-up demand there that gets you back to almost prepandemic levels. Do you think business gets back to prepandemic or will it always be down?
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Christopher Silcock2:48
No, I absolutely believe back to prepandemic levels and then go beyond. I mean, here's the thing. As you go out, and I have been, and talk to a lot of our customers on the group side, a lot of our big corporate customers, what they're telling you is this has been a difficult time. It's been thanks to the technology that's been available, it's been manageable, but it's unsustainable. They cannot build the culture of their company, they can't build relationships with folks they need around the world, they can't collaborate and innovate and do the things they need to do to drive the strategy and drive it out without having their teams and themselves out on the road. I think the longer that people get stuck in their basements or their closets doing video calls, I think the more it's pointed out in discussions I have with shareholders. I would bet a lot that when you get back to '23 and beyond, that business travel and group travel in addition to the leisure business will be back where it was in 2019 and growing beyond that. That's certainly what history has said. Look at technology innovation, it's been around for a long time. There was a time not to be pedantic where we didn't have a telephone. When that was invented, I guess you never needed to travel again. Internet and video conferencing, these are things that have now been adapted more broadly and are not new.
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Interviewer5:10
Company but internationally, you're making huge investments. Is this the time to do that?
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Christopher Silcock5:16
Absolutely. We're, you know, we've been out around the world for 70 years. I mean, we're in 121 countries at this point. If you look at our pipeline, which is the biggest it's ever been in our history, 60% of it is outside the U.S. That's the nice thing about a big, diversified business like ours. It's a big world and when some areas slow down, others speed up. Now everything slowed down during COVID, make no bones about it, but from a growth point of view, as an example, China, we're going to have one of the best years we've ever had in China this year because they're ahead of the curve relative to the U.S. and other countries.
