Hilton is leaning hard into retention, purpose, and benefits at a moment when hospitality is trying to hold onto people.
The company took the No. 1 spot on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For — Europe 2026 list, which is based on anonymous employee survey data and employee benefits reviews. In the U.K., 92% of Hilton employees rated it a 'great place to work', compared with an average of 54% for a typical U.K. organization, according to Great Place to Work, which partners with Fortune on the ranking.
The hotel group is also expanding the support it offers workers. Hilton’s care hub, which provides guidance and strategies for caring for elderly relatives, children, and mental health advice, was first introduced in the U.S. and is now available for staff across Europe and the Middle East. Country-specific pages have been developed for 17 regions. Access to Hilton’s discounted gym memberships and wellbeing apps has also been expanded to 10 new countries in the region over the past year.
Steve Ryan, senior vice president of HR for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa at Hilton, said the company wants to remain 'people-led and people-focused.' He said the company is using technology to 'enhance—not replace—the human interactions' that make a hotel stay memorable.
Ryan also pointed to the company’s 'travel with purpose' program, which encourages employees to join community projects such as litter picking, cleaning river banks, and helping young people with CV writing. In 2025, Hilton employees spent 1.8 million hours volunteering.
The labor challenge is not small. Demand for workers in the travel and tourism sector is projected to exceed supply by more than 43 million people by 2035, according to research by the World Economic Forum. Hilton’s current pipeline includes 329 hotels under construction or in development, and Ryan said opening new properties requires building culture from scratch.
That is the real story for any company in a service business: capital can build rooms, but people deliver the experience. Hilton’s numbers suggest that worker loyalty is not a soft metric. It is a margin issue, a productivity issue, and ultimately a competitive advantage.
For an industry that cannot afford to lose talent, the market has already voted for one conclusion. Better pay, better benefits, and a culture that gives workers a stake in the business are not corporate decoration. They are the cost of staying in the game.
