Dino Michael, in charge of refurbishing the Waldorf Astoria and Conrad in New York, says such jobs take years longer than a pandemic, and wealthy clients are itching to get ouNew York — Dino Michael took on one of the most coveted jobs in travel, that of global head of luxury brands for Hilton Worldwide, in November 2019. Four months into his tenure, the industry collapsed around him.
“The one thing that has stood out to me over the last few months is — given how big an enterprise we are — how nimble we’ve been able to be,” he says, pointing to the quick rollouts of flexible cancellation policies and strict cleaning measures that the company committed to under the Hilton CleanStay initiative it announced in late April.
But the spaces travelers know and love will be “restored” more than “renovated”, Michael says, of an effort to return to their original post-war grandeur. “These types of projects take five to eight years to complete,” he says. “That lets us look beyond Covid-19.” He adds that the current realities may permanently alter some behaviour — such as opting to wear a mask when we have sniffles, to reduce the odds of spreading illness — but says hotel development happens on a long enough lead to render pandemic-specific design plans unnecessary.
No matter, says Michael. “The leisure sector will come back before the corporate sector. That’s where luxury is well placed. People have had major trips cancelled and are itching to get out.”