Speaker: Lisa Bain, Regional Director, Revenue Management, Americas Managed Hotels
Lisa Bain: Hello, I'm Lisa Bain I'm a Regional Director of Revenue Management with the Full Service, America's Managed team and more specifically, I work with the growth and openings team which is a multidisciplined team focused on commercial and operational functions. On the commercial side, Growth and Openings works very closely with Feasibility and Development to bring in new deals to the America's Managed family and then open those hotels. My main responsibilities or my region are the properties that are converting from another hotel brand into one of our family of brand hotels or a hotel that is being built from the ground up and we cover openings everywhere from Canada to South America. In addition, within Hilton, we work closely with hotels that are converting from one brand to another. For instance, a Doubletree becoming a Curio or with hotels that are undergoing a major rebranding effort.
Can you share a recent project or accomplishment that you're proud of?
Lisa Bain: There are a number of recent projects that I'm really proud of and they tend to have a common theme. It's working as a team to pull off a project. Maybe it's doing that project even faster than ever accomplished before or doing a project that's never been achieved before. The other really important theme is welcoming new hotel team members into our Hilton family. I've been with Hilton for more than 20 years. I know how big a deal it is to join this family and all we bring to it. This year, we converted the LXR Ka La'i Resort in Waikiki Beach, Hawaii. It became the first America's LXR Managed property. It was a very complicated conversion as this is a 462 unit all condo hotel. We needed to do the conversion very very quickly and we had very limited interaction with the existing hotel team to learn about it. It required quite a bit of detective work to understand the scope of the project and rally the troops around accomplishing conversion. I'm very proud that this quick conversion was possible because of all that teamwork from our enterprise disciplines including GDM and Honors and Finance, HRCC, Brand Support, Growth and Openings teams, regional teams and many, many more including task force from hotels in Hawaii and Florida who all came together as a village to open this hotel. I work hard at constant communication and trying to find better ways to approach openings. And I'm really proud to say that it helped this conversion happen in record time.
Which of your previous roles do you feel best equipped you for the responsibilities you have now?
Lisa Bain: My entire career is built upon my prior roles and they equiped me really well for my current responsibilities within Hilton. I always say what excites me (Now don't judge me) is hearing the cash register ring. Every role I've ever had has involved a product, whether it was building it, marketing it, selling it, forecasting it, or refining that entire process over and over again. But my career started as an Assistant Buyer for a Florida department store chain, which proved to be an excellent training ground to learn this process. I could literally secure a product and track it from purchase order to hitting the shelves to selling off the shelves. And I found I loved that process. But somehow that role segued into the cruise line industry where I was a product planner for Cunard Line and Seabourn Cruise Line. It's a real similar role to revenue management in the hotel industry. And what I learned was all about global pricing and sales offices, building out rates and promotional offers, itinerary planning, but most importantly, collaborating across a global company because that's not easy. This was my leapfrog into the hospitality industry and from there, I jumped into hotels where I've been with Hilton for the last 20 years. But it was really that initial strong background in product development and product management that set me up for success.
What are some routines or practices you’ve adopted (at work or at home) that have helped you grow in your career?
Lisa Bain: I feel the best practice that's really helped me grow my career is to focus on connecting with people and building solid relationships. I like to think my superpower is empathy. I think about what it's like to walk in someone else's shoes and how they're feeling at all times. Trying to find ways to support and help them grow is always one of my main goals. And to me, that's part of what hospitality is all about. In my role I have the opportunity to welcome people into the Hilton family and to be one of their first relationships within Hilton. This can set the tone for their career with Hilton and it's such a privilege to be in this position. Personally, I think happy people enjoy their roles. It helps them do really great work. And in turn, that makes for the best stay for our guests.
What advice would you give to someone who is interested in pursuing a similar career path?
Lisa Bain: The advice I'd give to someone interested in a career path that might look similar to mine is don't map it out too closely, be open to forks in the road. They can take you in a new and even better direction. And while all my roles have had a similar theme to them, they've been in very different industries. It's ok to move around. Skills are transferable and it's those unique perspectives you bring from the other paths in the road that can make you better and even more valuable in your new role. And most importantly, make sure along the way you're building really deep relationships with people. They'll make your life so much richer and they often lead to the next stepping stone.
