The vice president of operations of Southeast Asia at Hilton shares his favourite as well as his loneliest travel experiences.
Some of us dream to travel, others travel to dream. For Paul Hutton, the vice president of operations of Southeast Asia at Hilton, the latter holds true. The man has been exploring the world since he could remember—the result of being the son of an ambassador. Since then, Hutton, who was born in Switzerland but grew up in Australia and all over the world, has clocked 35 years in the hospitality industry, a field the Glion Institute of Higher Education graduate passionately pursued a career in after staying in many beautiful hotels around the world during the trips with his father.
And like his father, Hutton’s career with Hilton sees him constantly travelling—mostly for quick overnight trips on a weekly basis—and sometimes, moving around the world. At different points in his career, he and his family have called Africa, Hong Kong, Romania and the Middle East home. “It’s the most remarkable and rewarding career out there,” he enthuses, before adding that the satisfaction is from getting to work in a diverse environment and being able to give back to the local communities. “There’s also a certain magic to the job," he says, "Regardless of age, everyone loves a good hotel story.”
There is still one destination the world traveller has yet to check off his bucket list: Canada. "Like Australia, it is a British colony, so it’d be incredibly interesting to see what elements of colonial heritage still remain after all these years. I would also most likely be exploring the wilderness and relishing the changes in climate.” He shares more of his travel stories here.