Alisha Khan

I truly attribute much of my success to my mom. From a young age, she always taught me the importance of integrity in every aspect of life — both personally and professionally. She would always tell me that if you consistently do your best and lead with integrity, people will recognize your character and see that you’re a good person.

That lesson has stayed with me throughout my entire career and continues to shape the way I lead today. Integrity is, without question, the most important value to me. To me, it means doing the right thing whether no one is watching or everyone is watching. It’s about being honest, accountable, dependable, and leading by example every single day.

In hospitality especially, where teamwork, trust, and guest experience are everything, I believe integrity is what builds strong teams, lasting relationships, and genuine respect. It’s the foundation of the leader and person I strive to be every day.

One of the best pieces of career advice I’ve ever received came from my mentor while I was working at the Hilton Bonnet Creek and Waldorf Astoria Orlando. He told me, “You can be 80% today.” At first, I was surprised because you rarely hear that from a leader in hospitality. But what he meant was powerful — when you give 100% of yourself every single day, it’s okay to slow down sometimes. You have to pace yourself, take care of yourself, and recognize that constantly running at full speed eventually leads to burnout.

That advice stayed with me because hospitality is such a demanding industry. We pour so much into our teams and our guests, and sometimes we forget that rest is important too. Learning that it’s okay to take a step back when needed has helped me become a stronger and more sustainable leader.

Another quote that has always stuck with me is, “Nothing is worse than an invisible manager.” That truly shaped my leadership style. I strongly believe in being present, hands-on, and visible for my team. I don’t request weekends off because, coming up in hospitality, I learned that weekends are when your team often needs you the most. Those are the moments when leadership matters most, and I want my team to know I’m there beside them, supporting them through the busiest and most challenging times.

Being a visible leader is incredibly important to me. I believe leadership is not about sitting behind a desk — it’s about showing up, working alongside your team, building trust, and creating an environment where people feel supported and valued.

My advice to anyone, especially in hospitality, is to always be genuine. Guests, customers, and people in general can immediately tell when someone isn’t being authentic. If a guest experiences an inconvenience, simply saying “sorry” doesn’t truly mean anything unless there’s genuine care behind it.

I always tell my team that fixing the problem is important, of course, but what truly makes a difference is the compassion and sincerity you show while doing it. Hospitality is about making people feel seen, heard, and cared for. It’s not just about solving issues — it’s about how you make someone feel during that interaction.

To me, caring is one of the most important parts of hospitality. People remember when you genuinely empathize with them and when your heart is truly in what you do. That authenticity builds trust, creates meaningful guest experiences, and is what separates good service from exceptional service.

I think after COVID, everything changed in the hospitality industry. It was such a defining moment for all of us, both personally and professionally, because it reminded us how quickly life and business can change. I believe it made many of us feel a little more mortal and aware of how fragile the industry can be.

At the time, I was working at a large hotel in Orlando near Disney, and seeing a property of that size shut down for three months was something I never imagined I would experience in my career. It showed all of us just how deeply global events, health crises, and economic uncertainty can impact hospitality.

Unfortunately, in this industry, we feel those effects immediately. Any major virus outbreak, economic downturn, or travel uncertainty directly affects occupancy, staffing, guest confidence, and overall operations. Those challenges are very real, and they’ve changed the way hospitality leaders think about adaptability, preparedness, and supporting their teams through difficult times.

At the same time, I think the experience also strengthened many of us in hospitality. It taught us resilience, flexibility, and the importance of human connection. Even during uncertain times, hospitality remains centered around people taking care of people, and that’s something that will always matter.

Integrity is the value that means the most to me — 100% integrity. To me, it’s about doing the right thing whether no one is watching or everyone is watching. It’s about being honest, accountable, dependable, and staying true to your values in every situation.

My mother has always been the biggest influence behind that mindset. She taught me from a young age to carry integrity into every aspect of life, both personally and professionally. She would always tell me that if you consistently do your best and lead with integrity, people will recognize your character and see the kind of person you truly are.

That lesson has stayed with me throughout my life and career. In every role I’ve held and every team I’ve led, I’ve tried to live by those values. I believe integrity builds trust, strengthens relationships, and creates respect — and in hospitality, those things are everything.

Beyond integrity, I also deeply value compassion, authenticity, accountability, and hard work. I believe genuine care for people is what creates meaningful guest experiences and strong teams. Being authentic and sincere allows people to trust you, while accountability ensures you lead by example and take ownership in every situation. Hard work and consistency are also incredibly important to me because success doesn’t happen overnight — it comes from showing up every day, staying committed, and always being willing to learn and grow.

As a leader, I strive to bring all of those values into the workplace every day, not only to support my team and guests, but to be someone people can genuinely rely on and respect.