This month, HSM is focusing on supplier diversity, and we’re continuing our November Insights series today with a closer look at our company’s commitment to culturally authentic supplier partnerships. We sat down with HSM Strategic Accounts Senior Manager Lissette Landestoy, whose strength in international supply management is built on her years of experience in negotiation, F&B, capital projects, hotel opening and conversions, budgeting and hospitality management. Landestoy is currently leveraging her talents and years of hospitality expertise to support operations in the Caribbean, Central America and South America.

HSM: Why is supporting Hispanic-owned businesses an important part of HSM’s Supplier Diversity Program?
Landestoy: HSM’s Supplier Diversity Program began a decade ago, and since then we have cultivated relationships with a number of Hispanic-owned and other enterprises that might have previously been overlooked. This includes 4,900 women-, minority-, veteran-, LGBTQ-, disabled- and disadvantaged small businesses. And we realize that while we’ve made great strides, we have the capacity to do even more. Supporting Hispanic-owned businesses is an important part of HSM’s commitment to doubling our sourcing from diverse suppliers by 2030.

HSM: Why does supplier diversity matter?
Landestoy: On one hand, it’s just good business. When you consider a larger pool of suppliers, the bar gets raised across the board. Inclusion promotes innovation, drives competition and increases choice. And on the other hand, from a hospitality standpoint, supplier diversity can improve the travel experience. No one wants to travel halfway across the world and encounter the same exact types of products and services they did at home. To create authentic cultural experiences, we must seek out and support products and suppliers that are regionally representative.

HSM: How are you making this happen at HSM?
Landestoy: My primary focus is in providing support systems for the products and services supplied to our Hilton hotels in the Caribbean and Central and South America. Ensuring that these suppliers are identified, included and empowered helps us create a distinguished Hilton experience that is unique in the marketplace.

HSM: Do you have any advice for Hispanic suppliers wanting to partner with Hilton?
Landestoy: Suppliers interested in partnering with Hilton should have potential to present their uniqueness, quality and infrastructure to support the hotels in their region. It should also be evident when introducing their company’s portfolio and capabilities that they have a diverse foundation at their organizations. Hilton is looking for its suppliers to be authentically diverse in order to be truly representative of the regions in which our properties are located. Ultimately, my advice is to be you and be proud of it!

Thanks to Lisette and her colleagues, HSM is helping our partnering properties better achieve their goals of welcoming guests with culturally authentic hospitality of the highest quality. Learn more about HSM’s commitment to double our sourcing from diverse suppliers by 2030, and stay tuned for our upcoming Insights installment.

Coming up next, join us for a conversation with Leslee Ducey, Senior Director of Corporate Procurement Technology, about the steps HSM is taking to raise the bar in STEAM-related fields.