Best Western Hotels & Resorts CEO David Kong: “Here Are The 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became CEO”

Autocratic Leaders Are Seldom Successful. While an idea may be right, if the CEO doesn’t have the support of his or her team, the idea won’t be successful. Building support for a common vision is vitally important.

I had the distinct pleasure to interview David Kong. David is the longest running CEO of the top 10 major global hotel chains. Since he was named President & CEO of Best Western Hotels & Resorts in 2004, Kong has led the company to its greatest growth to date. Under his leadership, Best Western has grown to a global portfolio of 16 exciting brands, comprising over 4,500 hotels across all chain scale segments. The company has consistently achieved impressive financial success with a RevPAR Index of over 109 the past seven years and unprecedented performance in guest loyalty and hotel satisfaction. Kong has been instrumental in molding the company into a vibrant and relevant brand.

Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us the story about what brought you to this specific career path?