WASHINGTON — Hilton Hotels, one of the most famous hotel brands in the world, and headquartered just outside of Washington DC in Virgina, has awarded its highest honor to a female employee at the Hilton Hotel in Makkah. With over 4000 properties in 100 counties around the world, Abeer Fakeerh eclipsed all her colleagues and won Hilton's, "Light & Warmth" award — the highest honor the company awards. Fakeerh runs the HR department in Hilton Hotel in Makkah, and is the first woman to hold this position. Speaking to Saudi Gazette, Abeer said, "I am just so honored to win this award. Working for an American company has given me so much opportunity and opened my eyes to the world. It's so different to working for a locally based organization. I wanted a challenge and this is it." Hilton currently operates 10 hotels in the Kingdom. The award specially highlights the importance of hospitality, integrity leadership, and teamwork. In making the announcement Hilton CEO, Chris Nassetta said, "Our CEO Light & Warmth Award recipients are true leaders within our company, and help drive our success while representing the core values of our founder Conrad Hilton." The award has inspired Abeer further. "I would love to be the General Manager of a hotel one day, and if I could visit one place in the United States it would be Los Angeles." With President Obama's visit to the Kingdom soon, and discussions about the further strategic business alliance between the United States and Saudi Arabia, Abeer is the perfect example of great collaboration between the two countries and a bright future for development.
