For Raymond Chigot, creating a new hotel in a new country is both a financial vision and sometimes a political act. The presence of Hilton in South Africa is an example of this. “It was important to be present and accompany the country's rebirth. This was also the occasion for meeting exceptional men such as Nelson Mandela. He gave humanity a great lesson by inaugurating the Standton Hotel in Johannesburg. He was able to work with his former adversaries to develop the country in harmony”.

Conqueror and humanitarian, the two aspects are constants in the techniques of the developer who allowed Hilton to add some 14,000 rooms to its portfolio, via 50 totally unique projects in 30 new countries for Hilton. Each hotel creation, each journey corresponds to a new vision, though not for the simple pleasure of seeing yet an additional hotel. “It is important to remain concrete and pragmatic and to ask the question of whether or not the opening will be profitable for the chain. Ultimately, the most evident form of success is the financial performance of the hotel after its opening. Concluding a deal is not everything. It is important to conclude a good deal”.

The career of Raymond Pierre Chigot is also full of making important contacts, which have allowed the group to build a solid base in several counties.

For example, while looking for a new site in Saudi Arabia, he found an ideal location, which turned out to be owned by the heritor of the kingdom's founder. The meeting with Prince Bandar Abdul Aziz al Saud, in his Taif Palace, his mountain residence, was a determining factor for the rest of the project.

“I met someone truly unique, with whom very strong ties have been made. His vision and his idea for the hotel were straightforward: make this hotel the most beautiful creation in the entire kingdom. This is what we have done together. He was so satisfied with our relationship that he asked Hilton to manage his own royal residence and to built a second hotel in Medina, one of Islam's holy sites”. Even today, these two hotels remain flagships of the Hilton chain throughout the world.

Since then, not one year has passed without Raymond Pierre Chigot meeting a member of the reigning Saudi family, both for maintaining friendly ties as for preparing for future investments. The prince will even stay for five weeks at the new hotel opened in Paris near the Arc de Triomphe, one of his recent creations.

After so many years of travelling around the world in search of new terrain, Raymond Pierre Chigot developed a kind of sixth sense. “I cannot visit a city or a country without asking myself the question of whether or not a Hilton hotel would belong there. It is a mixture of curiosity, ambition for the chain, and personal challenge: would I still be able to come up with a good project that would enrich the brand? I never let go of this personal challenge and the human adventure that it entails”.

Though the first step is often born out of intuition or a personal vision, what follows it only possible as a result of the work of an entire development team. “I am aware that my successes are the result of the work of a team that I managed to motivate. Like an orchestral conductor, I ask much of the people around me to perform a work without hitting a wrong note. However, they also know that I am as demanding with myself, and they can count on me if needed”.