{"id":40964,"date":"2026-05-16T12:14:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T12:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/40964\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T12:14:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T12:14:12","slug":"gen-z-wants-ai-proof-jobs-the-president-of-a-50-property-hotel-chain-says-hospitality-is-hiding-in-plain-sight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/40964\/","title":{"rendered":"Gen Z wants AI-proof jobs. The president of a 50-property hotel chain says hospitality is hiding in plain sight"},"content":{"rendered":"

As leaders like Elon Musk predict that work will be optional<\/a> in a few years, more workers may soon find themselves lounging at the resorts of their choosing. But in the meantime, as the class of 2026 transitions from students to the newest members of the workforce, the hunt is on to find AI-proof career paths<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One area likely to thrive regardless of the outcome: hospitality<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And according to Kurt Alexander<\/a>, president of Omni Hotels & Resorts\u2014which operates over 50 properties across North America\u2014landing a job in the field may be more accessible than it seems. The catch? You have to bring the right attitude.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can teach you the hospitality business,\u201d he told Fortune. \u201cBut do you have an attitude and a willingness to serve people? Because that\u2019s the business we\u2019re in, and it\u2019s hard work, and it\u2019s not sexy in many respects, but it\u2019s good work and there\u2019s a lot of dignity in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Attitude-first hiring is a philosophy echoed by business leaders, from billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban<\/a> to Amazon<\/a> CEO Andy Jassy<\/a>, both of whom have emphasized that culture fit and willingness to learn can often outweigh other weaknesses. Alexander said that the same mindset has shaped how he evaluates talent inside hospitality, where technical skills can be taught but service orientation cannot.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s also a philosophy he arrived at through his own unconventional path to the top of the hotel industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Growing up, he dreamed of becoming an NBA player. But after realizing elite basketball wasn\u2019t in the cards, he pivoted toward finance\u2014earning an economics degree from Duke University and a master\u2019s in accounting from the University of Virginia.<\/p>\n

He started his career as an auditor at Ernst & Young<\/a>, where he worked with major clients including Delta Air Lines<\/a>. He later spent seven years at Atlanta-based investment bank VRA Partners before joining Omni in 2014 as director of strategic planning. By 2017, he had been promoted to chief financial officer, and in 2022, he landed the company\u2019s top job of president.<\/p>\n

Notably, Alexander entered hospitality leadership without prior hands-on hotel experience. During his first year in leadership, he immersed himself<\/a> in every corner of the business\u2014from checking guests into rooms and working in hotel restaurants to changing bedsheets and folding towels in laundry rooms. That experience working alongside the Dallas-based company\u2019s now-over-20,000 employees reinforced a belief he now carries into hiring and leadership: resilience and work ethic<\/a> still matter.<\/p>\n

\u201cHard work beats talent when talent doesn\u2019t work hard,\u201d Alexander said. \u201cBut if talent works hard, talent wins.\u201d<\/p>\n

How Gen Z can succeed in an AI-powered world<\/p>\n

For younger workers entering a labor market increasingly shaped by automation<\/a>, Alexander believes human skills<\/a> are becoming more\u2014not less\u2014valuable. That is part of why hospitality can be seen as a durable career path in the AI era. Hotel chains are already using AI for tasks like answering routine questions or streamlining check-in, but the industry still depends on work that is much harder to automate: calming an upset guest, reading a room, making a thoughtful recommendation, or creating the kind of personal experience that keeps customers coming back.<\/p>\n

The labor market data backs up that demand. The latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data <\/a>found that in March 2026, accommodation and food services had the highest job-opening rate of any industry, at 5.5%. And from 2024 to 2034, BLS projects the sector will add more than 553,000 jobs.<\/p>\n

The workers who stand out, Alexander said, will be the ones who know how to use technology thoughtfully while still bringing distinctly human judgment and curiosity to the table.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the advent of AI, I think that asking questions is like this very underrated skill,\u201d he said, adding that those who succeed the most are those who are the best at prompting technology\u2014and have the intuition to know what to refine.<\/p>\n

Integrity and self-awareness also rank high on Alexander\u2019s list of qualities he looks for in new hires. In interviews, he often asks candidates a revealing question: \u201cWhat are some of the rough edges in your personality?\u201d<\/p>\n

That willingness to answer candidly can say more than a polished r\u00e9sum\u00e9 ever could, he said. The response can also often reveal a person\u2019s level of wisdom and discernment\u2014two traits he believes are increasingly important in an AI-driven world, yet are still largely developed through relationships and real-world experiences.<\/p>\n

And despite holding three degrees himself\u2014including an MBA<\/a> from Northwestern University\u2014Alexander said those lessons can emerge from many kinds of educational experiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t care what school it is\u2014it could be Duke, it could be community college\u2014being around relationships and engaging in the real world in a little bit of a protected setting, to me, is the way that you learn wisdom and discernment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Work-life balance is a \u2018fallacy,\u2019 according to Omni\u2019s president<\/p>\n

Developing that wisdom and discernment also shapes how people think about ambition, priorities, and the increasingly elusive idea of work-life balance<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For Alexander, work and life aren\u2019t separate buckets competing against each other\u2014they\u2019re deeply intertwined.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a little bit of a fallacy to say, \u2018You have work over here and then life over here, and striking a balance between those is what we strive for,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t think that\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead, he believes people should first decide what matters most to them\u2014and accept the tradeoffs that come with those choices. For example, if you want to make as much money as possible in a set time, recognize that your friendships and physical health may suffer. On the other hand, he added, people who prioritize travel, exploration, or flexibility may not earn as much as peers working 80-hour weeks on Wall Street.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think about work-life balance through, \u2018What is important to you?\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cAnd then set about accomplishing that because work is a part of life, and it\u2019s a really good part of life. If we didn\u2019t have the chance to work, we would be miserable people. I\u2019m confident in that.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Alexander, living out those priorities means waking up at 5:30 a.m. to run with friends before taking his kids to school, then wrapping up his workday back home around 6 or 7 p.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That perspective\u2014less about balance as equilibrium and more about alignment and acceptance of tradeoffs\u2014ultimately reflects how he thinks about fulfillment more broadly:\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cLife is going to take you on journeys that you couldn\u2019t write for yourself,\u201d he said. \u201cBut keep showing up, keep working hard, keep investing in relationships\u2014and to me, you\u2019re going to end up doing something that is very fulfilling.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As leaders like Elon Musk predict that work will be optional in a few years, more workers may…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":40965,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[24,25,2106,24970,24909,2105,1087,24971,24972,382,6046,8797,8798],"class_list":["post-40964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ai","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-career-advice","tag-career-development","tag-career-success","tag-careers","tag-gen-z","tag-hotel","tag-hotel-industry","tag-jobs","tag-view-from-the-c-suite","tag-work-life","tag-work-life-balance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40964"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40964\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}