Enrique Aranda Morilla: home fixture

"I have been hotel manager at Hilton Diagonal Mar Barcelona for close to a year and a half now; it's been a really amazing experience so far. Every day you find yourself dealing with different situations, which carry different managerial requirements and procedures in order to maintain the successful upkeep of the property. It's not always easy, but the last 18 months have been very enjoyable.

We are right across the street from the International Convention Centre, meaning we have a very strong mix of business clientele. But a lot of it comes down to this particular city; you never have time to get bored in Barcelona, and you always have something to work on - not only regarding the near future, but the long term too.

Although I initially studied engineering, I've actually always worked in hospitality in some guise. I began on a private luxury yacht on the weekends when I was 16, to earn some money to support my studies. Not long after, I realised that I wanted a career in the industry, so I changed my path and decided to study hotel management at another university, instead of engineering. It felt like the right choice and I haven't looked back.

What I have always enjoyed about working in hotels is the opportunity to work with more people and experience new things on a daily basis. No day is the same, which means it can be unpredictable at times. There's also a lot of moving around, which can have an impact on your private life.

This variety, however, is something I've always tried to embrace - by not knowing what's around the corner, you don't have time to dwell too much and you need to be flexible. You need to balance your private life with your professional life but, if you are lucky, you can get past these issues successfully.

I am aware that I have been fortunate to progress so quickly in my career. When I set out in 2005 as an assistant manager at Barceló Group, the economy was obviously doing really well, which meant there was a huge pipeline of new hotels requiring lots of people in management positions. Within five years, I was employed as general manager in Oviedo.

During that period, there were lots of destination changes, but I was always ready to pack my bags when needed. I am also very lucky that I have a very supportive wife, who has never had a problem with moving around.

While not the be-all and end-all, I believe hotel management and business courses can be very useful for hotel and general managers who want to improve their skill sets; I have attended several academic courses and seminars, the last one being a mindset coaching course run by Cornell University. They have really helped me a lot, and do give you a new way of looking at best practices and tackling the everyday concerns around running a top-class hotel.

Right now is probably the first time in my professional life that I have been truly settled and not thinking about what's going to be my next move. To use a football analogy, joining Hilton is like suddenly being signed by Barcelona, playing right beside Lionel Messi [said to be the best player in the world] in the top league; I am working with the best and learning from the best.

When you find yourself in this position, you can't help but feel like you are improving all the time, gaining the best tools to further your career and build your knowledge."