We have watched with great sadness the painful and horrific events that have unfolded over the past several weeks as it relates to racism, injustice and inequality in our country. We are heartbroken for the families of George Floyd and the other victims.

While words fall short of expressing our sorrow and outrage, we recognize the devastating impact this is having on our Black and Brown communities and to many across the country on a deeply personal level. We stand with you and believe racism, discrimination and intolerance of any kind have no place in our society, and we can assure you this behavior is not tolerated at Host. We believe racism should be eradicated.

As Americans, we must unite, speak up and take action to encourage and promote diversity, equality and inclusion. These foundational principals are essential to making our society, communities and businesses thrive and in providing an environment where everyone can achieve the safety, security and opportunity they deserve.

We believe we need to double down in our efforts to turn this inflection point into a positive turning point in our history. Now is the time for us to make our actions speak louder than our words. With this in mind, I am proud to share that I have recently joined the CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion initiative and to personally pledge to continue to advance diversity and inclusion within our workplace.

We remain committed to fostering a space where we listen, learn and act; treat each other as equals; show support and respect to each other and our partners; and encourage freedom of expression and understanding of differences. Diversity and inclusion will remain at the forefront of our priorities and integral to our corporate values.

Additionally, we have a long-standing history of giving back and helping to strengthen our communities with a focus on at risk communities and youth education through charities, such as Junior Achievement, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Habitat for Humanity, Tahirih Justice Center and National LGBTQ Task Force. However, we know there’s room to focus specifically on support to our Black and Brown communities. Once our business recovers, we intend to target additional giving over time and want to develop holistic and integrated partnerships. Because we aim for this to be a long-term partnership, it’s important to us that we select organizations that will help drive meaningful change locally and nationally.

We believe that this needs to be a sustained effort by us and by many others. Our hope is that with continued focus on these issues and our collective commitment we can contribute to a better, safer and more just community for all.


Jim Risoleo
President and CEO, Host Hotels & Resorts