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Hilton Worldwide

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Hilton Hotels Corporation
Company typePublic (NYSE: HLT)
IndustryHotels
FoundedCisco, Texas, USA
HeadquartersBeverly Hills, California, USA
Key people
Barron Hilton, Co-Chairman / Stephen Bollenbach, Chairman & CEO / Matt Hart, President & COO
ProductsHotels
Revenue$3.853 billion USD (2003)
Number of employees
150,000
Website[1]

Hilton Hotels Corporation (NYSE: HLT) is one of the leading global hospitality companies, with nearly 2,800 hotels and 485,000 rooms employing 150,000 people in more than 80 countries. The company owns, manages or franchises a portfolio of brands, including Hilton, Conrad, Coral by Hilton, Doubletree, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hampton Inn®, Hampton Inn & Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Hilton Grand Vacations, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Scandic and The Waldorf-Astoria Collection. It was founded by Conrad Hilton in Cisco, Texas and is now headquartered out of Beverly Hills, California.

Aiming to offer top class service to its guests, Hilton has become a leader in the hospitality industry, setting new benchmarks with its hotels and use of technology. The company is around 5% owned by the founding family.

History

The original company was founded in 1919 by Conrad Hilton.

The Hotels Statler Company was acquired in 1954 for $111,000,000 in what was then the world's largest real estate transaction.

Separated its international operations into a separate traded company on December 1, 1964. Subsequently, Trans World Corp., the holding company for Trans World Airlines, acquired Hilton International Co. in 1967. In 1986, UAL Corp., the holding company for United Airlines acquired Hilton International Co. from Trans World and changed its name to Allegis Corp. as it attempted to re-incarnate itself as a full service travel company encompassing Westin Hotels and Hertz rental cars in addition to Hilton International and United. In 1987 after a corporate putsch, the newly renamed UAL Corp. sold Hilton International to Ladbroke Group, a British leisure and gambling company, which in May 1999 adopted the new moniker Hilton Group plc.

As a result, there have been two separate, fully independent companies operating hotels under the Hilton name. Those Hiltons outside the US were, until recently, styled as Hilton International hotels. In addition, for many years hotels run by the Hilton Group in the US were called Vista International Hotels, while hotels operated by the American arm of Hilton outside the US were named Conrad Hotels. The Vista chain has been phased out, while Conrad is now restyled as one of the luxury brands of Hilton (along with The Waldorf=Astoria Collection) and operates hotels within the US, as well as abroad. To minimize consumer confusion, the American and British Hilton companies have, for the last few years, had a joint marketing agreement under which they share the same logos, promote each other's brands and maintained joint reservation systems.

On December 29, 2005 Hilton Hotels Corporation agreed to re-acquire Hilton International along with its Conrad Hotels, Scandic Hotels and LivingWell Health Clubs affiliates from British-based Hilton Group (FTSE:HG) for GBP 3.30 billion (or $5.71 billion) bringing the two groups back together. Hilton Group will re-assume the name Ladbroke Group plc. When the deal closes, Hilton Hotels will become the world's largest hotelier surpassing Intercontinental Hotels

The Waldorf=Astoria Collection was announced on January 17, 2005 as a new Luxury Brand.

Racism and boycott in Scandinavia

In Norway Scandic Hotels owned by the Hilton Hotel Corporation faced an uproar for refusing to book rooms for a Cuban delegation because of the U.S. trade embargo on the communist-run island. The 300,000-member Norwegian Union of Municipal and General Employees said it would boycott all Scandic hotels in Norway. The Anti-Racist Center in Oslo filed a police complaint against the hotels, saying Norwegian law ensures that "no one can be denied access based on their citizenship or ethnic origin." The Norwegian Foreign Ministry said all companies operating in Norway have to obey Norwegian law. It's expected the court will order the Scandic Hotels to pay fines for expelling guests [2], [3], [4], [5]

Hilton brands

See also

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