Hilton Worldwide

**Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.**, formerly **Hilton Hotels Corporation**, is an American multinational hospitality company that manages and franchises a broad portfolio of hotels and resorts. Founded by Conrad Hilton on May 1919, the corporation is now led by Christopher J. Nassetta.

Hilton is headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia. As of March 31, 2019, its portfolio includes 5,757 properties (including timeshare properties) with 923,110 rooms in 113 countries and territories, including 689 that are managed and 4,947 that are franchised, with the combined managed and franchised properties having a total of 893,494 rooms, in addition to 68 that are owned or leased (including 59 that are wholly owned or leased, one owned by a consolidated non-wholly owned entity, two that are leased by consolidated variable interest entities (VIEs) and six that are owned or leased by unconsolidated affiliates. Prior to their December 2013 IPO, Hilton was ranked as the 36th largest privately held company in the United States by *Forbes*.

Hilton has 18 brands across different market segments, including Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Canopy by Hilton, Curio - A Collection by Hilton, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton by Hilton, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Home2 Suites by Hilton, Hilton Grand Vacations, Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Tru by Hilton, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, Motto by Hilton, LXR Hotels and Resorts, Signia by Hilton and Tempo by Hilton.

On December 12, 2013, Hilton again became a public company, raising an estimated $2.35 billion in its second IPO. At the time, The Blackstone Group held a 45.8 percent stake in the company. In October 2016, China's HNA Group agreed to acquire a 25 percent equity interest in Hilton from Blackstone. The transaction was expected to close in the first quarter of 2017. Hilton's largest stockholders were until mid-2018 HNA Group, Blackstone, and Wellington Management Group, which own 25%, 15.2%, and 6.7% of Hilton common stock respectively. Hilton Hotels are now a stand-alone company.

Hilton was founded by Conrad Hilton in Cisco, Texas, in 1919 and had its headquarters in Beverly Hills, California, from 1969 until 2009. In August 2009, the company moved to Tysons Corner, unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, near McLean.

## History

In 1919, Conrad Hilton purchased his first hotel, the 40-room Mobley Hotel in Cisco, Texas, and bought additional Texas hotels as years passed.

In 1925, the Dallas Hilton became the first hotel to use the Hilton name. In 1927, Hilton expanded to Waco, Texas, where he opened the first hotel with air-conditioning in public areas and cold running water.

In 1943, Hilton purchased the Roosevelt Hotel and the Plaza Hotel, both well-established high-end luxury hotels less than a mile apart in New York City's Midtown Manhattan neighborhood. With this pair of acquisitions, Hilton established the first hospitality company to span the contiguous United States. The company incorporated in 1946 as the Hilton Hotels Corporation, and subsequently began public trading of shares on the New York Stock Exchange. In 1947, the Roosevelt Hotel became the first hotel in the world to have televisions in its rooms.

Hilton International was founded a few years later, in 1949, with the opening of the Caribe Hilton Hotel in Puerto Rico.[25] Barman Ramon "Monchito" Marreno claimed he created the piña colada cocktail at this resort. Hilton purchased the Waldorf Astoria New York in the same year.

The Hotels Statler Company was acquired in 1954 for $111 million in what was then the world's most expensive real estate transaction. One year later, Hilton created the world's first central reservations office, titled "HILCRON". The reservations team in 1955 consisted of eight members on staff booking reservations for any of Hilton's then 28 hotels. Reservations agents used the "availability board" to track records. The chalkboard measured 30 feet (9.1 m) by 6 feet (1.8 m) and allowed HILCRON to make over 6,000 reservations in 1955. Bookings could be made for any Hilton via telephone, telegram, or Teletype.

Later in 1955, Hilton launched a program to ensure every hotel room would include air conditioning.

In late 1955, Hilton opened the first post–World War II property in Istanbul, Turkey.

Hilton is credited with pioneering the airport hotel concept with the opening of the San Francisco Airport Hilton in 1959.

In 1965, Hilton launched Lady Hilton, the first hotel concept created specifically for women guests. To appeal to female travelers, a number of properties offered floors occupied by only women along with distinct amenities for their usage.

In 1969, the first DoubleTree Hotel opened. However, Hilton was not affiliated with the brand until its acquisition of the parent company in 1999.

Hilton purchased the Flamingo Las Vegas in 1970, which would become the first in the domestic gaming business to be listed on the NYSE.

In 1979, founder Conrad Hilton died at the age of 91. Hilton Hotels Corporation later created the Conrad Hotels brand in honor of Hilton.

Hilton Honors (formerly Hilton HHonors), the company's guest loyalty program, was initiated in 1987. In 1994, the Honors surpassed competing hotel loyalty programs by offering members both hotel credit points and airline credit miles.

The company has been a sponsor of the United States Olympic Team.

### Two chains with one name

The company spun off its international operations into a separately traded company on December 1, 1964, known as "Hilton International Co." It was acquired in 1967 by Trans World Corp., the holding company for Trans World Airlines. In 1986, it was sold to UAL Corp., the holding company for United Airlines, which became Allegis Corp. in an attempt to reincarnate itself as a full-service travel company, encompassing Westin Hotels and Hertz rental cars in addition to Hilton International and United Airlines. In 1987, after a corporate putsch, the renamed UAL Corp. sold Hilton International to Ladbroke Group plc, British leisure, and gambling company, which, on May 1999, adopted the name "Hilton Group plc."

As a result, there were two separate, fully independent companies operating hotels under the Hilton name. Those Hilton Hotels outside the U.S. were, until 2006, styled as "Hilton International" hotels. Because the two chains were contractually forbidden to operate hotels in the other's territory under the Hilton name, for many years hotels run by Hilton International in the U.S. were called Vista International Hotels, while hotels operated by the American arm of Hilton outside the U.S. were named Conrad Hotels.

In 1997, to minimize longtime consumer confusion, the American and British Hilton companies adopted a joint marketing agreement under which they shared the same logos, promoted each other's brands and maintained joint reservation systems. At that point, the Vista chain was phased out, while Conrad has been restyled as one of the luxury brands of Hilton (along with the Waldorf-Astoria Collection) and operates hotels within the U.S. as well as abroad.

In 1971, Hilton acquired International Leisure Company, including the Las Vegas Hilton and Flamingo Hilton.

In 1998, Hilton spun off its gaming operations into a separate, publicly held company called Park Place Entertainment (later Caesars Entertainment, Inc.)

In 1999, Hilton acquired Promus Hotel Corporation, which included the DoubleTree, Red Lion, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn, and Homewood Suites brands.

### 21st century

In 2001, Hilton agreed to sell Red Lion to WestCoast Hospitality.

On December 29, 2005, Hilton Hotels Corporation agreed to re-acquire the Hilton International chain from its British owner, Hilton Group plc, for £3.3 billion ($5.71 billion). As well as bringing the two Hilton companies back together as a single entity, this deal also included Hilton plc properties operating as Conrad Hotels, Scandic Hotels, and LivingWell Health Clubs. On February 23, 2006, the deal closed, making Hilton Hotels the world's fifth-largest hotel operator in the number of rooms. Scandic Hotels was sold the next year on March 1 to EQT Partners.

On July 3, 2007, Hilton Hotels Corp. agreed to an all-cash buyout from the Blackstone Group LP in a $26 billion (including debt) deal that would make Blackstone the world's largest hotel owner. At $47.50 per share, the buyout price was 32 percent higher than the closing value of a share of Hilton stock on July 3. The deal was the culmination of a year of on and off discussions with Blackstone. In October 2007, Christopher J. Nassetta was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Hilton. In February 2009, Hilton Hotels Corp. announced that its headquarters were moving from Beverly Hills, California to Fairfax County, Virginia.

While Blackstone saw an opportunity to streamline the company and push Hilton's expansion overseas when Blackstone pursued Hilton in 2006 and 2007, the buyout saddled the company with $20 billion of debt just as the economy was turning down. The debt had very liberal terms, so there was no danger of default, but when travel slowed, the company suffered. In April 2010, Hilton and Blackstone restructured the debt. Blackstone invested a further $800 million of equity and the debt was reduced to $16 billion.

Hilton returned to being a public company on December 12, 2013. This second IPO in the company's history raised an estimated $2.35 billion. The Blackstone Group retained a 45.8% stake in the company.

The company announced on February 2016 that Hilton would turn its hotel holdings into a real estate investment trust. Prior to making the announcement, the company went to the IRS for approval.

In February 2016, Hilton announced its intention to spin off its timeshare and real estate businesses, creating three independent public companies. The spin-offs of Park Hotels & Resorts and Hilton Grand Vacations were completed in January 2017. As of 2018, the company is a fully independent publicly-traded company (just like in the pre-buyout days) after the exits of Blackstone and HNA.

## Brands

### Upper Upscale

CanopyCURIO CollectionEmbassy SuitesHilton Siginia
### Upscale

Hilton Garden InnHomewood SuitesDoubleTreeTapestry Collection
## see also

* Marriott International
* InterContinental Hotels Group
* Hyatt Hotels Corporation

## External Links

Official Site

CONRAD • LXR • Waldorf Astoria • Tempo
Upper Upscale
 Canopy • CURIO Collection •  Embassy Suites • Hilton • Signia by Hilton
Upscale
DoubleTree • Hilton Garden Inn • Homewood Suites •  Tapestry Collection
Upper Midscale
motto •  Hampton • Home2 Suites by Hilton
Midscale
Tru
Timeshare
Hilton Grand Vacations