Conrad Hilton: The Great Life of a Great Man. Success stories: Conrad Hilton - man-hotel Conrad Hilton success story
“A man who knew how to make money literally from nothing” – this is how the famous American entrepreneur Conrad Hilton can be characterized. The son of a modest grocer, he became the founder of the world's largest hotel chain Hilton and made an invaluable contribution to the development of the hotel business.
Conrad Hilton was born at the end of 1887 in a small town in the southwestern United States in a family of emigrants from Europe. From childhood, the boy showed business acumen, helping his father in the store. At the same time, Konrad dreamed of a career as a banker who turns millions. And this desire has only grown stronger over the years.
In the summer of 1919, fate threw Hilton (who had already suffered several financial failures by that time) to Texas (Cisco), where he soon acquired the Mobley Hotel, which was in a deplorable state. Could anyone then have imagined that this provincial hotel - a simple rooming house for local miners - would be the beginning of the fantastic success of Conrad Hilton?
Of course, the path of the great hotelier was full of difficulties. But people who changed their lives - and Hilton, of course, is just such a person! - are famous for their ability to turn even the most hopeless situations into good. Conrad Hilton said that winners never give up, because success comes to those who continue to go to the goal, despite the difficulties; movement is the key to success.
Mr Hilton's Achievements
Hilton's hotel business survived the years of the Great American Depression, and in 1949 stepped outside the United States - Caribe Hilton was opened in Puerto Rico. The Hilton Hotels empire has begun its victorious march around the world. All this became possible thanks to the entrepreneurial talent of "Papa Conrad", who believed that every meter of the hotel should bring money. It was Hilton who first came up with the idea of organizing the sale of essential goods on the territory of the hotel, using a system for remote ticket booking, automatic control of entrance doors; developed a system of discounts for regular customers; proposed a 5-star classification of hotels in accordance with a set of standard services, etc. But, perhaps, the most daring and at the same time the most successful idea of Hilton is to combine the hotel business with the gambling business, placing a casino and a hotel under one roof.
The Hilton Empire: Our Days
Today, the network of high-tech hotels Hilton, which employs more than 70 thousand people, covers 5 continents, more than 70 countries. In total, the number of rooms is almost half a million. The financial turnover of the corporation reaches 15 billion dollars. A few years ago, the Hilton family business was sold to the Blackstone Group.
Faith in success, business acumen, diligence and healthy adventurism helped Conrad Hilton realize his dream. Therefore, for those who want to change their lives, where should they start? - right, from the study of the biography of the great hotelier.
Motivation: self-foundation, will, source of motives, center
Conrad Hilton
Sun in Cancer
You are truly devoted to home and family, hardworking, caring and dreamy. Although you are quiet and diligent, it is very important for you to know what others think of you. You want to be needed by others, and through real concern for people, you can overcome your natural modesty. You love to cook, host and collect. If the need arises, you can intrigue to achieve the goal, and this goal is emotional security. You should always have a quiet place where you can go away from others, as you overreact to outside influences.
Elizabeth Taylor
Sun in Pisces
You are compassionate and tolerant, kind to others and do not want to offend anyone. You do not always make decisions quickly, overcoming your need to escape from difficulties. You are creative, spiritual and often mystical. You are a pleasant person with charm. You easily find yourself in submission to someone and love animals.
Emotions: sensitivity, susceptibility, impressionability
Conrad Hilton
Moon in Gemini
Your emotional side requires variety and novelty, not consistency and depth of feeling. You are more impressed by thoughts than by feelings. Your sense organs serve first of all the mind, and only then the emotions. This increases your capacity for constant observation and reasoning. Your mind is fickle and sometimes unsystematic, but you can absorb a huge amount of little things. You love action and movement, both physical and mental. Your intuition is not very developed, and you are more likely to observe. You quickly accumulate impressions that you can express with words. For your psychological stability, your inclinations are very important, as well as the need to do several things at the same time. You are more interested in the events taking place here and now than in the past. Since you are captured by changeable feelings, you very quickly waste your strength, rushing in different directions, which causes nervous tension. You know how to please others, and sometimes, for the sake of your own well-being, you even resort to cunning. Your restless nature is constantly looking for something new.
Elizabeth Taylor
Moon in Scorpio
Your emotions are intense and often based on strong desires. You are impatient, subject to mood swings and prone to gloomy reflections. You are vulnerable, you can be jealous and even vengeful person. You judge others too quickly and feel the need to quietly manage people. You cannot stand resistance and do not interfere in other people's affairs, but sometimes out of kindness you go for it. You are good at responsibilities, have great potential and entrepreneurial spirit. Although harsh and impulsive, you are self-confident and able to succeed. Usually you get what you want. Since you are jealous, proud and possessive, this position of the Moon does not promise harmony in marriage. The most important thing for you is to learn to forgive and forget, to control your strong, deep feelings.
Intelligence: mind, reason, mind, speech, communication
Conrad Hilton
Mercury in Leo
You are prone to dramatization and, when thinking about something, always involve your heart. You are a dreamer and an idealist, and your connections are usually romantic. You are full of dignity, inner refinement and always strive to create a good impression about yourself. You want to be considered an authority, you are able to solve problems, but sometimes you neglect the details. You are ambitious and perform tasks well.
Elizabeth Taylor
Mercury in Pisces
You have psychic abilities and a finely developed intuition, you love to learn and eagerly absorb knowledge, and do not study textbooks. You have an excellent memory, you are thoughtful, romantic and poetic. Sometimes you hide what you really think, and are frank only with close friends or relatives. This position of Mercury indicates duality, which leads to internal contradictions. And if you add to this that you easily succumb to other people's influence, then it is not at all surprising that you often change moods and are too sensitive. You are very vulnerable. A harmonious environment is very important to you, as your reactions are more subconscious than conscious. You try to be an erudite person. Use your many talents and natural wit to combat your potential flaws.
Harmony: measure, conjugation, sympathy, coherence, values
Conrad Hilton
Venus in Gemini
You are generous, friendly and impartial. You need freedom. You want to have an intellectual partner who, if possible, has a sense of humor. You like to wander around the world, you are literate and poetic. Perhaps you will marry early. You have good manners, good relations with relatives and neighbors, you love your family. By nature, you are curious and try to experience literally everything that life offers you.
Elizabeth Taylor
Venus in Aries
You are a restless, passionate, inspirational person who tends to overwhelm others and your aggressiveness can cause people to leave you. Since you are naturally open and enthusiastic, you excel in all social situations. People like you and can be creative. You can marry early or hastily and not always behave decently.
Activity: will, initiative, effort, leadership-subordination
Conrad Hilton
Mars in Aries
You are courageous, independent, like to dominate. You are a brave and domineering person, You cannot stand routine work and hardly compromise. You are aggressive and full of initiative. Always want to be "behind the wheel". Your enthusiasm inspires other people, often you act as a leader. Maximum success will come to you only when you learn to direct your energy and develop patience and compassion in yourself,
When future hotel tycoon Conrad Hilton bought his first hotel, he already had several business failures behind him. Having received an engineering degree, he did not work in his specialty for a single day, but immediately went headlong into financial adventures. They only brought disappointment to Hilton - each new undertaking invariably burned out, and everything had to be started from scratch. Although he showed business acumen as a child: when he helped his father in the family grocery store, sales went up sharply. But Conrad himself dreamed of more than just a job as a grocer in the American outback, which was his hometown of San Antonio at the end of the century before last. The boy saw himself at the head of a prosperous bank, a famous financier who turned over millions.
And only at the age of 31, Conrad Hilton accidentally stumbled upon a case that brought him the long-awaited millions, and turned his name into a legend. In 1919, he once again found himself broke and wondering how to put together start-up capital for new banking scams. And then Hilton bought the idle Mobley Hotel in the Texas town of Sisco. This shabby inn with ridiculous columns on the facade could only be called a hotel if you had the imagination. However, Hilton was not deprived of just fantasy - and a special, entrepreneurial fantasy. He made not only the hotel itself profitable, but even its columns, surrounding them with glass showcases with goods necessary in any hotel: newspapers, magazines, razor blades, toothbrushes and much more. As the owner of the hotel later calculated, each column brought him an additional $8,000.
famous hotelier
Success inspired Hilton, and he, forgetting about the banking business, decided to take a closer look at the previously unknown hotel business. And, apparently, he saw considerable prospects in him. In 1925, he opened the first hotel in Dallas under the brand name Hilton, which became the cornerstone of the famous hotel empire. It grew stronger, expanded and minimal losses passed through the difficult years of the Great Crisis, when Hilton, in whose veins the blood of tight-fisted Scandinavians and Germans flowed, had to save literally on everything, including even his own salary.
In 1946, the Hilton Hotels Corporation was established and became a public corporation. At this time, Hilton expanded its business far beyond Texas, after buying and leasing several luxury hotels, the hotel chain became the largest in the United States.
And in 1949, the first hotel abroad was opened - Caribe Hilton in Puerto Rico. On this occasion, Conrad Hilton founded a new company (operating in parallel with the first) - Hilton International, engaged in promoting his brand outside the United States.
Today there are Hilton hotels in almost all countries of the world. Over the past quarter century, Papa Conrad's hotel industry has been replenished with a number of luxury hotels, led by the oldest and one of the most famous hotels in New York, the Waldorf Astoria (in 1977, Hilton Hotels acquired its controlling stake for $ 35 million). The corporation also includes three- and four-star hotels of the British chain Stakis and the Scandinavian Scandic Hotels AB.
Of all the titles given to him by newspapermen, the founder of the hotel empire loved the French name of his profession, hotelier, the most. The famous hotelier passed away in 1979, but until the last day he retained the post of chairman of the board of directors. Only in 1966, on the eve of his 80th birthday, Conrad Hilton allowed himself to part with another post - the presidency, leaving it to his son Barron. Journalists noted that, along with the construction of hotels, Conrad Hilton succeeded in another construction - his family clan: by now, eight children of “Papa Conrad” and almost a hundred grandchildren and great-grandchildren are living and healthy (and some are doing business) in the world .
His autobiography Be My Guest has become a reference book for a generation of hoteliers in many countries. Because the author, who inherited double pedantry from his Norwegian father and German mother, created a whole methodological manual on the topic “how to extract maximum profit from a minimum area or volume.”
Best of the day
standard luxury
The corporate motto of the company: "Guaranteed luxury with affordable service of high standard quality" attracts a wide variety of clients to its hotels - from crowned heads, business leaders and cultural and show business stars to simple married couples belonging to the middle class. As American journalists wrote, Conrad Hilton was the first to understand what has become a commonplace in the service industry today: both millionaires and people with average incomes are equally in need of real comfort and unobtrusive, but ubiquitous service, and both of them are ready to stop together for this. in the same hotels.
And the main thing that brought success to the Hilton hotel chain was innovation in the field of service and marketing. The corporation was the first to install specialized souvenir and gift kiosks (Hilton Country Store). For the first time, all rooms were equipped with such common devices today as air conditioning, direct dial telephone, multifunctional programmable alarm clocks, automatic entry doors. In 1994, Hilton became the first hotel chain in the world to have all properties equipped with automatic opening, closing, locking and blocking of entrance doors. And since 1959, the company began to open specialized hotels at airports, which offered the appropriate package of services for air passengers and flight crews of airlines. Another innovation was the reward system for regular customers - the Hilton Honors program, as well as the system of a nationwide club resort vacation. Then a revolution in the hotel services market was made by a joint project of sea cruise holidays with the Festival Cruise company.
In addition, the Conrad Hilton Company was the first in its business sector to introduce and widely disseminate a franchise system, for which a subsidiary, Hilton Inns, was created in 1965. Over time, this system was adopted by all Hilton competitors, while the company of Conrad Hilton itself today operates under franchising agreements with 1352 hotels.
Virtual booking
But the main innovations of the Hilton hotel chain saw the light after his death - when the world entered the electronic era. Following the precepts of the founding father, his followers were the first to be able to occupy all the profitable niches that opened up, mainly due to the fact that work on the "electronization" of Hilton hotels and related infrastructure began long before the emergence of the now well-known concepts - e-business and IT technologies. . Today, competitors are forced to rush through stages of technological restructuring that Hilton has long since passed. Back in 1973, Hilton Hotels was the first in the world's hotel business to introduce the Hiltron information and reference system - with its help, the client could remotely obtain information about availability and book rooms along with rail and air tickets. The effectiveness of this system turned out to be above all expectations - it successfully worked for 26 years, and only in 1999 it was replaced by a more modern one - the Central Reservations System (CRS or Hilstar), which united more than 500 hotels around the world.
In 1985, the corporation began operating another system - the marketing Answer*Net, which connected all regional offices and hotel complexes in the United States into a single network. And a decade later, the first in the industry opened the Internet portal www.hilton.com and, with the support of American Express, its own Hilton Optima credit card system.
In 2002, Hilton's empire was one of the initiators of the creation of a unified network booking system WorldRes, which, in addition to Hilton itself, included the resources of two other leading players in the field of resort and hotel business - Accor and Six Continents.
Finally, the company recently successfully announced another innovative service solution - WLAN access based on Symbol Technologies wireless switches. This communication complex was first tested in the Frankfurt Hilton Hotel and immediately gained popularity with the administration and customers.
Roulette Hotel
But, perhaps, the most unexpected and controversial innovation was the active and systematic integration of Hilton's hotel business into a neighboring area - the gambling industry.
This alliance began in the late sixties, when two unusual hotels were built in the recognized gambling capital of America, Las Vegas - Las Vegas Hilton and Flamingo Hilton. Unlike all others built earlier, they were also gambling establishments. Prior to that, hotels in Las Vegas were built separately, casinos were built separately. And only Conrad Hilton, for all his piety, came up with a bold idea: to combine living in the "city-roulette" with the main local pastime - the game. This implied an additional system of service and various bonuses for customers. For example, restaurants and bars were placed right in the gambling halls, and each new guest was given free gambling chips for a certain amount.
The innovation was so successful that in 1987, as a result of a series of transactions, Hilton International merged with the British industrial group Ladbroke Group, whose main activity was just casinos, bookmakers, lotteries and sweepstakes. The association later became known as the Hilton Group.
The British gaming empire did not become the dominant division in the Hilton Group, but it certainly saved the hotel business during the most severe crisis associated with the main tragedy of the new century - the terrorist attacks in New York in September 2001. After them, for the entire global hotel business (as well as the air passenger, tourism, and many others), the era of relative prosperity of the late 1990s was replaced by a period of decline. And for someone - and a complete collapse.
For some, but not for the Hilton Group, she once again demonstrated a rare insight, having managed to acquire a saving magic wand in the form of the mentioned gambling business. Because it quickly became clear that natural and man-made crises and catastrophes in society lead to the fact that people are less willing to travel, fly on planes and stay in hotels, but the craving for gambling in such times, on the contrary, only intensifies! Which, in general, is natural - when everything is unstable in the world, there is a growing hope to increase one's well-being with the help of fortune.
In the early years of the new millennium, the Hilton Group's hospitality sector suffered losses, but profits from another division - gambling and betting - made it possible not only to cover them, but also to increase profits in 2003 by almost $ 2 million compared to the previous year. The Hilton Group's total sales in 2003 were approximately $16 billion, of which only 19% came from Hilton International's hotel division.
It is unlikely that the parents of Conrad Hilton, the youngest of eight children in a grocer's family, could have imagined that their son's idea of renting out several rooms in the house to guests would become fateful. And at 31, their unlucky son, who dreamed of becoming a banker, but failed in banking, will buy his first hotel. And after 11 years, he will become the owner of his own network of eight Hilton Hotels.
In August 1925, seven years after buying his first hotel, Hilton opened his own hotel, the Dallas Hilton. And then every year his hotel business grows by one or two establishments. In 1929, as a result of the economic crisis in the United States, most hotel owners, including the Hilton, went bankrupt. By this time he had eight hotels - three of them happened to be closed. Even a loan did not help, two years later Hilton was left with nothing - the Hilton Hotels company passed to the creditor.
However, Hilton Hotels soon returned to its creator. Initially, Konrad was appointed manager, and by 1934 he managed to buy back three hotels. Since then, a period of active development of the hospitality empire of Conrad Hilton began, which grew, ruthlessly absorbing competitors and moving into the world market. 
In 1949, Hilton managed to fulfill his cherished dream by buying out the most luxurious New York hotel, the Waldorf-Astoria. The businessman did not stop there, and in 1954 the financial world was shocked by the news of the largest deal in US history. Conrad Hilton acquired Statler Hotels for $111 million, which at the time was Hilton Hotels' biggest competitor. By the end of the 60s, Hilton had more than 40 hotels in America and about the same number outside of it. In 1964, Hilton divided the company into two parts: the first owned Hilton establishments located in the USA and Mexico (Hilton Hotels), the second - all the rest (Hilton International).
Successful know-how
Hilton was an innovator, and this played an important role in the formation of his empire. It was Hilton who introduced the "star" gradation of hotels by analogy with cognac - the more stars, the higher the level of the hotel. The integration of hotels into the gambling business is also his merit. Gambling houses have always attracted a large number of people, and Hilton decided to take advantage of this by combining the hotel with a casino. Opening an airport hotel was Hilton's idea.
Service above all else
The main thing that brought the success of the Hilton hotel chain was innovation in the field of service and marketing. The corporation was the first to install specialized souvenir and gift kiosks (Hilton Country Store). Hilton personally studied the needs and preferences of his eminent clients. So, one of the actresses adored alpine violets, so they always decorated the room with them before her arrival. And the 31st President of the United States, Hoover, loved mints, and when he arrived at the Hilton, he found them in his room. No less carefully Conrad Hilton collected information about competitors. He even earned the nickname enthusiastic dealmaker ("enthusiast businessman"), as he often personally paid visits to competitors' hotels, studying the reaction of customers and considering the internal situation.
Since 1959, the company began to open specialized hotels at airports, which offered the appropriate package of services for air passengers and airline flight crew.
In 1994, Hilton became the first hotel chain in the world to have all properties equipped with automatic opening, closing, locking and blocking of entrance doors.
Another innovation was the reward system for regular customers - the Hilton Honors program, as well as the system of a nationwide club resort holiday. Then a revolution in the hotel services market was made by a joint project of sea cruise holidays with the Festival Cruise company.
In addition, Conrad Hilton was the first hotel operator to introduce a franchise system, for which in 1965 a subsidiary, Hilton Inns, was created.
Back in 1973, Hilton Hotels was the first in the global hotel business to introduce the Hiltron information and reference system - with its help, the client could remotely obtain information about availability and book rooms along with rail and air tickets. The effectiveness of this system turned out to be above all expectations - it successfully worked for 26 years, and only in 1999 it was replaced by a more modern one - the Central Reservations System, which united more than 500 hotels around the world.
In 1985, the corporation began operating another system - the marketing Answer * Net, which connected all regional offices and hotel complexes in the United States into a single network. And a decade later, the first in the industry opened the Internet portal www.hilton.com and, with the support of American Express, its own Hilton Optima credit card system.
In 2002, Hilton's empire became one of the initiators of the creation of a unified network booking system WorldRes, which, in addition to Hilton itself, included the resources of two other leading players in the resort and hotel business - Accor and Six Continents.
The most daring innovation was the integration of the Hilton hotel business into a neighboring area - the gambling industry. This alliance began in the late sixties, when two unusual hotels were built in the recognized gambling capital of America, Las Vegas - Las Vegas Hilton and Flamingo Hilton. Unlike all others built earlier, they were also gambling establishments. Prior to that, hotels in Las Vegas were built separately, casinos were built separately.
The combination of living with the game assumed an additional system of service and various bonuses for customers. For example, restaurants and bars were placed right in the gambling halls, and each new guest was given free gambling chips for a certain amount. The innovation was so successful that in 1987, as a result of a series of transactions, Hilton International merged with the British industrial group Ladbroke Group, whose main activity was just casinos, bookmakers, lotteries and sweepstakes. The association later became known as the Hilton Group.
The British gaming empire saved the corporation's hotel business during the crisis associated with the terrorist attacks in New York in September 2001. After them, for the entire global hotel business (as well as air passenger, tourism, and many others), the era of prosperity of the late 1990s - x was replaced by a period of decline. Because such disasters lead to the fact that people are less willing to travel, fly on planes and stay in hotels, but the craving for gambling in such times, on the contrary, only intensifies - when everything is unstable in the world, there is a growing hope of increasing one's wealth with the help of fortune.
In Kiev, the opening of the Hilton flagship hotel has been postponed yet again. With a high probability, we can assume that in Ukraine the operator will move to regions with budget hotels - the capital market is already saturated with expensive hotel establishments.
After the death of Conrad Hilton in January 1979, the company was taken over by the Hilton Foundation. This is exactly what was stated in the will of the founder of the company. However, one of his sons challenged his father's last will, and nine years later the American company returned to the Hilton family. And in 2006, Hilton Hotels Corpotarion acquired its former other half of the Hilton Group. After 42 years, the company again became a single entity. A few years ago, a rebrand was carried out, and today the company created by Conrad Hilton is called Hilton Worldwide.
Hilton Worldwide has over 3,800 hotels in 88 countries. The company has several brands: Hampton by Hilton (economy class hotels), Hilton Garden Inn (mid-range hotels), DoubleTree (high-quality hotel brand) and Hilton (high-quality hotels). Under franchising agreements, the company works with almost 1,500 hotels around the world.
Conrad Nicholson Hilton was born on December 25, 1887 in San Antonio, New Mexico. He graduated from the local college of St. Michael, then the New Mexico Military Institute, and after returning home, he began to help his father in the family business - August Hilton was the owner of the grocery. In 1912, Hilton Sr. was elected to the lower house of the state legislature and appointed the 24-year-old Conrad as his assistant. However, the work was not to his liking, so as soon as the United States entered World War I in 1917, he volunteered for the army. During the time Conrad served, his father died in a car accident.
Hilton, convinced that he should become an entrepreneur, while working with his father, studied banking law perfectly, thanks to which he was able to organize his own bank. The bank went bankrupt less than a year later, and with $5,000 left after its liquidation, Hilton went to try his luck in the provinces. So he ended up in Cisco.
Hilton brought the hotel business to a completely new level, and today his initiatives have become generally accepted all over the world.
Ups and downs
To buy a hotel, his own 5 thousand dollars was not enough, and Hilton had to borrow another 15 thousand from friends and take a bank loan for 20 thousand.
He increased the number of beds, and to make better use of the space, he placed display cases around the columns in the lobby that sold useful little things like clothes brushes and toothpaste. Rooms cost $1 and $2.5 per night. Just a year later, he bought another hotel in the town of Fort Worth, and then two more smaller hotels. By 1924, Hilton had enough money to build his first hotel. The 325-room Dallas Hilton opened on August 2, 1925, and the rooms in it were inexpensive - 1.5 and 3 dollars per night. A few years later, Hilton got married. His wife Mary Barron bore him three sons: Conrad, Barron and Eric.
The stock market crash of 1929 ruined 80% of American hotels. Hilton mothballed three of the eight hotels, but this did not alleviate the situation. In 1930, he received a loan of $300,000 secured by all his assets, but the crisis dragged on, and in December 1931, Conrad lost his ownership of the Hilton Hotels company. Fortunately, at that time the hotel business was not highly profitable, and the new owners had no idea what to do with eight more unprofitable hotels, so they offered to buy out Hilton Hotels to Hilton himself. He was appointed manager of the company, and in time he got all his hotels back.
After the end of World War II, the company's turnover became so impressive that in 1949 Hilton was able to buy the most luxurious hotel in New York - the Waldorf-Astoria. That same year, the first Hilton outside the United States opened, the 300-room Caribe Hilton in Puerto Rico. And 5 years later, Konrad acquired the Statler Hotels chain for $111 million. By the end of the 60s, the Hilton network had at least 40 hotels in the United States itself and about the same number outside of them.
Conrad Hilton retired in 1966, handing over the business to his son Barron. The founder of the largest hotel empire died on January 4, 1979 in Dallas. He bequeathed his entire fortune to the Hilton Foundation, and Barron had to spend nine years trying to challenge his father's last will.
From trend to tradition
Hilton brought the hotel business to a completely new level, and today his initiatives have become generally accepted throughout the world. It was he who introduced the gradation system of hotels according to the “star” type and the “standard offer” of services, which is the same in all hotels of the chain, established a service system in which you can purchase everything necessary for the client at the hotel itself, developed a loyalty program, a system of discounts and much more. In the late 1950s, Hilton pioneered airport hotels with the San Francisco Airport Hilton Hotel. In 1973, Hilton Hotels pioneered a call center that allowed customers to remotely check availability and book rooms along with rail and air tickets.
However, the most unexpected and controversial innovation was the integration of the hotel business and the gambling industry. It began in the late 60s, when the Las Vegas Hilton and Flamingo Hilton hotels were built in Las Vegas, which, unlike all those built earlier, were gambling establishments at the same time. Restaurants and bars were located directly in the gambling halls, and each new guest was given free chips for a certain amount.
New age, new challenges
In the early 2000s, things were not going well for the company: hotels began to make losses, and it was possible to stay afloat solely due to the gambling business. In 2007, the Blackstone Group, one of the largest private equity firm buyouts, acquired Hilton Hotels Corp. for $26 billion and assumed its debt, and Christopher Nassetta was named President and CEO of Hilton Worldwide.
Despite the challenges, the company's brands today span more than 3,900 hotels and 650,000 rooms in ninety countries, including Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton, Embassy Suites Hotels , Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Hotels, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Home2 Suites by Hilton and Hilton Grand Vacations. Outside the US, Hilton Worldwide is actively developing six brands. They can be divided into four categories: economy sector - Hampton by Hilton; mid-price sector - Hilton Garden Inn; the upscale sector, featuring DoubleTree by Hilton and Hilton Hotels and Resorts; and the luxury sector, featuring Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts and Conrad Hotels & Resorts.