Take me to the Hilton

The story of 38th largest private company in the USA by Forbes, the  owner of 3897 hotels with over 642,000 rooms in 91 countries.

Hilton exterior

Condrad Hilton opened the first Hilton hotel in Cisco,Texas in 1919. Over the years he came to be known as a master financier and a conscious bargainer. He also discovered 2 principles guidening his hotelier carrier:" digging for gold" = making an efficient use of space   and   " esperit de corps" = motivating the staff to provide excellent service by making them responsible for whether the guests were pleased with their stay.

In 1927 Condrad Hilton opened the Waco Hilton with cold running water and air-conditioning in the public rooms.

The Waco Hilton

Expanded beyond Texas, by 1937 Hilton had purchased 8 hotels. In 1942 he relocated corporate headquaters to Los Angeles.
In the following year Hilton expanded his empire buying The Roosvelt in New York City, which became the first hotel in the world where televisions were installed. Since that The Hilton chain has been recognised as a major force in hospitality business.

The first overseased hotel was opened in Madrid (Castellana Hilton) in 1948.

It is interesting to know that during a long period of Condrad Hilton's life he carried a picture of considered to be the greatest hotel  the Waldorf-Astoria, dreamig one day to own it. And his dream came true in 1949!
 In 1950 Hilton created a special amenity for female travellers- a sewing kit and a leaflet with helpful names and telephone numbers.

The first airport hotel (San Francisco Airport Hilton) was opened in 1963.

The formation of Hilton International was one of Hilton's greatest achievments. Through the second half of the 20th century and till today The Hilton extand their chain.