Conrad Hilton: The Man Behind Hilton Hotels

Conrad Hilton is the owner of the chain of hotels known as Hilton Hotel. His hotel business started in 1919. At the beginning of the 21^st century, he has more than 500 hotels around the world.

Hilton was born in San Antonio, New Mexico on December 25, 1887. During his boyhood, Hilton would help the family businesses – a general store, a bank, a post office and a small hotel. Aside from schooling, taking care of the family’s business occupied much of the time of young Hilton.

He was elected to the New Mexico state legislature when he was 25 years old. After serving two terms, he left politics. He then went into banking. He opened his own bank but was forced to sell it when he was enlisted to the army during the World War I.

When he returned to New Mexico after the war, he found out that his father’s businesses were failing. Frustrated, he left for Texas to find his fortune. He was 31 then.

Wanting to take advantage of the booming oil industry in Texas, Hilton hoped to find his fortune by opening a bank. He attempted to buy a bank in Cisco but failed. He found a shelter in a nearby Mobley Hotel. He saw the hotel’s potential. He raised money and purchased the hotel within a few days.

Hilton studied his predecessor’s business failures. He renovated the restaurant and the ballroom. He empowered his staff to make customer satisfaction and comfort a paramount priority.

Hilton recovered his investment at Mobley Hotel in just one year. With the profits he amassed, he bought the Waldorf Hotel in Dallas and the Melba Hotel in Fort Worth, Texas. He built his first hotel in a leased land in Dallas in 1925.

Hilton purchased his first hotel outside Texas in 1937 when the owners of San Francisco’s Sir Francis Drake sold their $4-million hotel for only $275,000.

Hilton established the Hilton Hotels Corporation in 1946 and became the first ever publicly traded hotel. Later in 1949, Hilton leased New York City’s Waldof –Astoria which was arguably the best hotel in the world at that time. He also purchased Statler’s chain of hotels and called them Hilton Hotels. His hotels numbered 28 at this time.

He continued to expand his fortune outside US. His first offshore hotel was in Madrid. This gave birth to Hilton Hotels International. By the time of his death in1979, Hilton Hotels owned 185 Us-based hotels and 75 international hotels.