Information About Conrad Hilton's Business
Conrad Hilton began Hilton Hotels in the 1910s. His early years, followed by his struggle through the Great Depression and subsequent recovery, numerous hotel industry innovations and status as a socialite that has continued with his descendants have made him a person of interest and an American icon.
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Personal History
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Conrad Hilton was born on Dec. 25, 1887 in the New Mexico Territory to Augustus and Mary Hilton, who together ran a small inn. At the age of 29, he enlisted in the Army and served in France in World War I. During his time abroad, his father passed away in a car accident and he returned to the United States, purchasing his first hotel in Cisco, Texas, in 1919.
Early Beginnings
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Hilton began buying hotels throughout Texas in the early 1920s. The first hotels he built were Hiltons in Dallas, Abilene, Waco and El Paso, all of which opened between 1925 and 1930. He built his first non-Texas-based Hilton in Albuquerque in 1939. He was also co-owners with William R. Irwin on a Los Angeles-based Hilton, according to the biography "Conrad N. Hilton: Innkeeper, Extraordinary Statesman and Philanthropist" by Cathleen Baird.
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Tough Times
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The Great Depression hit Hilton hard. He lost some of his hotels in the stock market crash and almost went into bankruptcy. According to Hilton's autobiography "Be My Guest," he entered into a rocky relationship with Moody Hotels, which allowed him to manage the hotels he lost in the Great Depression. After the Depression, his hotels began growing again, and he was able to buy back some of the ones he had lost.
Boom Period
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Following World War II, Hilton began expanding his hotel empire to other parts of the country and around the globe, buying new hotels in Columbus, Ohio, Washington, D.C. and Palm Beach, Florida. He built his first international hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 1948. In 1953, the first Hilton in Europe opened in Madrid, the Castellana Hilton. In 1955, Hilton Hotels opened in Istanbul, Mexico City and Cairo. During this post-war period, he established the Conrad Hilton Foundation, with the goal of helping to alleviate world suffering.
Industry Achievements
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Hilton was one of the first businessmen to implement practices that are now industry-wide in the hotel management business. He played an important role in the civil rights movement and began policies of integration in the hospitality business. He used building materials that required little repair and maintenance. He followed the philosophy that hotels should reflect the conditions and style of the city in which they are built in. He was one of the first hoteliers to use an inter-hotel reservation system and set the standard for the mass-purchase of soap, matches and all items used by hotels. He also hired strong managers and allowed them to make important decisions regarding individual hotel policies.
Later Years
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By 1966, Hilton's son Barron had succeeded him as President of Hilton International. Hilton had been married three times by this point, including a short-lived marriage to actress Zsa Zsa Gabor. Hilton is also the great-grandfather of current American socialites Paris and Nicky Hilton, and their two brothers Barron and Conrad. Hilton passed away in 1979 at the age of 91 from natural causes. He is interred at Calvary Hill Cemetery in Dallas, Texas.
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References
- Photo Credit Courtesy Hilton Hotels, Find a Grave
