Over the past few years, Hilton Worldwide has been donning the mantle of the most stylish, forward thinking global leader of hospitality. Associated with inaugural balls, Hollywood award galas and premier business events, Hilton Worldwide has been offering accommodations and other leisure services to businesses and pleasure seekers globally. Owned by the Blackstone Group, The company has 3,750 hotels and consists of over 600,000 rooms in 84 countries. In the United States, the company is ranked as the 36th largest private company by Forbes magazine. Hilton presently owns more than 3,750 hotels in 84 countries.
The company manages a portfolio of brands 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. The name Hilton is synonymous with hotels owing to its innovative approach to products, amenities and services. Ever since its founder, Conrad Hilton, purchased the first hotel in 1919 in Texas, the company has expanded geographically, produced original hotel and travel ideas and has also explored innovative technologies to enhance the guest experience.
These assiduous efforts and its resourceful 130,000 staff have helped Hilton evolve into one of the leading global hospitality companies. In a landmark deal, Hilton Worldwide agreed to an all-cash buyout from The Blackstone Group in 2007 for a whopping $26 billion that saw Blackstone become the world's biggest hotel owner. Blackstone perceived an opportunity to streamline the company and drive Hilton's expansion overseas when it pursued Hilton in 2006 and 2007; the buyout saddled the company with $20 billion in debt just as the economy was on the verge of a downturn.
The debt had very liberal terms, so there was no danger of default; however, the company inevitably suffered with the slowdown in global travel and recreation activities. 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 also executes an H Honors
program, a guest loyalty program which lets frequent guests accumulate points and airline miles while staying in various Hilton brands.
The Hilton HHonors program has partnered with most major airlines where guests can "Double Dip" and amass points and airlines miles, akin to frequent flyer programs with various tiers of membership. Each guest notches up a particular number, based on the amount of stays and points accumulated annually. Hilton's achievements include developing the concept of hotel franchise, launching the airport hotel model, introducing the multi-hotel reservation system and the US coast-to-coast hotel chain.
[...] Hampton Inn is the flagship brand for Hilton Worldwide, managing 1,847 (2011: 1,817) hospitality outlets globally in 2012. The core full service brand “Hilton Hotels” is the second leading for the enterprise constituting 31% of total rooms portfolio in 2011-2012. Concard and Waldorf are the luxury hospitality brand operated by Hilton Worldwide, with strong presence and equity across European and North American markets. The company is privately held, with The Blackstone Group controlling 100% of equity in April 2012. The private equity consortium backed by The Blackstone Group acquired Hilton Worldwide for US$26 billion in 2007. [...]
[...] Concard, Waldorf, Hilton, Hampton etc) enhancing long-term value propositioning to differentiated B2B and B2C customer base. The company has implemented real time guest check in and other service platforms on enterprise basis in 2003. This has enhanced long-term customer loyalty and retention rates across B2B marketspace. ➢ Weaknesses: The company has faced steep competitive pressure with stagnated revenue growth in past 4-5 years. On the other hand, the net debt stood at US$6 billion in 2007 (Datamonitor, 2012). In 2011, Majority of Hilton Worldwide assets are based in matured markets i.e. United States and Europe. [...]
[...] ➢ Broader comparative study on top ten hotel chains in United States and Europe such as IHG, Accor, Hilton ETC. References ➢ N. Craig Smith, “Corporate Social Responsibility: Whether or How?” California Management Review, 45/4 (Summer 2003): 52-76. [...]
[...] Risks, challenges and Limitations Hilton Worldwide faces steep macro and micro risks due to its operations across 78 countries worldwide. The core risks are as follows (GlobalData, 2012): ➢ Higher foreign exchange currency fluctuation will hamper EBIT margins. ➢ Steep competitive pressures from vertically integrated (i.e. budget, mid and luxury priced basis) brands such as IHG, Ibis, Choice, Accor etc might hamper net margins on long-term basis. On the other hand, economic turmoil and double dip recession in UK and United States is shifting consumer purchasing towards budget hotel accommodation. [...]
[...] April 2012 Strategic hospitality development partnership with Transnational Corporation Plc. Expanding eight new hotels in Nigeria. March 2012 Hilton in collaboration with Schiphol Real Estate launched new 433 rooms centric hotel in Amsterdam Airport. It will commence operations in 2015. March 2012 Newly launched luxury Concard brand at New York operates 463 full service rooms. March 2012 Long term accommodation partnership signed with Tribeca Film Festival March 2012 The company expand fifth Double Tree hospitality brand in London. March 2012 Strategic management agreement signed with Magnolia Corporation Ltd, launching standalone Waldrof Astoria facility in South East Asia in Thailand. [...]
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