Hilton International Hotel Chain brand hotels in Soweto, South Africa

About Hilton International Hotel Chain Soweto

Hilton International is a hotel chain owned by Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (Hilton), a U.S. based multinational company with a wide-ranging portfolio of hotels and resorts. The company which was founded in May 1919 by Conrad Hilton has initially been named Hilton Hotels Corporation. Hilton International only came to being after Hilton’s 30 years of existence when the Caribe Hilton Hotel in Puerto Rico opened its doors in 1949.

To differentiate its international operations, Hilton spun off into a separate trading name called the Hilton International Co., in December 1964. Trans World Corp., acquired Hilton International in 1967. The years that followed saw management changes again as Hilton International was sold to United Airlines Holding company, UAL Corp. in 1986, and then to British firm Ladbroke Group plc in 1999, which later on adopted the name ‘Hilton Group plc.’

Consequently, two fully independent entities were running businesses under ‘Hilton.’ Hilton Hotels operating outside American states were designed similar to Hilton International hotels until 2006. Within the U.S., properties operated by Hilton International were named Vista International Hotels while those run by Hilton’s American management outside the republic were called Conrad Hotels. This is because both were not allowed to run hotel businessesin other’s territories under the name ‘Hilton’ by contractual agreement.

In 2005, the two companies were brought back in a single entity after Hilton Hotels Corp re-acquired the British owned Hilton International for roughly $6 billion. The deal which was formally closed in 2006 made Hilton Hotels the fifth largest hotel in terms of the number of rooms.