International hospitality management - Essay Example

This was followed by hotels, motels, and Inns. The first hotel can be traced to City hotel in New York City in 1794 which started with 73 rooms (Schonwalder, 2000). Apart from accommodation, the hotel offered meetings rooms and soon became the social center of the city. This was the first building in America built especially to be a hotel. The first five star hotel was the Tremont House in Boston, built in 1829, which marked the beginning of first class service. The Hilton International The Hilton International started its journey in 1919 by Conrad Hilton when he took over a property in Texas.

Its international arm, Conrad Hotels, had locations across Australia, England, Ireland, and Egypt among many others. By 1940 the group owned a chain of premium hotels worldwide but in 1960 it sold its international operations. In 1989 it also relinquished interests in its gaming companies and focused on core hotel business. Focusing on contracts and franchising, today Hilton Hotels Corporation is a leading hospitality company that owns, manages, and has franchised over 2000 hotels the country (Funding Universe, n.d.).

The well-known brands under its chain include Doubletree, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn, Homewood Suites, and Harrison Conference Centers. Marriott International Marriott International, Inc., with the spirit to serve, was formed in 1993 (Funding Universe1, n.d.). Before this, they were in the restaurant business but in 1993 they split the company in two – lodging and contract services company, thus marking the beginning of Marriott International, Inc. Marriott International manages and franchises more than 1350 lodging properties under ten different hotel brands across the world.

These include the Fairfield Inns and Suites, the Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, and New World brands. Its strategy to manage rather than own property has been found to be paying the Group rich dividends. Global Hyatt Corporation Global Hyatt Corporation, one of the leading luxury hotel companies in the world, operates in major and secondary cities, at airport locations and leading resort areas throughout the world (Advameg, 2011). It specializes in deluxe resorts with meeting facilities and special services for the business traveler.

The Group manages or licenses the management of more than 210 hotels and resorts (with a capacity of more than 90,000 rooms) in 43 countries around the world. In addition to its core Hyatt Regency brand, it has developed other special concepts like the Grand Hyatt, the Park Hyatt, and Classic Residence. With its property in 1957, Hyatt grew to a chain of 13 hotels by 1969. Conclusion Hotels and chains have grown and developed due to mergers and acquisitions (M&A), which is a common form of strategy and growth in every sector.

This is used as a strategy to enhance profitability and survive in the competitive growth environment. Several major mergers and acquisitions took place in the hotel industry between 1979 and 2004 (Quek, 2011). However, M&A activities in the sector need financial support because of the high capital costs involved. Deregulation in the industry helped to generate funds easily which benefited the hotel companies by allowing them easier access to capital. As borders across nations blurred and visitors started traveling overseas for work, the demand for excellent facilities increased.

Acquisitions in the hotel sector were done with the