Ellsworth Milton Statler(1863-1928)

The father of Commercial Hotels

Started as a bellboy at age 13 in Wheeling West Virginia then later advanced to
Hotel Clerk.
Built his first permanent Statler Hotel in 1907, in Buffalo, New York (it being the first
major hotel to have a private bath or shower and running water in every room).
He then built hotel branches in Cleveland(1912), Detroit (1915), St. Louis (1917),
New York (1919) then the last in Boston (1927)
It started as two hotels: one owned by William Waldorf Astor, whose 13-story
Waldorf Hotel was opened in 1893 and the other owned by his cousin, John Jacob
Astor IV, called the Astoria Hotel and opened four years later in 1897, four stories
higher.
Waldorf Astoria was the first hotel to offer room service, making a huge impact for
the future of the hotel industry.
The combined Waldorf-Astoria became the largest hotel in the world at the time,
while maintaining the original Waldorf's high standards.

Conrad Nicholson Hilton (1887-1979)

Bought and build hotels throughout Texas, including the high rise Dallas Hilton,
opened in 1925, Abilene Hilton in 1927, Waco Hilton in 1928 and the El Paso Hilton
in 1930
Built his first hotel outside of Texas in 1939 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, today
known as the Hotel Andaluz
Acquired Stevens Hotel in Chicago (then the world's largest hotel), and the fabled
Waldorf-Astoria in New York
Formed the Hilton Hotels Corporation in 1946, and Hilton International Company in
1948.
Bought The Statler hotel in 1954

Cesar Ritz (1850-1918)

Born in the Swiss village of Niederwald, the youngest of 13 children in a poor
peasant family
1872, Ritz became floor waiter of the Htel Splendide in Paris
1873 he was a waiter in Vienna at the time of the International Exhibition
Winter of that same year his astonishing career in hotel management began when
he undertook the direction of the restaurant at the Grand Htel in Nice.
He then became the manager of the Grand Htel National in Lucerne and held the
same position in 1878, in parallel, at the Grand Htel in Monaco until 1888
First to mandate that "the customer is always right"
Later in 1898, he opened the celebrated Htel Ritz in the Place Vendme, Paris. He
went on to open The Ritz Hotel in London in 1906, which became one of the most
popular meeting places of the era, for the rich and famous

Conrad Nicholson Hilton (1887-1979)

During the 1950s and 1960s, Hilton Hotels' worldwide expansion facilitated both
American tourism and overseas business by American corporations. It was the
world's first international hotel chain, at the same time promulgating a certain
worldwide standard for hotel accommodations.
Hilton eventually owned 188 hotels in thirty-eight cities in the U.S., including the
Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D. C., the Palmer House in Chicago, and the Plaza
Hotel and Waldorf-Astoria in New York City, along with fifty-four hotels abroad.
William Waldorf Astor and John Jacob Astor

Kemmons Wilson (1913-2003)

He opened the first Holiday Inn motel in Memphis in 1952.
Holiday Inn went international in 1960
In 1957, Wilson franchised the chain as Holiday Inn of America and it grew
dramatically
1958, there were 50 locations across the country, 100 by 1959, 500 by 1964, and
the 1000th Holiday Inn opened in San Antonio, Texas, in 1968
Introduced the In-House Holidex Central Reservation System

J. Willard Marriot & J. Willard Marriot Jr.

J.W. Marriott founded the Twin Bridges Marriott Motor Hotel, in Arlington, Virginia, in
1957
Key Bridge Marriott in Arlington, Virginia, is Marriott Internationals longest
operating hotel, and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2009.
The complete expansion of its worldwide reservation center in Nebraska made it the
largest single-site reservation operation in the US hotel industry.

Ernest Henderson & Robert Moore

Ernest Henderson and Robert Moore acquired the Stonehaven Hotel in Springfield,
Massachusetts in 1937.
Henderson and Moore had opened three hotels in Boston by 1939, continuing with
their rapid expansion opening properties along the entire East Coast.
In 1949 Sheraton expanded internationally with the purchase of two Canadian hotel
chains. The 1960s saw the first Sheraton hotels outside North America with the
opening of the Tel Aviv-Sheraton in Israel in February 1961 and the Macuto-Sheraton
outside Caracas, Venezuela, in 1963.
By 1965, the 100th Sheraton Motor Inn had opened its doors.
April 1995, Sheraton introduced a new, mid-scale hotel brand Four Points by
Sheraton Hotels, to replace the designation of certain hotels as Sheraton Inns

In 1998, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. acquired ITT Sheraton,
outbidding Hilton.
April 1995, Sheraton introduced a new, mid-scale hotel brand Four Points by
Sheraton Hotels, to replace the designation of certain hotels as Sheraton Inns.

Ray Shultz
He founded the Hampton Inn in 1980
In 1984 he provided guests with special amenities like free continental breakfast
and free local phone calls.
Celebrated expansion of up to 800 properties in 1998.

Jay Pritzker
Purchased the Hyatt House Hotel in 1957
built the First ATRIUM HOTEL, an architectural design wherein the guest rooms
overlook the lobby from the first floor to the roof.
William Waldorf Astor and John Jacob Astor IV

In 1893, William Waldorf Astor launched the 13-story Waldorf Hotel at Fifth Avenue near Thirty-fourth
Street in New York City. The Waldorf was the embodiment of Astors vision of a New York hostelry
that would appeal to his wealthy friends by combining the opulence of a European mansion with the
warmth and homey qualities of a private residence.

Four years later, the Waldorf was joined by the 17-story Astoria Hotel, erected on an adjacent site by
William Waldorf Astors cousin, John Jacob Astor IV. The cousins built a corridor that connected the
two hotels, which became known by a single hyphenated name, the Waldorf-Astoria.

In 1929, after decades of hosting distinguished visitors from around the world, the Waldorf-Astoria
closed its doors to make room for the Empire State Building.

The 2,200-room, 42-floor WaldorfAstoria Hotel was rebuilt on its current site at Park and Lexington
avenues between Forty-ninth and Fiftieth streets. Upon the hotels opening, President Herbert
Hoover delivered a message of congratulations. It is interesting to note that President Hoover
became a permanent resident of the Waldorf Towers,

the luxurious hotel within a hotel that occupies the twenty-eighth through the fortysecond floors.
The hotel was purchased in 1949 by Conrad N. Hilton, who then purchased the land it stood on in
1977. In 1988, the hotel underwent a $150 million restoration. It was designated a New York City
landmark in January 1993.