Hilton vs United Airlines: Founders, CEOs and History

Company facts

Founders

CEOs and their tenures

Timeline: Hilton and United Airlines side by side

1. 1919Hilton

   Founding - Mobley Hotel Purchase

   Conrad Hilton purchases the Mobley Hotel in Cisco, Texas for $40,000, marking the formal founding of what will become Hilton Worldwide Holdings. The purchase was unplanned; Conrad had originally traveled to Cisco to buy a bank.

2. 1925Hilton

   First Purpose-Built Hilton Hotel

   Conrad opens the first hotel built from the ground up bearing the Hilton name in Dallas, Texas, marking a transition from acquiring existing properties to developing new ones and formalizing the Hilton brand identity.

3. 1926United Airlines

   Varney Air Lines begins

   United traces its roots to Varney Air Lines and early air mail service.

4. 1931United Airlines

   United Air Lines organized

   United Air Lines was formed to manage airline subsidiaries tied to United Aircraft and Transport.

5. 1943Hilton

   Acquisition of the Stevens Hotel, Chicago

   Hilton acquires the Stevens Hotel in Chicago - then the world's largest hotel with over 3,000 rooms - transforming the company from a regional Texas operator into a nationally recognized lodging company.

6. 1946Hilton

   Hilton Hotels Corporation Goes Public

   Hilton Hotels Corporation lists on the New York Stock Exchange, becoming one of the first major hotel companies to access public capital markets and establishing a financial structure that would fund the company's continued national expansion.

7. 1949Hilton

   Waldorf Astoria Acquisition and International Debut

   Conrad Hilton acquires the well-known Waldorf Astoria in New York City and opens the Caribe Hilton in San Juan, Puerto Rico - the company's first international property. Both transactions cement Hilton's status as a premier global luxury brand.

8. 1964Hilton

   International Division Spun Off

   Hilton Hotels Corporation and Hilton International are formally separated, with the international operations becoming an independent company. This bifurcation persisted for decades and would eventually be reversed through acquisition in the 2000s.

9. 1997United Airlines

   Star Alliance founded

   United became one of the founding members of Star Alliance.

10. 1999Hilton

    Acquisition of Promus Hotel Corporation

    Hilton acquires Promus Hotel Corporation for approximately $3.7 billion, adding the Hampton Inn, Doubletree, Embassy Suites, and Homewood Suites brands to its portfolio - transforming Hilton into a multi-brand lodging company and expanding its focused-service…

11. 2007Hilton

    Blackstone Group Leveraged Buyout

    Blackstone Group acquires Hilton Hotels Corporation in a leveraged buyout valued at approximately $26 billion - the largest hotel acquisition in history at the time. Christopher Nassetta is installed as CEO.

12. 2010United Airlines

    Continental merger closes

    UAL Corporation completed the Continental merger, later operating under the United brand.

13. 2013Hilton

    NYSE Relisting - Largest Hospitality IPO in History

    Hilton Worldwide Holdings relists on the New York Stock Exchange in December 2013, raising approximately $2.35 billion in what was then the largest IPO in the history of the hospitality industry. The listing valued Hilton at approximately $19.7 billion.

14. 2015United Airlines

    Oscar Munoz becomes CEO

    Oscar Munoz became chief executive of United in September 2015.

15. 2017Hilton

    Spinoff of Park Hotels & Resorts and Hilton Grand Vacations

    Hilton completes the spinoff of Park Hotels & Resorts and Hilton Grand Vacations as separately traded public companies, completing its transition to a fully asset-light franchise and management fee model and returning significant real estate value to sharehold…

16. 2020Hilton

    COVID-19 Pandemic - Deepest Revenue Shock in Company History

    The COVID-19 pandemic causes system-wide Revenue Per Available Room to fall approximately 57% as global travel shuts down.

17. 2020United Airlines

    Scott Kirby becomes CEO

    Scott Kirby succeeded Oscar Munoz as CEO in May 2020.

18. 2024Hilton

    Revenue Reaches $11.2 Billion, Pipeline Exceeds 500,000 Rooms

    Hilton reports fiscal year 2024 revenues of approximately $11.2 billion and adjusted EBITDA of approximately $3.3 billion, with the Hilton Honors program surpassing 190 million members and the global development pipeline exceeding 500,000 rooms under developme…

19. 2025Hilton

    9,000th Hotel and Record Openings

    Hilton opened about 97,000 rooms, passed 9,000 hotels, entered markets including Tanzania, Rwanda, and Pakistan, and returned $3.3 billion to shareholders.

20. 2025United Airlines

    Revenue reaches record level

    United reported record 2025 total operating revenue of $59.1 billion.

21. 2026United Airlines

    Q2 2026 revenue up 16%

    United reported Q2 2026 revenue of $17.7 billion and raised full-year adjusted EPS guidance to $9-$11 despite nearly $6 billion in added fuel costs.

Acquisitions

Questions about Hilton vs United Airlines