The Management of Hilton Worldwide by The Blackstone Group
IR 427: Seminar in International Business Professor MacDonald & Professor Jichev
15 December 2015
Srishti Bhatnagar
1
A main source of revenue and support for many large successful companies are
investments. Private equity investments are one popular type of investment made by
“institutions such as banks and pension funds, and also include individuals who meet
certain salary and net worth criteria”1. The private equity individual or firm sets long term
goals for the invested company and manages business strategy in order to reach them.
The PESTEL framework describes the political, economic, social, technological,
environmental, and legal factors that affect how an organisation runs2. This paper will
examine the way these PESTEL factors influence private equity involvement in one
specific subcategory of investments: commercial real estate. The individual commercial
real estate firm to be studied in this paper will be the Hilton Worldwide hotel chain.
Hilton Worldwide is an example of a leading multinational organisation in the
hotel/tourism industry. The most recent comprehensive statistics for this firm are from July
31, 2013. By then, Hilton Worldwide had established itself in multiple countries around the
globe with impressive numbers. The organisation claims a presence in 90 countries and
territories as it manages Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad
Hotels & Resorts, Canopy by Hilton, Curio - A Collection by Hilton, DoubleTree by Hilton,
Embassy Suites by Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton by Hilton, Homewood Suites by
Hilton, Home2 Suites by Hilton and Hilton Grand Vacations3 4.
Given these facts, Hilton Worldwide can undoubtedly be labelled as a multinational
enterprise (MNE). By operating with 300,000 team members globally, not only does the
organisation fully commit to “substantial direct investments in foreign countries,” but it
engages in “active management of these offshore assets rather than simply holding them in
a passive investment portfolio”5. These were the two basic conditions long time considered
to be the basis for defining an organisation as an MNE. The tables below outline the scope
of the active Hilton Worldwide global presence.
1 McFarlane, G. “Difference between private and public equity”, Investopedia. Web. 24 November 2015.
<http://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/030415/difference-between-private-and-public-equity.asp> 2 Johnson, G, Witthington, R, Scholes, K, Angwin, Duncan, Regner, P. 2014, Exploring Strategy
(10th ed.), Pearson Educated Limited, UK, pp. 34-36
3 Hilton Worldwide: At-A-Glance. Hilton Worldwide Global Media Center. 2013. PDF File. <http://www.hiltonworldwide
globalmediacenter.com/assets/HWW/docs/brandFactSheets/BrandFacts_HW.pdf> 4 Hilton Worldwide Reports Third Quarter Results, Exceeds High End of Guidance and Raises Full Year Outlook for Adjusted
EBITDA. Hilton Worldwide. 2015. PDF File. <http://s1.q4cdn.com/246698567/files/doc_financials/2015/Q3-2015-Earnings-Release.pdf>
5 Bartlett, C, Ghoshal, S, Beamish, P. 2009, Transnational Management (5th ed.), McGraw-Hill, New York, pp. 2
2
Hilton Worldwide: At-A-Glance. Hilton Worldwide Global Media Center. 2013. PDF File. <http://www.hiltonworldwideglobalmediacenter.com/assets/HWW/docs/brandFactSheets/BrandFacts_HW.pdf>
Even over the years as the United Nations further explicitly outlined what it means to be a
multinational enterprise, Hilton Worldwide continued to bear the title as a MNE. In
accordance with the new UN definition, the Hilton Worldwide organisation maintains “active,
coordinated management of operations located in different countries” which is further
explained in this paper6.
Culture & History
This prospering multinational hospitality company can trace its beginnings to Conrad
N. Hilton 96 years ago when he bought The Mobley in hopes of providing the best hotel
service in Texas, US. Through his hard work and commitment, he managed to set the seed
in Texas (initial headquarters for Hilton hotels) for the growth of a massive hotel empire for a
century to come7.
Over the years the Hilton family controlled the company as it grew in size. But the
company really started to expand after a change in ownership in 1996, from the Hiltons to
Stephen F. Bollenbach. It was under Bollenbach’s control that the Hilton hotel company went
through a series of fast track, revenue boosting improvements. Referring back to PESTEL,
these additions and changes to the company highlight the importance of economic factors
on the company over time. Bollenbach sought improvement for Hilton in the 1990s through
mergers and acquisitions, stock prices, and physical expansion. The Bally Entertainment
Corporation was merged with Hilton, a merger valued at $2 billion through stocks. Next,
Promus was acquired through which Hilton received another $4 billion. All in all these deals
and negotiations helped Hilton add about 350,000 rooms over a 12 year period allowing it to
6 Bartlett, C, Ghoshal, S, Beamish, P. 2009, Transnational Management (5
th ed.), McGraw-Hill, New York, pp. 3
7 “Explore our history and heritage”. Hilton Worldwide. Web. 24 November 2015.
<http://www.hiltonworldwide.com/about/history/>
3
jump up to become the fourth largest hotel chain in the world, up three spots from when
Bollenbach had taken over8.
This massive expansion of the company pushed Hilton towards the top of the list in
the hotel and tourism industry. But, it was not the number one hotel group in the world yet
and all these major acquisitions had been financed through a lot of debt8. Acquiring Hilton
International in December of 2005 put Hilton’s rating down as low as possible as it was left
facing $3.7 billion in debt. Furthermore, the terrorist attacks that took place in the United
States on September 11, 2001 particularly hit Hilton hard. The attacks dropped Hilton stock
prices by 47%8. On the social front, general anxiety over travelling, especially dominant in
the United States during the early 2000s, decreased popularity for Hilton and its services.
Buyout
It is during the 2000s, 2007 to be exact, that private equity began to play a major role
in the growth and direction of Hilton Worldwide. Despite overall growth for the company in
the form of acquisitions and an increase in hotel rooms, Hilton Worldwide had yet to claim
the number one spot in the hotel industry. During the onset of economic doom in late 2007,
the largely successful private equity firm The Blackstone Group managed a last minute
leveraged buyout of Hilton for roughly $26-27 billion9. To many the timing of this enormous
acquisition began to look like a sunk cost with no opportunistic gain. The years following this
buyout turned into a global financial crisis, with some economists claiming it to be the worst
financial crisis to hit since the Great Depression in the 1930s. Due to this failing economic
environment many questioned the value of Blackstone acquiring Hilton hotels; most saw the
buyout as an added burden on the private equity firm9. Blackstone was faced with the
decision to either turn the acquisition profitable or face huge amounts of losses due to the
crisis.
Analysis & Planning of Hilton Worldwide
After acquisition, Blackstone partnered with Hilton to appoint a new President and
Chief Executive Officer10. Christopher J. Nassetta was chosen for the position by both
parties and placed with the heavy responsibility of leading the global hotel organisation into a
new and prosperous path11.
8 Phalippou, L. “Saïd Business School cases: Hilton Hotels: Real Estate Private Equity”, Saïd Business School, Oxford
University. 5 April 2014, Web. 30 November 2015. PDF File. pp. 3. <https://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/Private_Equity/Docs/ Hilton-new-watermark.pdf>
9 Wei, L, Hudson, W. “Blackstone's Inauspicious Timing: Hilton Buyout”, Wall Street Journal. 5 November 2008, Web. 30
November 2015. <http://www.wsj.com/articles/ SB122583316469798241> 10 “Hilton Hotels Corporation Opens New Global Headquarters in Fairfax County, Va.”, hopsitalitynet. 3 August 2009, Web. 2
December 2015. <http://www.hospitalitynet.org/ news/4042727.html> 11 “Hilton Hotels Corporation Appoints Christopher Nassetta as President and CEO”. Blackstone. 29 October 2007, Web. 24
November 2015. <http://www.blackstone. com/news-views/press-releases/hilton-hotels-corporation-appoints-christopher-nassetta-as-president-and-ceo>
4
Another major initial change made to the management of Hilton Worldwide was to
relocate United States headquarters. Blackstone made the executive decision to shift the
organisation from west coast’s Beverly Hills, CA all the way to east coast’s McLean,
Virginia12, This change moved global management of Hilton to the Washington D.C.
metropolitan area, physically closer to Blackstone’s New York headquarters11. This transition
from a more lax west coast location in Beverly Hills to fast paced east coast in Virginia
signalled a particular shift in Hilton Worldwide’s management style. Blackstone used this
newfound location to exercise control over the global company as it prepared to lead it to
new heights of success and eventually the top of the industry.
The private equity firm decided to revamp Hilton’s technology services through which
prospects for the company really began to look up. Blackstone acquired Hilton with a
whopping $20 billion in debt, but the addition of Chief Information Officer Robert Webb in
2009 introduced major changes to international business strategies for technological
innovation within Hilton13.
Under Webb, the Hilton Worldwide Innovation Collaborative was formed. This new
plan for action called for outsourcing specific parts of Hilton’s IT infrastructure. In the words
of Webb, this new international business tactic planned to “strengthen the company's global
operations and enable growth across the entire portfolio”13.
An interview taken with Webb highlighted the main steps expected to be taken to
implement this global technological innovation. From 2010 to 2012, Webb set driven goals:
accelerating technology innovation that's aligned to our business objectives;
recruiting, upgrading, training and retaining a world class technology leadership
team; instituting select strategic partnerships to drive innovation that enables the
hotel business; establishing solid project, program and process management
disciplines for governance; and then really making certain that we have a robust
infrastructure, architecture and security set of disciplines across the company13
It is absolutely clear from these set goals that Webb had experience or at least the
knowledge to anticipate how international business strategies are implemented. His goals
touch upon building a properly educated technology team that will lead Hilton to success
globally. He understands the importance of working on managing the Hilton enterprise from
12 “Hilton Hotels Corporation Announces Plans to Relocate Global Headquarters from Beverly Hills to Washington, DC Area”.
Hilton Worldwide Global Media Center. 21 January 2011, Web. 25 November 2015. <http://hiltonworldwideglobalmediacenter. com/index.cfm/news/hilton-hotels-corporation-announces-plans-to-relocate-global-headquarters-from-beverly-hills-to-washington-dc-area>
13 Lorden, A. “Hilton's Innovation Acceleration”, Hospitality Technology. 10 June 2010, Web. 25 November 2015.
<http://hospitalitytechnology.edgl.com/news/Hilton-s-Innovation-Acceleration54840>
5
a global perspective, not just creating strategies that work for the home country of Hilton’s
headquarters.
One point Webb makes about “selecting strategic partnerships to drive innovation
that enables the hotel business” is crucial. He stresses the need to partner with global
technology providers in order to accomplish the goals he has set out for the company. Webb
realises: “With more than 3,500 hotels in 81 countries, we need suppliers who have the
necessary scope and scale; who have a presence in those countries and who can provide
us with support and services key to those markets”14. This is why Hilton Worldwide
international business strategies, especially in the technology department, became
successful due to the Blackstone acquisition. Acquiring more hotel chains meant the overall
global reach of Hilton Worldwide expanded tremendously. As stated in the beginning of this
paper, the organisation now boasts a presence in a total of 90 countries meaning partnering
with international technology firms hardly poses a problem.
In addition to completely reconstructing Hilton’s IT infrastructure, Blackstone worked
on bettering another important aspect to the company that would adhere to legal restrictions
and general public environmental concerns. Under the control of Ian Carter, President of
Global Operations and Development, Hilton Worldwide took into consideration its carbon
footprint14. As a large hoteling organisation, meaning there is always an abundance of
building and constructing and reconstructing real estate, Hilton realised they depend
extensively on earth’s resources. But in order to succeed as the top hospitality industry in the
world, the organisation had to please country environmental regulations as well as keep its
carbon footprint low for the sake of displaying an eco-friendly image to its now ever
increasingly environmentally aware customers15.
Blackstone realised this core sector of the business had to be attended to early on
after the acquisition; it became a clear path to driving up business efficiency as well as
reinstating a positive light on Hilton as a worldwide commercial real estate firm. When initial
analysis was done by sustainability consultant Blue Sky, the findings of Hilton Worldwide’s
average annual negative environmental impacts during the year 2007 were astounding16.
However, as astounding as they were, they confirmed Blackstone and Hilton’s notion that
the organisation definitely had room for improvement when it came to providing eco-friendly
services to its eco-conscious customers.
14 “Hilton Hotels Corporation Announces Global Sustainability Goals”, Hilton Worldwide Global Media Center. 4 July 2008,
Web. 26 November 2015. <http://news.hilton.com/index.cfm/ news/hilton-hotels-corporation-announces-global-sustainability- goals->
15 Dudovskiy, J. “Hilton Hotels PESTEL Analysis”, Research Methodology. 7 January 2015, Web. 22 November 2015.
<http://research-methodology.net/hilton-hotels-pestel-analysis/#Related_Articles> 16 Responsible Investment in Private Equity: Case Studies. Principles for Responsible Investments. Ed. 2, December 2009.
PDF File. pp. 22-24. <http://intranet.unpri.org/ resources/files/pe-case-studies_final-1.pdf>.
6
Hilton Worldwide’s Global Environmental Waste17
6.8 million tons of CO2 equivalent to 1.7 million cars
600,000 tons of waste enough to fill 30,000 Olympic swimming pools
190 million cubic meters of water equivalent to supplying 40,000
households with water for a year
purchases of case goods such as dressers, bookshelves, and equivalent of 2,000 acres of forest cabinets, in North America alone
In order to combat this growing environmental concern, Blackstone once again tackled
international business strategies by creating another specialised management team. Just as
in the case for the Hilton’s IT infrastructure, the private equity firm chose to put together a
group of people who “understood the social and business value of implementing a
sustainability program” in the global operations department17. In charge of spearheading the
newly constructed environmental campaign was Vice President of Global Sustainability,
Christopher Corpuel18. Once again, this was not a country specific plan of action, rather a
strong, all-encompassing sustainability strategy aimed at bettering the eco-friendliness and
business efficiency of Hilton hotels all throughout the world. After all, environmental issues
did not stop for borders.
Plan of Action18
20% reduction in energy consumption from direct operations 20% reduction in CO2 emissions 20% reduction in output of waste 10% reduction in water consumption Integration of sustainability into building design, construction and operations Promoting renewable energy as a source of power for operations (not only to reduce
Hilton’s overall carbon footprint but to develop a viable commercial infrastructure for powering its buildings)
The goals set out above generously helped in cutting down on environmental waste
generated by the hotel company worldwide. After a re-evaluation of its performance (one
year after implementation of eco-friendly business strategies), Hilton Worldwide saw an
17 Responsible Investment in Private Equity: Case Studies. Principles for Responsible Investments. Ed. 2, December 2009.
PDF File. pp. 22-24. <http://intranet.unpri.org/ resources/files/pe-case-studies_final-1.pdf>. 18 “A measure of good health”, Hotel Management International. 2012. PDF File.
<http://news.hiltonworldwide.com/assets/HWW/ docs/inthenews/2012/A_measure_of_good_health.pdf>
7
overall 1-3% decrease in electricity, water, and fuel use as well as roughly the same
decrease in CO2 emissions. And not only was Hilton Worldwide able to boast lowered
ecological impacts on the globe now, it also lowered about $15-20 million in costs18.
When it came to laws, the legal restrictions Hilton faced were more country specific.
In particular, the European Union definitely had a distinctive set of rules for any
organisations looking to set up tourist attractions within the region. Examples of some
restrictions that were put in place in since the late 1990s include controls on land use,
controls on bed capacity, traffic management, as well as limits to tourist numbers and overall
environmental awareness19. The controls placed on land use specifically target the issue of
land space in the EU especially in and around beach areas and coastlines. Controlling bed
space brought down the pressure of tourism on the area just as simply outlining procedures
to limit the number of tourists in the first place. Together, along with various other
legislations, the EU aimed, and continues to aim, for a decrease of tourist influx in areas
needing more environmental awareness and protection.
For these reasons Hilton Worldwide benefited from analysing its worldly ecological
impacts. Not only did the organisation have to please the general public that made up its
large customer base or the countries that it operated in, it had to bear in mind the thoughts
and views of its major clients, who, according to President Carter, had been keeping an eye
on Hilton’s contribution to global environmental issues:
...and you certainly hear it more in some geographies than in others. What we are
certainly witnessing, however, is large corporate clients really looking hard at these
metrics. When negotiating contracts or looking at holding big meetings they will take
how you perform environmentally into account20
All in all, there was a big push from more environmentally aware customers, countries, and
clients towards sustainability that the Hilton and Blackstone jointly took very seriously. The
strategies and goals set in place by Hilton under Blackstone’s guidance and leadership
undoubtedly produced tangible results that go beyond the millions of dollars saved on costs
and reductions in waste. In 2008, Hilton Vancouver in the state of Washington received two
certificates of recognition: LEED (Leader in Energy and Environmental Design) and Green
Seal21. The LEED is no small feat as it is regarded as one of the highest standards for
19 Nagle, G. Tourism, Leisure and Recreation. UK: Nelson Thornes, 1999. Web: Google Books. pp. 129 20 “A measure of good health”, Hotel Management International. 2012. PDF File.
<http://news.hiltonworldwide.com/assets/HWW/ docs/inthenews/2012/A_measure_of_good_health.pdf> 21 “Vancouver Hilton Hotel/Convention Center: 2013 Operations”. City of Vancouver. April 2014. PDF File.
<http://www.cityofvancouver.us/sites/default/files/fileattachments/downtown_ redevelopment_ authority/ page/ 2892/04_fact_sheet-_hotel-convention_center.pdf>
8
environmentally friendly business practices22. Not only was this an incredible achievement
for the singular Hilton in Vancouver, it was a symbol of success for Hilton Worldwide
because the Hilton Vancouver became the first hotel in the entire world to receive both
certificates. Through its efforts to maintain an environmentally sustainable presence, the
Hilton organisation succeeded in reaching a notable milestone in hotel and tourism history23.
This paper has discussed major economic, social, technological, environmental, and
legal factors that explain the different ways the Blackstone private equity firm’s involvement
in Hilton Worldwide helped bring it to the number one service provider in the hotel and
tourism industry. A clear overview of how the multinational firm actually benefitted from going
private under The Blackstone Group can be seen by the improvement in ranks in the table
below:
“Why the Blackstone acquisition was important for Hilton”, Market Realist. Web. 26 November 2015.
<http://marketrealist.com/2014/10/why-the-blackstone-acquisition-was-important-for-hilton/>
Though Hilton hotels were obviously one of the top hotel chains in the business pre-
acquisition, the takeover by Blackstone seemed to have provided the extra push needed to
rank it all the way to the top of the industry. A combination of increasing global
environmental awareness of resource waste, revamping IT infrastructure, and appointing
22 Leed. Web. 1 December 2015. <http://www.usgbc.org/leed> 23 “A History of Firsts”, Hilton Hotels & Resorts. 2015. Web. 22 November 2015. <http://www3. hilton.com/en/about/
hilton/history/index.html>
9
international business-oriented managers and team leaders led to Hilton’s ultimate success
in standing out as the leading hotelier in the world24.
Looking to the Future
In all these years, Blackstone made major changes and implemented new
international business strategies in order to alter the way Hilton operated and functioned
globally. However, one thing that may be hard for Blackstone to control in terms of Hilton’s
management will be tourism drifts caused by political change. Recently, the United Kingdom
has claimed it will hold a European Union referendum. A possible Brexit could imply changes
to travel between other European countries and the UK. Though highly unlikely, in extreme
cases separate visas could be necessary to enter the UK. This would take a direct hit on UK
Hilton revenues as the overall number of people visiting the country would consequently
decline25. In this case, it would be interesting to see just how private equity firms deal with
this impending possible fall in revenue in Hilton hotels. Though The Blackstone Group was
able to counter most challenges the organisation faced, political changes affecting the
business environment are harder to overcome.
The PESTEL analysis is a strong outline for describing exactly how The Blackstone
Group was able to fully transform Hilton Worldwide’s hotels into a thriving success. When
Blackstone bought out Hilton at the cusp of a financial meltdown, no one had hopes for the
hotel industry. Blackstone looked like a joke for buying out a company destined to doom due
to the series of financial events that unfolded in years to come. However, Blackstone’s
commitment to transforming the hotel company with regards to the PESTEL forces that
shape the macro-environment of an organisation ended with clear positive results. It is hard
to argue the constructive and long lasting influence Blackstone’s investments in the
management of Hilton Worldwide has had during the 2000s and onward.
24 “Hilton Hotels Corporation Appoints Christopher Nassetta as President and CEO”. Blackstone. 29 October 2007, Web. 24
November 2015. <http://www.blackstone. com/news-views/press-releases/hilton-hotels-corporation-appoints-christopher-nassetta-as-president-and-ceo>
25 Dudovskiy, J. “Hilton Hotels PESTEL Analysis”, Research Methodology. 7 January 2015, Web. 22 November 2015.
<http://research-methodology.net/hilton-hotels-pestel-analysis/#Related_Articles>
10
References “A History of Firsts”, Hilton Hotels & Resorts. 2015. Web. 22 November 2015. <http://www3.
hilton.com/en/about/ hilton/history/index.html> “A measure of good health”, Hotel Management International. 2012. PDF File.
<http://news.hiltonworldwide.com/assets/HWW/docs/inthenews/2012/A_measure_of_good_health.pdf>
Bartlett, C, Ghoshal, S, Beamish, P. 2009, Transnational Management (5th ed.), McGraw-
Hill, New York, pp. 2-3
Dudovskiy, J. “Hilton Hotels PESTEL Analysis”, Research Methodology. 7 January 2015,
Web. 22 November 2015. <http://research-methodology.net/hilton-hotels-pestel-analysis/#Related_Articles>
“Explore our history and heritage”. Hilton Worldwide. Web. 24 November 2015.
<http://www.hiltonworldwide.com/about/history/> Hilton Worldwide: At-A-Glance. Hilton Worldwide Global Media Center. 2013. PDF File.
<http://www.hiltonworldwideglobalmediacenter.com/assets/HWW/docs/brandFactSheets/BrandFacts_HW.pdf>
“Hilton Hotels Corporation Announces Global Sustainability Goals”, Hilton Worldwide Global
Media Center. 4 July 2008, Web. 26 November 2015. <http://news.hilton.com/index.cfm/ news/hilton-hotels-corporation-announces-global-sustainability-goals->
“Hilton Hotels Corporation Announces Plans to Relocate Global Headquarters from Beverly
Hills to Washington, DC Area”. Hilton Worldwide Global Media Center. 21 January 2011, Web. 25 November 2015. <http://hiltonworldwideglobalmediacenter. com/index.cfm/news/hilton-hotels-corporation-announces-plans-to-relocate-global-headquarters-from-beverly-hills-to-washington-dc-area>
“Hilton Hotels Corporation Appoints Christopher Nassetta as President and CEO”.
Blackstone. 29 October 2007, Web. 24 November 2015. <http://www.blackstone. com/news-views/press-releases/hilton-hotels-corporation-appoints-christopher-nassetta-as-president-and-ceo>
“Hilton Hotels Corporation Opens New Global Headquarters in Fairfax County, Va.”,
hopsitalitynet. 3 August 2009, Web. 2 December 2015. <http://www.hospitalitynet.org/ news/4042727.html>
Hilton Worldwide Reports Third Quarter Results, Exceeds High End of Guidance and Raises
Full Year Outlook for Adjusted EBITDA. Hilton Worldwide. 2015. PDF File. <http://s1.q4cdn.com/246698567/files/doc_financials/2015/Q3-2015-Earnings-Release.pdf>
Johnson, G, Witthington, R, Scholes, K, Angwin, Duncan, Regner, P. 2014, Exploring
Strategy (10th ed.), Pearson Educated Limited, UK, pp. 34-36
Leed. Web. 1 December 2015. <http://www.usgbc.org/leed>
11
Lorden, A. “Hilton's Innovation Acceleration”, Hospitality Technology. 10 June 2010, Web. 25 November 2015. <http://hospitalitytechnology.edgl.com/news/Hilton-s-Innovation-Acceleration54840>
Nagle, G. Tourism, Leisure and Recreation. UK: Nelson Thornes, 1999. Web: Google
Books. pp. 129 McFarlane, G. “Difference between private and public equity”, Investopedia. Web. 24
November 2015. <http://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/030415/difference-between-private-and-public-equity.asp>
Phalippou, L. “Saïd Business School cases: Hilton Hotels: Real Estate Private Equity”, Saïd
Business School, Oxford University. 5 April 2014, Web. 30 November 2015. PDF File. pp. 3. <https://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/Private_Equity/Docs/Hilton-new-watermark.pdf>
Responsible Investment in Private Equity: Case Studies. Principles for Responsible
Investments. Ed. 2, December 2009. PDF File. pp. 22-24. <http://intranet.unpri.org/ resources/files/pe-case-studies_final-1.pdf>
“Vancouver Hilton Hotel/Convention Center: 2013 Operations”. City of Vancouver. April
2014. PDF File. <http://www.cityofvancouver.us/sites/default/files/fileattachments/downtown_ redevelopment_authority/page/2892/04_fact_sheet-_hotel-convention_center.pdf>
Wei, L, Hudson, W. “Blackstone's Inauspicious Timing: Hilton Buyout”, Wall Street Journal.
5 November 2008, Web. 30 November 2015. <http://www.wsj.com/articles/
SB122583316469798241>
“Why the Blackstone acquisition was important for Hilton”, Market Realist. Web. 26
November 2015. <http://marketrealist.com/2014/10/why-the-blackstone-acquisition-was-important-for-hilton/>