(1) Motto
"Have you smiled at the guests today?"
Corporate etiquette is the brand style of the company. It includes the company's hospitality etiquette, business style, employee demeanor, environmental layout style, and internal information communication methods. Corporate etiquette often forms traditions and customs and reflects the company's business philosophy. It gives the enterprise a strong human touch and plays a subtle role in cultivating the corporate spirit and shaping the corporate image. Hilton attaches great importance to the civilized etiquette education of employees and advocates smiling service among employees. I go to at least one Hilton hotel every day and interact with hotel service staff. The most frequently asked question to staff at all levels (from general manager to waiter) must be: "Did you smile at the guests today?" In 1930, the United States In the worst year of the economic depression, 80% of hotels in the United States closed down. Hilton's hotels were also suffering heavy losses one after another. At one time, the debt reached 500,000 US dollars. Hilton was not discouraged. He called every hotel employee to give them a special explanation. He appealed: "Currently, the hotel is in deficit and relying on debt to survive, and I have decided to tide over the difficulties. Once the period of economic panic in the United States passes, our Hilton Hotel will soon enter a situation where the clouds are rising and the moon is rising. Therefore, I ask you to remember, Hilton’s etiquette must never be forgotten. No matter what difficulties the hotel itself encounters, the smile on the face of the Hilton hotel’s waiters will always belong to the customers. “In fact, among the only 20% of hotels that have closed down, only Hilton is the one. The smile of the hotel waiter is wonderful. Just after the recession, the Hilton hotel system entered a new period of prosperity and entered a golden age of business. The Hilton Hotel was subsequently enriched with a number of modern facilities. At this time, Hilton went to every hotel to convene a meeting with all employees and asked: "Now that our hotel has added first-class equipment, what other first-class things do you think must be added to make guests like it more?" After the employees answered , Hilton smiled and shook his head and said: "Please think about it, if the hotel only has first-class equipment without the smiles of first-class waiters, will those tourists think that we provide all their favorite things? If the beauty of the waiters is missing, Smile is just like the garden losing the spring sun and spring breeze. If I were a tourist, I would rather stay in a hotel with old carpets but smiles everywhere than a place with first-class facilities but no smiles...".
When Hilton sat down When a special plane arrives to inspect a Hilton hotel in a certain country, the service staff will immediately think of one thing, that is, their boss may come to them at any time and ask them the famous saying: "Did you smile at the guests today?" ”
(2) Standing at the forefront of the times
When Hilton was 31 years old, he left his hometown of New Mexico when his father’s career failed. Before that, he worked as a coworker, Businessmen, mining speculators, etc. After leaving his hometown, he arrived in Texas, where oil springs were springing up, and was ready to make a difference. However, he only had three dollars of capital around him to start a banking business, but the capital was too little, so he bought it. The Mombre Hotel targets oil workers and businessmen. This is the starting point of the world's hotel king. The secret of Hilton's success is that it treats the hotel (hotel) industry as a "business" from the beginning. Naturally, he He strives to feel at home, but he regards it as a kind of real estate. As long as there is an opportunity, he will buy the hotels that are about to close down at the lowest price, renovate the buildings, and rearrange the operations to make the business grow. , and then look for another opportunity to sell it at several times the purchase price to expand capital. For this reason, he often takes on a lot of debt to buy large hotels that exceed his own strength. He often seeks ways to circulate funds from banks or individuals. He had to work hard to deal with creditors, but he was indeed a genius in this regard. The Hilton Hotel Company is located in the 43-story Waldorf Astoria Hotel on Buck Penny Street in New York. When the hotel was called the tallest hotel in the world, Hilton's enthusiasm made the audience excited. This hotel is the most famous in the world. Kings, queens, heads of state, princes, bishops, etc. have stayed here. As important figures from all over the world, no wonder Hilton would say when mentioning this past event: “Buying Waldorf Astoria was a turning point in the history of my life! The night when the acquisition was successful was probably the best night in Hilton's life. It is said that Hilton stood in the courtyard of the Waldorf Astoria that night, looking up at the towering building, immersed in a state of selflessness, motionless, unaware of the whiteness of the east.
It took 18 years from the time he decided to buy it until it was successful.
Hilton is a competitive and risk-taking entrepreneur. In order to expand his business, he caused many troubles. Seven years later, President Mishima of Japan's Tokyu Corporation angrily shouted: "For Japan's national interests, we will not hesitate to fight to the end!" This was Mishima's attitude when the so-called Tokyo Hilton Hotel incident occurred at that time. Most people think that this incident is the infiltration of foreign capital into Japan. It is indeed a blow to the Japanese economy, especially the hotel industry. The Hilton Hotel in Tokyo is one of the business tentacles of the world's hotel king, Claude Nixon Hilton. The incidents and its impact caused by the so-called "Hilton Shock" are spreading throughout Japan. In any case, Hilton is a peculiar figure who often attracts the limelight in mass communication. The American "Time" and "Life" magazines describe him in detail in special reports every one or two years, which is rare. Exceptional. Why is this happening? I can’t give any decent reason. In short, Hilton is a very American character, and he can keenly grasp the trends of the times. He is a representative figure of American managers.
Due to this factor, the Tokyo Hilton Hotel incident he caused naturally has extraordinary significance. The Japanese government and opposition parties not only regarded this incident as an incident in the hotel industry, but also regarded it as a crisis in the Japanese economic circle. However, the relevant comments are not unbiased. In the Tokyo Hilton Hotel case, the Tokyo District Court ruled that Hilton won the case and Tokyu lost the case. Japanese public opinion believed that the judgment was biased towards Hilton. Hilton's troubles overseas did not start with the Tokyo Hilton incident. Earlier when he was building the Hilton Hotel in London, he caused a stir in the British government and the public. Why? Because the hotel was built near Buckingham Palace where the Queen of England lives, so from the upper floor of the hotel, you can overlook the courtyard of Buckingham Palace. And with a clear view, how could this not cause trouble? However, Hilton persisted to the end, completed the construction amidst opposition, and opened for business. This can prove one thing. He satisfied the curiosity of Americans and allowed them to use American-style sanitary equipment and luxurious beds in a room overlooking the courtyard of the British Palace. Is he still worried that business will not be prosperous? He also In his native New Mexico, when he and his father got a job as a bank assistant, he used a business card like this, "Cland N. Hilton Love Introducer, Personal Love, Kisses, and Sharp Hugs , is unparalleled." This kind of calling card is indeed surprising, but this kind of character is truly Hilton's nature, no exaggeration. In other words, Hilton's business strategy is his personal desire. The two are one thing and cannot be separated. He personally said: "When it comes to human desire, it is indeed a bottomless abyss. No matter what, my desire is to stand at the forefront of the times and be the restaurant king. This is why I tried to bribe the Waldorf Astoria. In short, boarding the The throne of the hotel industry is my strategic goal.”
So Hilton took the form of a business and worked hard to achieve its goal. Bribing Waldorf was both his personal desire and his corporate tactic. Hilton is a typical bright American, as can be seen from the business card mentioned above. He liked to dance, and his dance partners were limited to "young and beautiful ladies." He often said: "I am over 80 years old, but I still have plenty of vitality. Because I have always been at the forefront of the times!"
This attitude is indeed the basis of his success. However, a review of his history: He entered the hotel industry at the age of 31, but he did not regard himself as a hotel owner. He regarded it as a business from the beginning. Therefore, Hilton's hotels not only make money by attracting tourists, but also engage in real estate transactions whenever possible to expand capital at any time. Hilton, which achieved success due to this change, not only had confidence in its own business, but also understood that hotel management should keep pace with the times, thus developing a new business philosophy. He has developed the habit of always paying attention to the changes in hotel functions. In this era of increasingly advanced transportation, especially the increasingly developed aviation network, two places no matter how far apart they are, can always be visited in the morning and evening. In this era, the function of hotels is not only to provide accommodation for tourists, but also tends to be used for press releases of large companies, the launch of new products, or meetings of large companies, etc. In response to this change in hotel functions, Hilton has made great efforts in structure and Reforms must be carried out in line with this point.
Mass media often pay attention to his news; the reason for reporting it again and again is to see through Hilton's response to modern times, which is of high value to the public. Hilton does have innate "genius", but one of his outstanding abilities is acquired, and that is the ability of an operator.
His boldness to enter overseas with great vigor comes from his ability to use theory and practice of capital, which constitutes an outward expansion strategy and is invincible. In July 1963, at the inauguration ceremony of the 33rd Hilton Hotel built in New York, Hilton announced: "At this point, we will no longer build hotels in the country for the time being." This was his foresight that domestic hotels in the United States were about to reach saturation. , because it is no longer cost-effective to operate a large hotel. At that time, the so-called non-vacancy rate in the hotel industry was already declining. For example, the vacancy rate in 1946 was only 7%. However, by 1962, 38% of the guest rooms were vacant and simply displayed for good looks. "Capital is being wasted like this, it should be..." As an operator, how can we let capital be wasted in vain? Therefore, Hilton turned to foreign countries to find a way out to make capital work. A few years ago, Hilton gave a speech at the Autonomous Group Club in San Francisco. The content of this speech can be said to be a rough explanation of his business philosophy. He said: "Hilton International's business operations are developed based on a unique philosophy. Our overseas development is not to absorb profits from abroad for the United States, but to work hand in hand with overseas entrepreneurs to *exist* **Rong. Of course, operating hotels abroad is to seek benefits for domestic shareholders. However, if this is the only purpose, there is no need to develop any business overseas, because the same purpose can be achieved domestically. "This is the premise. , Hilton's corporate slogan is "promoting world peace through international trade and travel" and emphasizes that every Hilton hotel is a "representative of the United States", that is, an envoy to promote international goodwill. To be more precise, Hilton is an ambassador of American capital.
In order to meet the needs of its capital operation, Hilton vigorously develops overseas hotels and markets, and he can foresee all future developments. He saw the middle class becoming increasingly wealthy, and they were keen to travel abroad - mostly for business reasons. Especially after half a lifetime of long-term hard work, I have saved up money for travel. In response to their needs, Hilton built American-style luxury hotels in major foreign cities, allowing them to enjoy the atmosphere enjoyed by the upper class. As long as they stay at the Hilton Hotel, it is not difficult to achieve what they want, and they can comfort themselves that the so-called enjoyment of the upper class is nothing more than that. Hilton's business genius lies in his ability to keenly grasp the psychological changes of such people, so as early as 1948, he began to lay out an overseas hotel network, with the purpose of attracting this group of new customers. In order to cooperate with this strategy, he also formulated a strategy to ensure air routes between hotels to facilitate the travel of passengers. This allows the hotel industry, which has no room for development at home, to find a broader way out and seek development abroad. The incident at the Tokyo Hilton Hotel was the result of the new tactics of interconnectedness between Hilton and WA Airlines. On the opening day of the Tokyo Hilton Hotel, Hilton personally went to Japan to attend the grand ceremony. At that time, he told reporters: "I will do my best to build a hotel kingdom. As for international goodwill and world peace, that is a natural thing." After saying that, he showed an invincible smile. At that time, when someone asked him what his secret was to grasp the cutting edge of business, Hilton said meaningfully: Standing at the forefront of the times, this is my secret.