Widening Father's Footsteps

When his second son, Barron, first approached him about a job in 1946, Hotelman Conrad Hilton was less than enthusiastic about the idea. A college dropout about to become a father at 19, Barton had far to go to prove him self as a businessman. Nor did he agree with his father's evaluation of his tal ent. Barren said that he would not work for less than $1,000 a month. Conrad was not willing to pay him more than $150. The young man decided to go into business for himself.

Advisory Role. Today, the relation ship between father and son has changed. Barren, now 41, is not only president and chief executive of Hilton Hotels (at $100,000 a year), but has considerably widened his father's footsteps since he took charge three years ago. The elder Hilton, who, at 81, remains chairman of the board but contents himself with an advisory role, is delighted with his son's performance. "Things are going very well with us," he says.

If anything, that is an understatement. Through a combination of cost cutting, rate in creases and shrewdly timed expansion, Barren has managed to double the company's profits from $6.6 million in 1966 to $12.2 million last year. In the same period, revenues rose only 18% to $231 million. The chain, which owns, manages or fran chises 67 hotels and inns in 56 U.S. cities, currently has an oc cupancy rate 10% above the industry-wide average of 61%. More remarkable, that occupancy level has been reached despite a 21% advance in Hilton's average room rate from $16.43 to $21.27. On the New York Stock Exchange, Hilton shares have reflected the company's fortunes by leaping from 7 1/8 in 1966 to 57 1/2 last week -- a gain of 807%.

Setting Records. Barron came back to the family business by a roundabout route. When his father rebuffed his first effort to land a well-paying Hilton job, the young man began selling fresh fruit juice to Los Angeles dairies. The venture prospered and helped pave Barren's way into the family firm in 1954.

His first post was vice president in charge of television sets. Later he took over Hilton's Carte Blanche, lifting the credit-card operation from a $9,000,000 hole and making it profitable.

Promoted to Hilton president in 1966, Barron immediately began reorganizing a management that had been as spread out as its hotels. By centralizing the purchase of housekeeping items under a subsidiary, Hotel Equiment Corp., he saved the parent company money on everything from carpets to cutlery. He reduced the size of hotel payrolls and, to save capital while expanding, formed partnerships with other investors to build Hilton hotels in such places as New York, San Francisco and Hawaii.

Palatial Style. The secret of managing such an empire, as Barron tells it, "is being on the scene at the proper time." In keeping with that philosophy, Barron jumps into his private jet or his 200-m.p.h. helicopter as readily as most businessmen leap into taxis. Frequently, he manages to visit as many as half a dozen Hilton hotels in a single day. A black Rolls-Royce convertible whisks him from his Beverly Hills headquarters to his palatial home in Holmby Hills, where he, his wife Marilyn and their eight children enjoy a swimming pool, tennis court, putting green, sauna bath and film-projection room.

Recently, Hilton moved into the auto-rental field in California and Hawaii, but his plans for the future are far more ambitious. They include $50 million worth of expansion, mostly at U.S. airports and in Hawaii, where Hilton hotels now run an 80% occupancy rate. Hilton is also considering buying an airline that would operate charter flights from major U.S. and European cities to his resort hotels. He has even drawn up plans--only half in jest--for a Lunar Hilton beneath the moon's surface. Despite such celestial goals, Barron still prides himself on attention to earthly details. To save on food-preparation costs, for example, the company no longer uses individual eggs for salads and sandwiches. Instead, the hotels buy frozen hard-boiled eggs in foot-long rolls. Thawed, they are ready to slice and serve just as easily as the hen-fresh product.

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