In 1919, Conrad Hilton purchased his first hotel, the 40-room Mobley Hotel in Cisco, Texas, and bought additional Texas hotels as years passed.[12]
In 1925, the Dallas Hilton became the first hotel to use the Hilton name.[12] In 1927, Hilton expanded to Waco, Texas where he opened the first hotel with air-conditioning in public areas and cold running water.
In 1943, Hilton purchased the Roosevelt Hotel and the Plaza Hotel in New York, establishing the first hospitality company to span the contiguous United States. The company incorporated in 1946 as the Hilton Hotels Corporation, and subsequently began public trading of shares on the New York Stock Exchange.
Hilton International was born a few years later (in 1949) with the opening of the Caribe Hilton Hotel in Puerto Rico. Barman Ramon "Monchito" Marreno claimed he created the alcoholic Piña Colada drink at this resort. Hilton purchased the Waldorf Astoria New York in the same year. Conrad Hilton was featured on the cover of Time Magazine, the only hotelier at the time to have been so.