Mr. Hart: Instead of going through the company's history, which dates back to 1919, I'll just say that our company has been completely reformulated in the last 24 months. We spun off the gaming operation into Park Place Entertainment, which is now the world's largest gaming company, and subsequently, we acquired Promus Hotel Corporation. Now we are one of the world's largest pure-play hotel companies.
TWST: Are there acquisitions in your future?
Mr. Hart: With the acquisition of Promus, we're essentially complete in
terms of brands and market segments that we'd like to be in. I wouldn't
expect to see any significant acquisitions for a while.
TWST: Is there a possibility of a glut in the number of hotels?
Mr. Hart: There was a lot of analyst concern about overbuilding in the
business earlier in the year, but those concerns have dissipated. We are
in a healthy period in our business now. Demand actually exceeds supply,
especially in the markets that are very important to us, where we own
some very large landmark properties.
Tickers included in this excerpt: HLT
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