Mark Young
Mark Young, Ph.D., is director of the Hospitality Industry Archives at the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel & Restaurant Management, University of Houston.
Ahead of the Curve: Marie Dobson Paved the Way for Major Advances in Hilton’s...
In 1954, Marie Dobson, a recent graduate of the Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School, began a lengthy career at Hilton Hotels. Starting in a clerical position, she eventually rose to become president of Hilton Service...
No Tipping: Miss Mary Lindsley and The Grace Dodge Hotel
The American entry into World War I in 1917 led to a dramatic increase in the size of departments in the federal government in Washington, D.C., and also a corresponding need for workers to...
Individual Identities: The Evolution of Hotel Names in the United States
William Shakespeare asked, “What’s in a name?” For U.S. hoteliers in the first half of the twentieth century, the answer was that hotel names should be evocative. Most had unique names; hotels in this...
Heavy Hitter Hotelier: The Story of Mickey Mantle’s Holiday Inn
Mickey Mantle was one of the hottest sports stars of the 1950s. At the time, much like today, sports icons were in high demand for endorsement deals. In his memoir, “The Mick,” Mantle explained...
Much More Than Changing Sheets: Hanne Dittler Helped Hotel Housekeeping Evolve
For much of the hotel industry’s history, the story of women employed in hotels was one of low pay, second-class status, and no real hope for advancement. For women who aspired to an executive...