The Name's Hilton, Barron Hilton

As the Daily Telegraph (Australia) reports, party princess Paris Hilton is $60 million out of pocket after her billionaire grandfather -- appalled by her jail term for drink-driving offenses -- axed her inheritance. Barron Hilton, her grandfather, was a hard working man who build the Hotels to where they are today after having won his inheritance from his father.

Today's post at FC Expert blogs is about the differences in style between the two, as it relates to customer conversations. So let's take a peak over there and come back here for a discussion on those attributes as attached to the two brands and what it may mean for your business.

Is your customer service more like Barron Hilton or Paris Hilton? Are you building relationships with your customers or are you milking them?

Comments

[Russ]

Valeria,

I like both posts. And I think "customer service and relationships" is about relationship - a two way partnership where each side considers what is fair value for the other.

One trick may be in distinguishing between transactions (no relationship potential) and interaction over time (partnership adds value for each).

[jkh]

who the hell is barron hilton?

can't remember ever staying in a hilton hotel that had anymore charme or personality than you usual airport hotel, holiday inn or motel6.

at least paris brought some glamor and an almost european weirdness to the name. and that in my book reads pretty positive.

thumbs up for paris! and for her obviously equally childish lunatic grandfather.
he finally has found his rightful heiress it seems. - just wait and see!

[Valeria Maltoni]

Russ -- pointing out the distinction does matter, I agree. Both parties should recognize it and be aware of what their intent is.

JKH -- Welcome to the conversation and thank you for adding your strong position to the discussion. Hey, if hard work in building a company is not a good thing anymore, then by all means, let's all go out and party. Maybe we'll find someone to pay the bills. Yes?

[Trisha]

This is a very interesting discussion of relationship-building as it pertains to what is (or should be) every business' motivational foundation - building a reputable brand identity.

But underlying this is another intriguing level of conversation - about the obligations and responsibilites that accompany the [often] vast wealth that gets accumulated in the aforementioned process, and the right to do as one pleases with it.

Clearly Barron Hilton spent his lifetime working very hard to build both the Hilton Hotels brand and his own personal fortune. Regardless of one's opinion of the quality of any of the HIlton hotels individual properties, nearly anywhere in the world one travels, the Hilton Hotels is a well-known name synonymous with quality. He has earned the right to choose how his fortune will be endowed, which includes cutting off his wayward granddaughter's access to said funds.

Paris, on the other hand, has been working equally hard to build her own brand, albeit one that is associated with celebrity instead of quality. She is paid for appearances, whether that be on a red carpet, on TV, or at parties. The more tabloid fodder she engenders, the more people are fascinated with her antics, and her fee goes up. Eventually people will tire of her, so she has to take advantage of every opportunity to "get it while the gettin' is good". It must be simply exhausting to have to continually think of new ways to get on the front page of the gossip rags. Poor girl. I suppose every family must have a Black Sheep, so I would imagine the rest of the Hilton clan should be glad that Paris is so willing to take on that role.

However, I believe that she has crossed one very important line - she "used" her name - Hilton - to fast-track her own brand-building, and in the process has opened a door to potentially damaging the Hilton (Hotels) brand.

Perhaps her grandfather ought to consider not just cutting her out of his will, but suing her as well for brand defamation. That would accomplish to goals - 1) establishing the fact that the Hilton Hotel chain cares about maintaining the high quality of their brand reputation, and 2) keeping Paris on the tabloid covers for a while longer.

[Carolyn Ann]

Hmmm. I can't help but think that an important point has been overlooked: Paris Hilton doesn't necessarily care about the hotel chain. It's her grandfather's business, after all.

He's applying the same tactic as his father did; I wonder if he's being hypocritical, or is simply attempting to bribe her into behaving the way he wants her to? (I nearly said "to his standards" but that would imply something that I'm not sure is there: a consistency and fairness, and understanding, that grandchildren are usually awarded.)

Either way, I'm guessing she doesn't consider the hotel chain to be her business, but she's perfectly happy to enjoy the money it brings in!

She's not had to create the business, be a part of it, or sacrifice and make decisions and take risks for it. She has nothing emotional in the business, so she probably doesn't consider herself having a stake in it. As such, she's probably doing what she's done all her life, or wished she'd been able to do: live wild! :-)

Carolyn Ann

PS I'm fairly certain that any restoration of the $60M to her in the Will won't be reported as vigorously! Besides, I'm sure she has her parents money to play with. (And an annuity, etc.)

[Valeria Maltoni]

Trisha -- you make an interesting point: the use of a name that is also associated with a strong brand to fast track your way to success. Clearly, if her name had been different, she may not have the rapt audience she has. A lawsuit! I'm quite sure that there are a couple of lawyers among my readers. Does anyone have an opinion on Hilton vs. Hilton for brand defamation?

Carolyn Ann -- maybe she does not care about the Hotel brand name, except, I think, to use it to her advantage. You're spot on about the restoration of her will -- yet, let's give the press credit, I'm sure we can come up with an angle ;-) Thank you for being so deliberate with your language; it's music to my ears/eyes.

[Steve Woodruff]

What she has/had, she used - a famous name, physical attractiveness, and notoriety through bad behavior. She's parlayed it, for better or worse, into her own "chain" - a chain of stories that enable her to rake in the dough by being a "bad girl." That's her brand, and it has very little to do with the hotel brand. She doesn't need Grandpa's money, but she'll soon reap the fruits of her path to ephemeral "gossip" glory - she'll be thrust aside for the next fad. Grandpa sought to build an oak, she's a fast-fading flower. It's not hard to figure out where the enduring value is...

[Lewis Green]

Valeria,

I'm kind of old-fashion but for several years of hell-bent-partying, Paris has brought the name Hilton to the forefront. I'm not sure her bad behavior hurt the Hotel chain; most understand that she isn't associated with the hotels.

However, instead of being angry with Paris, Grandfather Hilton should be outraged with his son. Paris is spoiled and without values that positively enhance her personal brand or improve our culture. Don't we learn values, ethics and personal behavior from our parents?

[Valeria Maltoni]

Steve -- chain of hotels and chain of stories. That is quite the image. And so is the oak and the flower.

Lewis -- values and ethics are part of a brand. There's a richness to being close to one's parents that cannot be expressed in monetary terms.

[Carolyn Ann]

There's a pertinent story over in the Times: (http://select.nytimes.com/2007/08/04/business/04nocera.html?pagewanted=1)

It's about how the Bancroft's couldn't hold a business together; they seemed to prefer "taking" to "managing".

Carolyn Ann

[Valeria Maltoni]

Carolyn Ann:

Thank you, that does fit to a 'T'. For those of you who wish to read the story, you will need to be a subscriber or to begin a free trial to access the article.