Editing Hilton Worldwide (section)

=== Franchising ===
As of February 2024, 6,679 of Hilton's 7,530 hotels and timeshare resorts worldwide are owned and operated by independent franchisees or companies and not by Hilton Worldwide itself, this includes [[Hilton Grand Vacations]] which was a division of Hilton Worldwide until it was spun off into a separate company to act as a franchisee for Hilton's timeshare brands. Through this franchising model Hilton Worldwide owns the Hilton hotel and resort brands along with the [[Intellectual property]] associated with them, but does own or operate the physical hotels and resorts that bear those brand names. Additionally, Hilton Worldwide does not employ the staff that works at these franchised properties, instead the staff are employed by the independent franchisees or companies. The practice of franchising means that Hilton Worldwide is not responsible for the operational costs, real estate costs, maintenance costs, staff wages, and other costs that they would be if they were the ones owning and operating the properties, instead the independent franchisee or company incurs those costs. Hilton Worldwide profits from the franchisees through franchise fees, licensing fees, and agreements which give Hilton Worldwide a certain percentage the income. In order to utilize the Hilton brands, the independent franchisees and companies must follow strict brand standards to maintain a licensing agreement with Hilton Worldwide.<ref name="Karmin">{{Citation |last=Karmin |first=Craig |title=Blackstone Books Profit With Hilton Hotels |date=November 26, 2013 |work=The Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303281504579222492972577848 |access-date=June 28, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624223514/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303281504579222492972577848 |archive-date=June 24, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> The franchise model makes Hilton Worldwide a more profitable company along with increasing its value for shareholders due to it having less capital and being able to focus more on its brand. Many of Hilton's flagship properties, airport properties, and largest resorts, however, are corporately managed.{{cn|date=May 2024}}