After more than 40 40 years, Hilton Hotels Corp. is a global company again.

With Hilton's recent announcement that it will purchase the lodging assets of Britain's Hilton Group PLC, Hilton officials say the company will be better positioned to go up against competitors such as Marriott International and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. It should also make life easier for meeting planners, a Hilton vice president maintains.

The company split in 1964, and the international business subsequently went through a number of owners and was eventually acquired by the Ladbroke Group PLC. In 1997, Hilton Hotels Corp. forged a strategic alliance with Hiltons Group (Ladbroke's lodging subsidiary), presenting a united “Hilton” brand internationally, as well as sharing Hilton awards and reservations programs.

In addition to redressing a competitive imbalance by reuniting the Hilton brands, Bob Dirks, senior vice president, sales strategy and development for Hilton Hotels Corp., says meeting planners can expect the deal to facilitate “speed to market,” as Hilton will be able to further streamline communications and implement certain technologies worldwide. Meeting planners will be able to “get answers faster,” Dirks says. “It will make things much easier for meeting planners.”

With the deal, Hilton Hotels Corp. adds 403 hotels (approximately 100,000 rooms) to its portfolio; 261 are branded Hiltons (including 47 resorts), and the rest are the midmarket Scandic brand. The chain will control a total of 475,000 rooms in 80 countries when the deal is completed this spring. Hilton brands include Hilton, Conrad, Doubletree, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hampton Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites, Scandic, and Hilton Garden Inn.