Ralph Hitz

Ralph Hitz (1891-1940) was a pioneer in the hotel industry, whose ideas for marketing and customer service became the industry standard for luxury lodging. Born in Vienna, Austria, on March 1, 1891, Hitz ran away from home three days after his family arrived in New York in 1906. After beginning as a busboy, he spent the next nine years working in restaurants and hotels around the nation, then got into hotel management. In 1927, Hitz was made the manager of Cincinnati's Hotel Gibson, and within two years, he had more than tripled the hotel's net income.

When the 2,500 room New Yorker Hotel prepared to open, Hitz was hired to manage the new venture, which opened on January 2, 1930, weeks after the stock market crash. Hitz's ability to turn a profit during the depression led the hotel's mortgage holder, Manufacturers Trust, to hiring him to control all of its hotels. In 1932, the National Hotel Management Company was created, with Hitz as the NHM president. By the time of Hitz's death at 48, the NHM managed the New Yorker, the Lexington and the Belmont Plaza hotels (New York); the Congress (Chicago); the Netherland Plaza (Cincinnati); the Adolphus (Dallas); the Van Cleve (Dayton); the Book-Cadillac (Detroit); and the Nicollet (Minneapolis).