hout the last fiscal year, a record for the company. Throughout the last four years, Hilton has been able to make several key sales of properties to increase their liquidity and case position. In July 2004 Hilton sold their Double Tree Inns in Modesto and Bakersfield, California to Integrated for a combined total purchase price of approximately $40 million. In 2003, Hilton sold four Homewood Suites by Hilton properties.
             Hilton's capital structure relies heavily on debt, which has an average life of 9.4 years. The company's cost of capital is nearly 7%, which makes this expensive to manage.
             Economic instability reflected in earnings quickly
             Given the high debt load that Hilton Hotels typically carries, there is very little lag time between when economic instability occurs and its impact on the company's core businesses.
             Increased use of technologies to increase loyalty
             ...