Alphonse W. Salomone Jr.

Alphonse W. Salomone Jr. (sometimes misspelled Salamone; 1919—March 16, 1993) was a Canadian-American hotelier of Italian descent, referred to by Ward Morehouse III as "one of the country's most respected hotelmen". He is best known for being the Vice President of the Hilton Hotel Corporation's Eastern properties and the manager of the prestigious Washington and New York Hiltons, and New York's Plaza Hotel, Ritz-Carlton, and the Waldorf Astoria New York.

Early life and background

Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Salomone was raised in Knoxville, Tennessee. In Knoxville he began working for the Andrew Johnson Hotel in Knoxville as a young man in the 1930s. In World War II he was promoted to a major, earning a Bronze Star for fighting in five battles in Europe.

Career

In 1947, Salomone began working for the Plaza Hotel of New York and later became its manager, before accepting a position as vice president of the Caribe Hilton in San Juan. In the 1960s he returned to the Plaza Hotel at a time of financial hardship, before becoming the president of the New York's Realty Hotels: the Barclay, Biltmore, Roosevelt and Commodore, later in the decade. By the 1980s, he was the managing director of New York's Hilton Hotel.

He also held various important positions in the hotel industry including chairman of the National Hotel and Motel Exposition, president of the Hotel Association of New York City, chairman of New York's Council of Midtown Associations, vice chairman of the New York Convention and Visitors Bureau, and others.