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Focused Service Brand Conference; - Hersha Development Corporation Named Multi-Brand Developer of the Year |
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BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - March 2, 2005 -- Hilton
Hotels Corporation (NYSE:HLT) announced its top developers and hotels during
its Focused Service Brand Conference for Hampton Inn(R), Hampton Inn &
Suites(R), Hilton Garden Inn(R) and Homewood Suites by Hilton(R) held in
Las Vegas, February 13-16, 2005. The conference was attended by more than
3,000 guests, including owners, operators and Hilton corporate team members.
Each brand recognized a Developer of the Year for the developer who had the greatest number of project approvals or who developed one or more unique hotels that helped enhance the brand's image in 2004. Together, the brands also recognized a multi-brand developer with a Developer of the Year award who made significant contributions to the Hilton Family of Hotels with the most number of project approvals in 2004. To be considered, all hotels in the candidates' Hilton Family portfolio had to be rated high-quality and in good status, and could represent a combination of new projects, renovations and conversions. The recipients of the Developer of the Year award are: Multi-Brand Award Winner
Hampton Hotels
Hilton Garden Inn
Homewood Suites by Hilton
Hampton Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites, Hilton Garden Inn and Homewood Suites by Hilton also presented awards for Deal of the Year and Best Conversion, which recognizes the tremendous commitment of time and effort many owners devoted to building a particular brand's hotel and converting an existing hotel to the particular brand. The recipients of the Deal of the Year award are: Hampton Hotels
Hilton Garden Inn
Homewood Suites by Hilton
The recipients of the Best Conversion are: Hampton Hotels
Hilton Garden Inn
Homewood Suites by Hilton
In addition, each Hilton Family focused-service brand presented an Outstanding Achievement Award given in recognition due to the developer's support of Hilton and the focused-service brands of Hampton, Hilton Garden Inn and Homewood Suites by Hilton. Each recipient is committed to growing the respective brands and the Hilton Family by investing in the development of new hotel projects. The Outstanding Achievement award winners were: Hampton Hotels
Hilton Garden Inn
Homewood Suites by Hilton
Hampton Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites, Hilton Garden Inn and Homewood Suites by Hilton also recognized top hotels based on customer feedback measured through guest satisfaction surveys on the hotel, as well as the product, quality and service scores measured quarterly by the company. The top hotel award winners were:
Multi-Brand Developer of the Year The Hersha Development Corporation, part of the Hersha Group of Companies (Hersha), is a vertically integrated real estate development and management company based in Philadelphia, Pa. Founded as a family business in 1984, Hersha has grown to over $500 million in assets and over 1000 employees. Today, Hersha owns more than 30 hotels in the most valuable markets in the nation including Boston, Hartford, New York City, New Jersey, Philadelphia, metro Washington D.C., and Atlanta. The company currently has 14 Hilton Family hotels, including 10 Hampton Inn and Hampton Inn & Suites hotels, three Hilton Garden Inn hotels and a Doubletree hotel that it owns and manages. Hersha also has two Hilton Garden Inn hotels under a management-only agreement. The company also continues to develop additional properties within the Hilton Garden Inn and Homewood Suites by Hilton brands, including two new Homewood Suites by Hilton hotels in downtown Hartford, Conn., and one in Philadelphia/Franklin Mills, Penn.; a Hampton Inn in Manhattan/Seaport, N.Y.; and a Hilton Garden Inn in Dover, Del. Hampton Valencia, Calif.-based Ocean Park Hotels Inc. was awarded the Hampton Developer of the Year accolade for the development of the Hampton Inn & Suites in Camarillo, Calif. The hotel opened in 2004 featuring Spanish Mediterranean architectural style in order to meet the stringent guidelines of the City's Heritage Zone, as well as with Make It Hampton standards and three meeting rooms, representing more meeting space than the prototypical Hampton. The Hampton Inn Perry in Florida received a Lighthouse Award -- the brand's top Hampton Inn hotel award. The hotel has ranked in the top five of the brand's service scores since 2001. The Hampton Inn & Suites Chincoteague-Waterfront in Virginia also received a Lighthouse Award, recognized as the brand's top Hampton Inn & Suites hotel. The hotel opened in 2002 and has ranked high in guest satisfaction scores in the categories of service, product and guest loyalty. Hilton Garden Inn HP Hotels was recognized as the Developer of the Year by Hilton Garden Inn. The company has just opened the first of three Hilton Garden Inn properties in Alabama and is committed to the brand based on its strong leadership and the successful opening of the Birmingham/Lakeshore Drive property. With 30 years of hotel ownership experience, HP Hotels manages 18 hotels, six of which it owns. The Hilton Garden Inn Lake Mary in Lake Mary, Fla. was presented with the brand's top hotel of the year award for the second time in the past four years. The hotel ranked above all other 220+ Hilton Garden Inn hotels, in loyalty, brand standards compliance, cleanliness, physical condition and overall service. Homewood Suites by Hilton Homewood Suites by Hilton presented its Developer of the Year award to Buffalo Lodging Associates for the company's overall commitment to the Homewood Suites brand and its success in ramping up new hotels and achieving strong operating results. Currently, three Homewood Suites are open in Orlando and Buffalo, N.Y.; two are under construction in Buffalo and Holyoke, Mass., and one is in the planning stages in Boston/Canton, Mass. The Homewood Suites by Hilton awarded its Manchester/Airport, N.H. hotel with the Homewood Suites by Hilton Pride Award. This 124-suite hotel, which opened in September 2003, received top quality and guest satisfaction scores and is a first-time Pride Award winner. Themed "You Got It!," the conference offered opportunities for more than 3,000 owners and general managers combined to learn, network and build relationships through general sessions, brand-specific meetings, workshops and presentations. Owners also had the chance to attend a private development session that included a special presentation by the esteemed broadcast journalist, Walter Cronkite. Company Backgrounder
The following trade marks are owned by Hilton
Hospitality, Inc.: Hilton(R), Doubletree(R), Embassy Suites Hotels(R),
Hampton Inn(R), Hampton Inn & Suites(R), Hilton Garden Inn(R), Hilton
Grand Vacations Club(R), Homewood Suites by Hilton(R) and Suite Shop(R).
Conrad(R) is owned by Conrad Hospitality, LLC.
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Contact:
Hilton Hotels Corporation
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