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Hampton® Completes First Stage of “Make it Hampton,”
Upgrades Entire Hotel Portfolio

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (May 2, 2005) -- Hampton, the national brand of more than 1,300 mid-priced Hampton Inn® and Hampton Inn & Suites® hotels, today announced that it has completed the first stage of its new “Make It Hampton” program. The brand and its franchisees invested more than $100 million to dramatically “raise the bar” on the quality and service standards in the upper tier of the focused-service hotel segment.

Response by travelers and hotel owners has been overwhelmingly positive. Guest-satisfaction scores have increased as a whole by more than five percentage points. Breakfast scores are up seven percent. Hotel owners also are pleased with the program, some stating that it was the most important development since the brand launched its ground-breaking 100% Satisfaction Guarantee in 1989.

Also influencing owner approval of the program is the significant year-over-year improvements in revenue per available room (RevPAR), a key indicator of a hotel’s financial health. In the first two months of 2004, according to data from Smith Travel Research, Hampton Inns RevPAR not only significantly outpaced its segment, but it was substantially above the hotel industry.

Hampton is not resting on its laurels and already is well underway with its “Make It Hampton” Phase II.  “The response to Phase I of our “Make it Hampton” has substantially exceeded our most optimistic expectations,” said Phil Cordell, senior vice-president, Hampton Brand Management.  “The overall program looked at every aspect of a hotel’s operation and the guest experience. We saved the most important for last, the bed.”

The brand’s 2005 plan calls for raising the hotel beds to a standard of 28 to 31 inches off the floor, which is more in line with most home bedrooms today.  By year end, more than 150,000 beds will be raised. Hampton also has upgraded their pillows to jumbo size and increased the sheet thread count as well.

“Changes like these provide a more home-like atmosphere and make our guests feel more comfortable and more welcome,” Cordell said. “We currently are testing some innovative bed linens, which we expect to roll out later this year. We believe that will again raise the bar in the focus-service segment.”

The unprecedented “Make It Hampton” program impacts the guest experience through a broad cross-section of new décor, services and food service throughout the hotel, including complimentary High- speed Internet access, a totally revamped breakfast that includes hot items, new art throughout the hotel’s public spaces and a much more comfortable and home-like bath experience. To date, the brand has introduced more than 4.7 million individual changes in more than 1,300 hotels in the United States, Canada and Latin America.

“The logistics for this undertaking were staggering and have involved more than 50 suppliers, 136, 000 hotel rooms and hundreds of tons of innovative new products for our guests,” Cordell said,.  “More than 30 Hampton associates literally have been on the road all year, helping our hotels implement the program, including providing more than 19,000 hours of training.  The ‘Make It Hampton’ program establishes a new precedent for the focused service segment of the hotel industry.”

About Hampton
The Hampton brand is part of Hilton Hotels Corporation, recognized internationally as a preeminent hospitality company. The company develops, owns, manages or franchises more than 2,200 hotels, resorts and vacation ownership properties. Its portfolio includes many of the world’s best known and most highly regarded hotel brands, including Hilton®, Conradâ, Doubletree®, Embassy Suites Hotels®, Hampton Inn®, Hampton Inn & Suites®, Hilton Garden Inn®, Hilton Grand Vacations Club® and Homewood Suites by Hilton®.



Contact:

Kendra Walker/Tori Walsh
Hampton Brand Communications
Telephone: (310) 205-4017/ (901) 374-6383


Also See: Hampton Studies Guest Touchpoints; Results in New Product Standards and Technology to be Rolled Out Immediately in the 1,250-hotel Hampton System / January 2004

BayStar Hotel Group Breaks Ground on New Prototype Hampton Inn in Tampa; Guest Rooms Measure 14 x 24 feet, Guest Hallways Widen to six-feet, Walk-in Showers / January 2005

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