| BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - March 7, 2006 -- In an effort to provide an
easy and uniquely tailored booking experience for guests, the Hilton Family
of Hotels, including Hilton, Conrad, Doubletree, Embassy Suites Hotels,
Hampton Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Hilton Grand
Vacations Company, Homewood Suites by Hilton and The Waldorf=Astoria Collection,
has launched several new and enhanced online services, including search
specials, calendaring, compare functionality, and government and wedding
portals.
"The Hilton Family of Hotels has made numerous enhancements to its websites
that are better tailored to guests' specific needs, making it even more
convenient for them to find the right hotel accommodations and services
at the best value," said Bala Subramanian, senior vice president - distribution
and brand integration for Hilton Hotels Corporation. "From a business standpoint,
these enhancements will enable our company to continue increasing the percentage
of online net bookings across all of its brands, the average of which was
30 percent higher in 2005 over 2004. The Hilton Family brand websites now
receive more than 15 percent of overall reservations contribution via its
proprietary websites, while booking from third-party websites remains flat
at under 3 percent. The month of January evidenced new records in customer
visits, click-to-book and electronic customer engagement, and annual revenues
are fast approaching $2 billion, making the Hilton Family of Hotels web-sites
among some of the largest commercial sites in the world."
The following new online booking features make the customers' decision
process easier (Search Specials, Calendaring, Compare), target unique and
specialized customer needs (Government and Weddings Portals and e-Events),
and improve customer convenience (eCheck-in and Guest List Manager):
Search Specials
Hilton Family online shoppers have long had the ability to view real-time
best available rates and availability before making a hotel selection.
The Search Specials feature now enables them to view real-time availability
and rates for all special offers available online on a single page versus
having to search hotel by hotel. The new design improvements to the Web
site include an improved navigational style so that guests will find the
many fun and relaxing offerings and packages offered by hotels within the
Hilton Family, making it easier to view, plan, compare and book the ideal
getaway or vacation without having to jump to a variety of different sites.
Calendaring
Calendaring enables members of the Hilton HHonors guest reward program
to view redemption availability at a single hotel for their preferred length
of stay across a 31-day span and to pick and play with days, rates and
combinations of each that work best for their schedule. In April of 2006,
all site visitors with flexible travel dates will be able to view at-a-glance
a single hotel's availability and rates across a 31-day period.
Compare
The option to compare hotels side by side, without having to jump from
one page to the other, offers "shopping cart" options that are found on
more traditional retail sites. The compare and "shopping cart" functionality
equips the customer with the appropriate level of information in an easily
read format so they can make an informed purchasing decision.
Government Portal
The new Government Portal provides an easy and uniquely tailored booking
experience for government and military travelers, including government
traveler information, available on each of the Hilton Family of Hotels
Websites, including gov.hilton.com, gov.doubletree.com, gov.embassysuites.com,
gov.hamptoninn.com, gov.hiltongardeninn.com and gov.homewoodsuites.com.
When making reservations for government rates, government and military
travelers can search government rates when available at more than 2,300
Hilton Family hotels in the U.S., Canada and Mexico; access Frequently
Asked Questions (FAQs); access links for travel resources, such as Federal
Travelers Reference Guide, U.S. Per Diem Rates, Foreign Per Diem Rates,
among others; and see brand-specific content dedicated to the government
traveler.
Weddings Portal
A new Weddings Information and Booking Portal offers an easy and uniquely
tailored booking experience for wedding planners and their guests, available
on each of the Hilton Family of Hotels Websites, including weddings.hiltonfamily.com,
weddings.hilton.com, weddings.doubletree.com, weddings.embassysuites.com,
weddings.hamptoninn.com, weddings.hiltongardeninn.com and weddings.homewoodsuites.com.
Features of the portal dedicated to wedding planners and their guests include:
Rich content and tools, including "Your wedding," "The planning," and "Our
hotels"; links to submit a Request for Proposal (RFP); small group bookings
capability; ability to link to and utilize Personalized Online Groups and
Rooming List Tool (a Guest List Manager).
At the end of 2005, the company also announced three initiatives to
enhance the online booking experience for guests:
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eCheck-in is available to guests who are Gold and Diamond VIP members
of the Hilton HHonors guest reward program. With eCheck-in, Gold and Diamond
members can benefit from the convenience of checking in via the Web up
to 36 hours and within at least two hours of their arrival. e-Events(TM)
Small Group Product and Guest List Manager on hiltonmeetings.com, conradhotelsmeetings.com,
doubletreemeetings.com, embassysuitesmeetings.com, hamptoninnmeetings.com,
StayHGI.com, and homewoodsuitesmeetings.com.
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e-Events small group product enables meeting planners to go online
and book anywhere from five to 25 guest rooms with real-time, instant confirmation
on a booking. No RFP (request for proposal) is required for meetings of
25 rooms or less -- the entire transaction is on-line.
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Guest List Manager is a tool that allows group meeting planners
(depending on their level of access) to book multiple reservations online
at a time, view and manage guest lists as well as view room count summaries
for an established group block at any of the Hilton Family of Hotels.
Enhanced booking tools are available at hiltonfamily.com or any brand specific
Web site and offer the flexibility and functionality for travelers to search
all hotels and all brands within the Hilton Family and view actual rates
and availability for special offerings.
About Hilton Family of Hotels
Hilton Hotels Corporation (NYSE:HLT) is the leading global hospitality
company, with nearly 2,700 hotels and 475,000 rooms in more than 80 countries,
with 150,000 team members worldwide. More than 2,300 hotels are owned,
managed or franchised in North America with a portfolio of some of the
best known and highly regarded hotel brands including Hilton(R), Conrad(R),
Doubletree(R), Embassy Suites Hotels(R), Hampton Inn(R), Hampton Inn &
Suites(R), Hilton Garden Inn(R), Hilton Grand Vacations(TM), Homewood Suites
by Hilton(R) and The Waldorf=Astoria Collection(TM). Outside North America,
the company operates 262 hotels branded Hilton and 131 under the mid-market
Scandic brand. For more information about our company, please visit www.hiltonfamily.com.
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