MCLEAN, Va.--April 20, 2010--Hilton Worldwide unveils LightStay, a proprietary system developed to calculate and analyze environmental impact, to the public today, following two years of rigorous internal testing. In the first full-year of findings, the 2009 LightStay results show that the 1,300 Hilton Worldwide properties using the system conserved enough energy to power 5,700 homes for a year, saved enough water to fill more than 650 Olympic-size pools and reduced carbon output equivalent to taking 34,865 cars off the road. Reductions in water and energy use also translated into dollars-saved for hotel owners, with estimated savings of more than $29 million in utility costs in 2009.

“Hilton Worldwide and its brands touch hundreds of communities and millions of people around the globe. That's why operating in a responsible and sustainable manner is a priority for our company and a central part of how we do business," said Hilton Worldwide’s President and Chief Executive Officer Christopher Nassetta. "Through our focus on sustainability, we look to mitigate our impact on the environment and in the communities in which we operate, create economic value for our owners and, ultimately, provide a better experience for our guests," he added.
 
LightStay helped Hilton Worldwide properties using the system reduce energy use by 5 percent, carbon output by 6 percent, waste output by 10 percent and water use by 2.4 percent in 2009 versus 2008. These results have been independently audited and are adjusted for any differences in occupancy levels and major weather events year over year.

“LightStay is an integral part of our effort to operationalize sustainability at Hilton Worldwide. The system goes a long way in helping us to quantify our impact at the property level and company-wide,” explained Paul Brown, President of Global Brands & Commercial Services, Hilton Worldwide. “We’re excited about our first year results and look forward to using LightStay to continuously improve hotel performance across our global portfolio,” he added.

LightStay takes into account energy and water use and waste and carbon outputs associated with building operations and services provided at Hilton Worldwide properties. As part of this, the system measures indicators across 200 operational practices including housekeeping, paper product use, food waste, chemical storage, air quality and transportation.

“The insights we gained from the LightStay system prompted our property to launch a waste decomposition program that eliminates as much as a thousand pounds of garbage a day,” said Mark Lauer, General Manager, Hilton New York. “The data also inspired us to donate leftover food to a local charity, putting more than 5,000 pounds of food that would otherwise be wasted to good use,” he added.

LightStay Features
LightStay also includes a “meeting impact calculator” that measures the environmental impact of any meeting or conference held at a Hilton Worldwide property. This enables meeting planners and corporate travel managers to consider the environmental impact of hotel stays and meetings when making purchasing decisions. In addition, it provides corporate customers with the opportunity to include meeting impact data in their own sustainability reporting.

Making Sustainability a Brand Standard
By December 31, 2011, all 3,500 properties within Hilton Worldwide’s global portfolio of brands will use LightStay, making the company the first major multi-brand company in the hospitality industry to require property-level measurement of sustainability. Consequently, measurement of sustainability performance will become a brand standard, on the same level as service, and evaluated accordingly as part of regular, property-level reviews.

Independent Verification
To confirm the effective implementation and validity of LightStay, Hilton Worldwide commissioned KEMA-Registered Quality, Inc. – a Management Systems design company – to perform a series of third-party audits of LightStay.

“Our extensive audit of LightStay revealed that it is truly a best-in-class system for measuring and analyzing sustainability performance data at hotel properties,” said Steve Dunning, at KEMA-Registered Quality, Inc. “LightStay is rigorous but user-friendly, helping hotels to track and manage sustainability performance at a whole new level.”

About Hilton Worldwide
Hilton Worldwide is the leading global hospitality company, spanning the lodging sector from luxurious full-service hotels and resorts to extended-stay suites and mid-priced hotels. For more than 90 years, Hilton Worldwide has been offering business and leisure travelers the finest in accommodations, service, amenities and value. The company is dedicated to continuing its tradition of providing exceptional guest experiences across its global brands. Its brands are comprised of more than 3,500 hotels in 81 countries and include Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton, Doubletree, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Hotels, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Home2 Suites by Hilton and Hilton Grand Vacations. The company also manages the world-class guest reward program Hilton HHonors®.

For more information about the company, please visit www.hiltonworldwide.com.

About KEMA-Registered Quality, Inc.
Headquartered in Chalfont, PA with third-party auditing resources across the globe KEMA-Registered Quality, Inc. www.krqusa.com is an ANAB accredited certification body specializing ISO 9001, ISO 14001, AS9100, ISO 13485, Medical Device CE Marking, TS 16949, TL9000, and supplier audit processes / 2nd Party audits, and other Management system Certification. As a subsidiary of KEMA BV www.kema.com based in the Netherlands our heritage and integrity goes back 80 years. KEMA operates in over 20 countries around the world with 1,800 employees and growing.