MCLEAN, Va.--July 21, 2010--Hilton Worldwide today announced the recipients of the company’s annual hotel development awards for North America in five distinct categories: Lifetime Achievement, Developer of the Year, Best Conversion, Deal of the Year and Outstanding Achievement. The winners, selected by Hilton Worldwide, uphold the company’s standards of excellence in renovation, conversion, development, project management, community impact and investments. Recognizing achievement for 2009, the hotel development awards are presented across the company’s portfolio of hotel brands, including Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels, Doubletree, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Hotels, Homewood Suites by Hilton and Home2 Suites by Hilton.

“Our hotel owners are a vital part of our company’s development success. In the last year alone, Hilton Worldwide opened more than 300 new properties and successfully launched the Home2 Suites brand, which broke ground on its first property in December,” said Bill Fortier, Senior Vice President, Development, Hilton Worldwide. “We are proud to recognize the success and achievements of our top hotel developers, whose vision for design and development represents the light and warmth of hospitality we are committed to delivering to our valued guests."

The success of the Hilton Worldwide portfolio, which consists of ten hotel brands with more than 3,600 hotels in 81 countries, begins with the development of quality properties. The following hotel developers and properties have been awarded the top recognition by Hilton Worldwide for producing premier quality hotels in 2009:

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

• P.C. Amin of Shamin Hotels was awarded with the Lifetime Achievement Award for opening multiple Hilton brand properties over the years, including most recently the Hilton Richmond in 2009 (Va.)

DEVELOPER OF THE YEAR

• Multi-Brand: John Tampa and Nash Patel, Ascent Hospitality for multiple Hilton, Hampton Hotels and Embassy Suites properties
• Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts: Eric Seigel, GEM Realty for Waldorf Astoria Orlando at Bonnet Creek, Fla.; The Waldorf Astoria Orlando, combined with Hilton Bonnet Creek also won Deal of the Year at Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) in 2010 (Fla.)
• Hilton: Ira Mitzner, RIDA Development Corporation and Lee Neibart and John Jacobsson, AREA Property Partners for Hilton Orlando at Orange County Convention Center (Fla.)
• Doubletree: Richmond S. McCoy, Urban America, LP for Doubletree Resort Orlando International Drive (Fla.)
• Embassy Suites: Bharat Patel, Sun Development & Management Corporation for Embassy Suites Palmdale (Calif.)
• Hilton Garden Inn: Honore Aschaffenburg, HRI Properties for Hilton Garden Inn Richmond Downtown & Hilton Garden Inn Jackson Downtown (Fla.)
• Hampton Hotels: Jim O’Connell, Capri, Inc. for Hampton Inn & Suites Walla Walla (Wash.)
• Homewood Suites in Conjunction with Hilton Garden Inn: Kenneth O’Steen, The Landcom Companies and San Marco Hotel Partners for Homewood Suites Jacksonville by Hilton Downtown-Southbank (Fla.)
• Home2 Suites: Amit Patel, Baywood Hotels for Home2 Suites by Hilton Baltimore White Marsh (Md.)

BEST CONVERSION

• Waldorf Astoria: Sam Friedman, Dimension Development Company for The Roosevelt New Orleans (La.)
• Hilton: Siahou Sitton, Inmobiliaria Interpres S.A. de C.V. for Hilton Mexico City Reforma (Mexico)
• Doubletree: William Lawson, Doug Dreher and Lara Latture, A & A Construction and Development for Doubletree Arctic Club in Seattle (Wash.)
• Embassy Suites: Carl and Michael J. Montante, Uniland Development Company for Embassy Suites Buffalo (N.Y.)
• Hilton Garden Inn: Navin Dimond, Stonebridge Companies for Hilton Garden Inn Denver/Cherry Creek (Colo.)
• Hampton Hotels: James J. Karam, First Bristol Corporation for Hampton Inn & Suites Providence Downtown (R.I.)

DEAL OF THE YEAR

• Hilton: Ron Storto, Town Square West, LLC for Hilton Asheville Biltmore Park (N.C.)
• Doubletree: Scott Greenberg, ECD Companies for theWit in Chicago (Ill.)
• Embassy Suites: Mac Haik, Mac Haik Enterprises for Embassy Suites Houston-Energy Corridor (Texas)
• Hilton Garden Inn: Chris Bruch, Donohoe Hospitality Services, LLC for Hilton Garden Inn Bethesda (Md.)
• Hampton Hotels: David J. Buffam, New Castle Hotels, LLC for Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Halifax-Dartmouth, Nova Scotia (Canada)
• Homewood Suites: Mark Daley III, The Generation Companies, LLC for Homewood Suites by Hilton Wilmington Mayfaire (N.C.)
• Home2 Suites: Barry Kraselsky, LBA Properties for Home2 Suites by Hilton Fayetteville (N.C.)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT

• Hilton: Jim Procaccianti, The Procaccianti Group for Hilton Manhattan East (N.Y.)
• Doubletree: Albert Kim & Walter Eisenberg, Citi Property Investments & Sage Hospitality for The Curtis in Denver (Colo.)
• Embassy Suites: Jeffrey A. Coopersmith and David Patel, Airport Core Hotel, LLC for Embassy Suites Columbus Airport (Ohio)
• Hilton Garden Inn: Logan Coykendall, Alex Davis, Shalesh Patel and Shashi Patel, River Road Operations, LLC for Hilton Garden Inn Gatlinburg (Tenn.)
• Hampton Hotels: Peter Anastos, Maine Course Hospitality for Hampton Inn Ellsworth/Bar Harbor (Maine)
• Homewood Suites: Alnoor Gulamani, Bayview Hospitality, Inc. for Homewood Suites by Hilton Toronto Airport Corporate Centre (Canada)

After a highly successful year, Hilton Worldwide is focusing on continued expansion of its brands around the world in 2010. The company expects to open more than 300 additional hotels this year, bringing the total to well-beyond 3,600 world-class hotels across the globe, focusing that growth in luxury and full-service categories. In just three years, the Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts brand has grown from four hotels to 20 hotels, and 18 Conrad Hotels & Resorts properties have been introduced around the world.

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 91 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 3,600 hotels and 592,000 rooms 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