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MEMPHIS, Tenn., June 28, 1999 - Promus Hotel Corporation
(NYSE: PRH) today announced that it has opened its 200,000th hotel room
and 1,400th hotel. The milestones were hit in a week that saw six new hotel
openings in four days: a 100-room Hampton Inn in Fremont, CA, 128-room
Hampton Inn in Plantation/Ft. Lauderdale, FL, 67-room Hampton Inn
in Greeneville, TN, 127-room Hampton Inn in Middletown, NY, 68-room Hampton
Inn in Richmond, VA, and a 252-room Homewood Suites Hotel in Orlando, FL.
�Reaching these milestones is a reflection of the quality and performance
of our brands,� said Norm Blake, Promus Chairman, President and CEO. �The
quality of Promus brands consistently earns some of the highest guest satisfaction
ratings in the industry as judged by independent survey groups such as
J.D. Powers Associates.�
�The performance of Promus hotels continues to attract outstanding development partners and with over 330 hotels in the development pipeline, the company will open a new hotel almost every other day for the next two years,� Blake said. Blake added that it was a nice coincidence to pass the 200,000 rooms
milestone before the year 2000. The total number of hotel rooms increases
as new hotels are added but also decreases when hotels are removed as Promus
manages each brand to promote consistency and quality.
�This is cause for celebration for all Promus brands, but it�s especially meaningful for the Hampton Inn brand,� said Tom Keltner, President, Brand Performance and Development Group. �Hampton Inn has been a growth vehicle for Promus that�s turned into a �win-win� for everybody. Guests enjoy clean, comfortable, consistent accommodations at more locations. Owners can invest in the hospitality industry with a brand that operates at a premium over our competitors, which translates to a meaningful return on investment. And Promus wins through continuing growth and distribution.� Keltner said that Hampton Inn had grown more consistently than its competitors and over the past 4-5 years had opened more hotel rooms each year than any other brand in the hotel industry. Promus expects the Hampton Inn brand to reach 1,000 hotels in the first quarter of 2000. Promus Hotel�s extended-stay brand, Homewood Suites Hotels, is growing steadily and expects to reach 100 hotels in the first quarter of 2000. To spur further growth, Homewood recently introduced a new prototype. The Embassy Suites brand also has a new, 150-suite prototype to take the country�s leading all-suite brand into smaller markets. At the same time, Embassy Suites is continuing to develop larger, 350-plus suite hotels in major destination markets, such as New York City, Chicago, Phoenix, Dallas and Niagara Falls. Keltner said Promus intended its Doubletree brand to take a commanding lead in the upscale, or �four-star� category moving into the millennium. Among the new Doubletree hotels in the development pipeline are properties in New York City, Chicago, Boston, Irvine, Atlanta, Detroit, Cleveland and Plano. Across all brands Promus is expanding its franchise development efforts in the West and Pacific Northwest with the opening of a new regional development office in Phoenix, and new development officers in California and Portland. Additional resources are also being applied to expand more aggressively in Canada and Mexico. Certain matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Such statements are based on management�s beliefs, assumptions and expectations, which in turn are based on information currently available to management. Actual performance and results could differ from those expressed in, or contemplated by, the forward-looking statements due to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond Promus� ability to predict or control, including changes in the general economy, customer demand, interest rates and competition. For further information on factors which could impact Promus and the statements contained herein, refer to the filings made by Promus with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including current reports on Form 8-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and annual reports on Form 10-K. |
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