Business Wire

VA-HILTON

Share
In a Year Like No Other, Hilton Grows to Milestone 1 Million Rooms and Responds to Pandemic with Innovations for Guests, Positive Impact for Communities

In a year when the travel industry faced challenges like never before, Hilton (NYSE: HLT) weathered the storm by staying true to its founding purpose – to fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality. As the COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented challenges for the travel and tourism industry, Hilton developed industry-leading guest innovations, reached significant growth milestones and continued to positively impact communities around the world.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201215005839/en/

Even as the company faced the biggest test in its 101-year history, Hilton’s resilient, capital-light business model enabled it to organically reach its 1 million room milestone in the fourth quarter.

Three of the hotels that helped the company cross this important threshold paint a picture of Hilton’s global growth story: Hilton Garden Inn Umhlanga Arch in South Africa, illustrating the company’s expansion into Africa; Tru by Hilton Savannah Airport , showcasing the power of the fastest-growing new brand in Hilton’s portfolio; and the Hilton Garden Inn Guizhou Maotai Town in China, helping deliver on the company’s ambitious growth goals in the APAC market.

Meanwhile, Hilton’s overall development pipeline remains strong, with 2,640 hotels and more than 408,000 rooms globally*.

“It’s been a year unlike any other, but even in the face of incredible challenges, our Team Members and owners have proven that travel is an unstoppable force for good,” said Chris Nassetta, president & CEO, Hilton. “Thanks to their grit and determination, Hilton has made a difference in the lives of so many and positively impacted communities at a time when our hospitality is needed more than ever – and together we look forward to creating even more meaningful memories in the year ahead.”

Throughout 2020, Hilton, in partnership with its hotel ownership community, has found innovative and meaningful ways to adapt to the changing needs of its guests, Team Members and communities:

Guest Experience

The pandemic rapidly changed guest behavior, priorities and concerns. Hilton responded with start-up style speed, grounded in more than a century of hospitality know-how to provide reassurance to travelers.

Among the innovations:

  • Launched Hilton CleanStay TM , an industry-defining standard of cleanliness and disinfection in collaboration with RB, maker of Lysol and Dettol and in consultation with Mayo Clinic
  • Redesigned meeting and event experiences and set new standards for event cleanliness and customer service with the launch of Hilton EventReady with CleanStay TM
  • Modified cancellation policies and took a number of steps to provide even more flexibility for Hilton Honors members including status and Points extensions
  • Created opportunities for Hilton Honors members to respond to the global pandemic by donating their Points to convert into cash and send directly to organizations including World Central Kitchen , Clean the World , Project Hope or Direct Relief
  • Provided alternative remote working options through the launch of WorkSpaces by Hilton in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom
  • Continued to provide contactless guest experience options through the free Hilton Honors app , enabling guests to personalize their experience with the ability to choose their rooms, check-in and out digitally and use their phones as digital keys. Guests have now used Hilton’s Digital Key to open more than 100 million doors worldwide
  • Inspired travelers to make new memories with the global launch of our insights-driven marketing campaign, “To New Memories
  • Revealed, for the first time ever, DoubleTree by Hilton’s official chocolate chip cookie recipe so guests could create an at-home version of this iconic travel treat

Response to Communities

Hilton continued to find inventive ways to address some of the most critical, immediate needs of the communities where it operates.

  • Partnered with American Express to donate up to 1 million hotel room nights across the U.S. for frontline medical professionals leading the fight against COVID-19
  • Expanded partnership with American Express through a $1 million contribution from American Express to World Central Kitchen , to provide healthy, freshly prepared meals to the frontline healthcare professionals who stayed at Hilton properties in cities across the U.S. during the coronavirus pandemic
  • Revealed 2020 Hilton Effect Foundation Grants and reached more than $1 million in global COVID-19 community response efforts
  • Extended Hilton’s hospitality to help the travel industry come together to overcome the global pandemic including sharing countless stories of teams around the world supporting each other and helping their communities
  • Supported Hilton Team Members searching for virtual and remote volunteer opportunities, including during its annual Hilton Effect Week volunteer event and through innovative partnerships with groups including Clean the World, Meals on Wheels and more
  • Remained committed to the company’s Travel with Purpose 2030 Goals to cut the company’s environmental footprint in half and double its social impact investments worldwide. These efforts led to Hilton being named the global industry leader in sustainability for the second consecutive year on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices

Continued Global Growth and Expansion

Hilton kept dreams of traveling alive by opening exciting new properties around the world. All the while, the company advocated on behalf of owners, many of whom are small businesses, who struggled with the travel decline.

Response to Team Members

2020 saw Hilton go from being named the #1 Best Company to Work for in the U.S. to, weeks later, having to furlough thousands of Team Members due to the impact of COVID-19 on travel and tourism. At every turn, the company leaned into its values to navigate these tough decisions.

  • Activated Hilton’s Team Member Assistance Fund to support Hilton Team Members who have been directly impacted by COVID-19 or have a family member impacted by the virus
  • Reversed its recruitment engine to connect Team Members impacted by furloughs and layoffs with access to more than a million job opportunities through the Hilton Workforce Resource Center
  • Launched a new Hilton Alumni Network portal with access to relevant career opportunities, resources, news and information
  • Committed to an expedited recruitment process for Team Members who reapply for future roles when conditions allow
  • Extended Team Member Hilton Honors status and access to Go Hilton, Hilton’s industry-leading Team Member travel program, for departing Team Members, and offered improved Honors status to current Team Members
  • Continued to earn recognition as a top workplace, even as the pandemic continued, including being named to the top spot on the 2020 list of Best Workplaces in Greater China
  • Recognized the heroic actions of frontline Team Members with the creation of a new Hospitality Heroes Award
  • Listened to Team Members and relaunched the network of eight Team Member Resource Groups committed to building communities across the organization, and introduced a Courageous Conversation series to foster meaningful dialogue to bring about lasting change in the midst of an evolving social justice landscape

To learn more about Hilton, please visit: newsroom.hilton.com .

* Unless otherwise indicated, all hotel data reflects Hilton’s third quarter 2020 announcement (November 4). More information can be found on Hilton’s Investor Relations website.

About Hilton

Hilton (NYSE: HLT) is a leading global hospitality company with a portfolio of 18 world-class brands comprising more than 6,300 properties and more than one million rooms, in 118 countries and territories. Dedicated to fulfilling its mission to be the world’s most hospitable company, Hilton has welcomed more than 3 billion guests in its more than 100-year history, earned a top spot on the 2020 World’s Best Workplaces list, and was named the 2020 Global Industry Leader on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices. In 2020, Hilton CleanStay was introduced, bringing an industry-defining standard of cleanliness and disinfection to hotels worldwide. Through the award-winning guest loyalty program Hilton Honors, the more than 110 million members who book directly with Hilton can earn Points for hotel stays and experiences money can’t buy, plus enjoy instant benefits, including contactless check-in with room selection, Digital Key, and Connected Room. Visit newsroom.hilton.com for more information, and connect with Hilton on Facebook , Twitter , LinkedIn , Instagram and YouTube .

Link:

ClickThru

About Business Wire

Business Wire
Business Wire
101 California Street, 20th Floor
CA 94111 San Francisco

http://businesswire.com

Subscribe to releases from Business Wire

Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Latest releases from Business Wire

Vedanta Resources Launches CopperTech Metals to Bolster U.S. Copper Security and Advance Technology and Infrastructure Transformation6.11.2025 17:45:00 CET | Press release

CopperTech Metals Combines World-Class Konkola Mines' Copper and Cobalt Producing Heritage with Cutting-Edge Mining Technology and Artificial Intelligence to Advance U.S. Critical Mineral Independence and Serve America's Growing Infrastructure Needs$1.5 Billion Investment Program to Leverage Advanced Mining and Cutting-Edge AI-Driven Resource Identification and Extraction Technology to Propel Konkola's Operations into One of the Largest in the World Vedanta Resources Limited ("Vedanta") today announced the launch of CopperTech Metals Inc. ("CopperTech" or the "Company"), a U.S.-domiciled company with a mission to 'Power the Copper Century' and to bolster America's copper security needs while capitalizing on surging copper demand driven by artificial intelligence, data center expansion, grid modernization, defense technologies and industrial onshoring requirements. CopperTech will1 own and operate the Konkola Copper Mines in Zambia, one of the highest-grade copper producing assets in th

NJ Bio Bridges the Translation Research Gap with the Asset Purchase and Integration of L2P®Services6.11.2025 17:11:00 CET | Press release

NJ Bio, Inc., a premier contract research and clinical manufacturing service provider in Princeton, New Jersey has announced the asset purchase and full integration of the research services of L2P Research Labs® (“Lab to Pharmacy”), further expanding its service portfolio, and bridging the translational research gap. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251106703527/en/ NJ Bio, Inc. now offers translational research services after completing asset purchase and full integration of the services of L2P® Research Labs, enhancing the discovery-to-development pipeline Currently, the attrition rate of biological molecules moving past phase 1 clinical trials is very high and the way to overcome this challenge is through translational research. NJ Bio specializes in preclinical and early-phase clinical research and development, with a primary focus on ADCs, bioconjugation, custom synthesis, oligonucleotides, and mRNAs. Howe

DevvStream Reports Fiscal Year 2025 Results and Advances Digital-Asset and Tokenization Strategy6.11.2025 17:01:00 CET | Press release

Company strengthens balance sheet, launches disciplined digital-asset treasury, and sets stage for acquisition-led growth in sustainability markets DevvStream Corp. (Nasdaq: DEVS) (“DevvStream” or the “Company”), a leading carbon management and environmental-asset monetization firm, today announced financial results for its fiscal year ended July 31, 2025, and provided an update on strategic initiatives designed to enhance liquidity, expand technology capabilities, and position the Company for scalable, acquisition-driven growth. Fiscal 2025 Highlights Completed Nasdaq listing and de-SPAC transaction, establishing DevvStream as one of the few publicly traded pure plays in carbon and renewable-energy asset monetization. Closed initial $10 million tranche under the Helena $300 million convertible-note facility, providing liquidity to launch the Company’s digital-asset treasury. Reported initial revenue as the Company begins monetizing its environmental-asset pipeline. Successfully comple

BST Global Launches 2026 AI + Data Impact Survey for the AEC Industry6.11.2025 16:41:00 CET | Press release

BST Global, the leading provider of AI-powered project intelligence™ solutions for the AEC industry, has launched its second annual global AI + Data Survey. Seeking insights from technology and data leaders of architecture, engineering and environmental consultancies around the world, the survey will be available until 11:59 p.m. ET, December 31, 2025. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251105615222/en/ BST Global, the leading provider of AI-powered project intelligence™ solutions for the AEC industry, has launched its second annual global AI + Data Survey. Seeking insights from technology and data leaders of architecture, engineering and environmental consultancies around the world, the survey will be available until 11:59 p.m. ET, December 31, 2025. Conducted in partnership with BST Global’s AI + Data Consortium and the American Council of Engineering Companies' (ACEC) Technology Committee, the survey focuses s

Scientist.com Wins Supplier Management Excellence Award at B2B Ecommerce Awards6.11.2025 15:43:00 CET | Press release

AI-enabled R&D orchestration platform honored for innovation and leadership in supplier integration and governance Scientist.com, the leading AI-enabled R&D orchestration platform for the life sciences, has been named the winner of the Supplier Management Excellence award at the prestigious B2B Ecommerce Awards. The honor recognizes organizations that set new standards in supplier network innovation, integration, and performance to deliver superior customer value. “Winning this award is a tremendous honor and a testament to our team’s relentless focus on simplifying and accelerating R&D,” said Andrew Nashed, VP, Supplier Relations at Scientist.com. “Our platform automates and optimizes the complex process of supplier management, enabling scientists to focus on innovation while we handle compliance, integration, and operational efficiency.” Scientist.com was recognized for its industry-leading approach to building and managing the world’s largest network of scientific service providers.

In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.

Visit our pressroom
World GlobeA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.HiddenA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.Eye