Business Wire

VA-HILTON

15.12.2020 18:02:13 CET | Business Wire | Press release

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

Lenovo Group: Q4 and Full Year Financial Results 2025/2622.5.2026 01:47:00 CEST | Press release

Lenovo delivers exceptional fourth quarter results – maintaining growth and concluding strongest year in the Group’s history Lenovo GroupLimited (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY), together with its subsidiaries (‘the Group’), today reported fourth quarter and full year results for fiscal year 2025/26, marking an exceptional Q4 and the strongest year in the Group’s history. During the quarter, overall Group revenue reached an all-time fourth quarter high of US$21.6 billion, up 27% year-on-year, marking the highest year-on-year growth rate in five years, with adjusted net income[1]doubling year-on-year to US$559 million. AI-related revenue[2] stood out as a leading growth engine, growing 84% year-on-year to account for 38% of total Group revenue in Q4. For the full year, the Group delivered record revenue of US$83.1 billion, with adjusted net income growing 42% year-on-year to US$2 billion. All business groups achieved solid double-digit year-on-year revenue growth, with a notable record full-yea

Andersen Global styrker sine globale mobilitetskompetencer med samarbejdspartneren Graebel22.5.2026 00:05:00 CEST | Pressemeddelelse

Andersen Global fortsætter med at styrke sin multidimensionelle platform gennem en samarbejdsaftale med Graebel, en global leder inden for medarbejdermobilitet og managed services med hovedkvarter i USA og globale aktiviteter på tværs af Nord- og Sydamerika, Europa og Asien. Graebel blev stiftet i 1950 og samarbejder med mange af verdens mest anerkendte organisationer om en mere simpel tilgang til mobilitet og talentstyring. Virksomheden hjælper organisationer med at støtte medarbejdere gennem hele ansættelsen – fra praktikophold og onboarding til national og international mobilitet samt karriereskift – gennem tjenester, der spænder over strategisk planlægning, hjælp til afrejse og på destinationen, assistance under udstationering, hjemsendelse og design af mobilitetsprogrammer. Gennem strategisk rådgivning og intelligent teknologi gør Graebel det muligt for organisationer at træffe mere informerede beslutninger og afstemme talentmobilitet med en bredere forretnings- og arbejdsstyrkest

The Estée Lauder Companies & Puig End Discussions Regarding a Potential Business Combination21.5.2026 22:05:00 CEST | Press release

The Estée Lauder Companies Reiterates Confidence in Its Beauty Reimagined Strategic Vision On March 23, 2026, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL) and Puig confirmed they were in discussions regarding a potential business combination, but unless and until an agreement was signed between the companies, there could be no assurances regarding the deal or its terms. The Estée Lauder Companies and Puig today announced that the parties have terminated discussions regarding a potential business combination. The Estée Lauder Companies remains fully focused on continuing to execute its Beauty Reimagined strategy, which is well underway and delivering positive results. “We are grateful for the conversations we have had with Puig,” said Stéphane de La Faverie, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Estée Lauder Companies. “Today, we are reiterating our confidence in the power of our incredible brands, our talented teams, and our strength as a standalone company. We are more optimistic

Imagine Dragons to Perform at Abu Dhabi Grand Prix21.5.2026 17:51:00 CEST | Press release

Ethara, organiser of the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, have announced that one of the world’s biggest bands, Imagine Dragons, will headline the Saturday After-Race Concerts at the F1 Season Finale in Abu Dhabi. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260521214839/en/ Imagine Dragons to perform at Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Photo: AETOSWire) The announcement is another landmark moment for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, whose thrilling Yasalam presented by e& fan entertainment offering has become synonymous with the F1 Championship finale in Abu Dhabi and is recognised as one of the most compelling sports and entertainment crossovers globally. The global chart-toppers join Lewis Capaldi and Zara Larsson, who are set to kick off a blockbuster line-up of performances on Yas Island on Thursday, 3 December, with more major international artists to be revealed. With their popular top hits, Ima

Carnegie Mellon University and Cleveland Clinic Develop AI System to Interpret Cardiac MRI Scans with Enhanced Accuracy21.5.2026 14:05:00 CEST | Press release

Trained on more than 13,000 patient studies, novel system significantly outperforms existing models by up to 35% A team of researchers from Carnegie Mellon University, in collaboration with Cleveland Clinic’s Cardiovascular Innovation Research Center, has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) system capable of interpreting some of the most complex heart scans in medicine, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), without the need for manually labeled training data. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260521762286/en/ A team of researchers from Carnegie Mellon University, in collaboration with Cleveland Clinic’s Cardiovascular Innovation Research Center, has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) system capable of interpreting some of the most complex heart scans in medicine, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), without the need for manually labeled training data. The novel system, called CMR-CLIP, is d

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