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

Galderma Signs Agreement to Acquire ZO Skin Health, Strengthening Its Physician-Dispensed Skincare Offering14.10.2026 07:00:00 CEST | Press release

Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR Acquisition brings together two highly complementary, science-backed skincare brands ZO Skin Health’s premium daily multi-step regimens complement Alastin’s regenerative skincare portfolio primarily focused on peri-procedure support Transaction expands Galderma’s Dermatological Skincare portfolio and offering in the attractive, fast-growing physician-dispensed skincare segment1 Galderma’s unique Integrated Dermatology Strategy, global scale and omni-channel execution capabilities expected to support ZO Skin Health’s next phase of growth Acquisition of 100% of ZO Skin Health for an enterprise value of 1.5 billion USD, expected to be Core EPS neutral in the first full year following closing Galderma (SIX: GALD) today announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire ZO® Skin Health, a leading physician-dispensed skincare brand built on clinical science and protocol-based daily care, from its shareholders, including funds managed by Blackstone

Pretium Expands Middle East Presence with Abu Dhabi Office14.10.2026 06:02:00 CEST | Press release

Office will enable Pretium to engage more directly with institutional partners across the Middle East Pretium, a specialized investment firm with approximately $70 billion in assets under management1, today announced the opening of an office in Abu Dhabi. The office will operate within Abu Dhabi Global Market (“ADGM”), the international financial center of Abu Dhabi, providing proximity to some of the world’s leading institutional investors. The Abu Dhabi office marks an important step in the continued evolution of Pretium’s business. From its roots in U.S. residential real estate, Pretium has built a scaled investment platform spanning real estate equity and credit. A dedicated presence in Abu Dhabi will enhance the Firm’s connections to clients in the region as it continues to develop new investment solutions. “Abu Dhabi is home to some of the world’s most sophisticated and forward-looking institutional investors,” said Don Mullen, Founder and CEO of Pretium. “An on-the-ground presen

IFF to Release Third Quarter 2026 Results on November 3, 202613.10.2026 22:15:00 CEST | Press release

IFF (NYSE: IFF) today announced that it will release its third quarter 2026 earnings results following the market close on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. The management team will host a live webcast on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. ET to discuss results and outlook with the investor community. Investors may access the live webcast and accompanying slide presentation on the company's website at ir.iff.com. For those unable to listen to the live webcast, a recorded version will be made available for replay. Welcome to IFF At IFF (NYSE: IFF), we make joy through science, creativity and heart. As the global leader in taste, scent, and health and biosciences, we’re innovating for the future. Every day, we deliver groundbreaking, sustainable solutions that elevate products people love — advancing wellness, delighting the senses and enhancing the human experience. Learn more at iff.com, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire

Industry Leaders Formally Launch SCMP OCP Workstream for Open, Secure AI Infrastructure Management and Control13.10.2026 19:15:00 CEST | Press release

Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ: LSCC), the low power programmable and platform firmware leader, and AMI, a Lattice company, today announced SCMP (Secure Control and Management Plane), a new Open Compute Project workstream. Announced during a joint keynote at the 2026 OCP Global Summit, SCMP is an open, vendor-neutral architecture for secure control, boot, and management of data center infrastructure. It gives data center operators more confidence that complex AI systems will work as expected across vendors and platforms, with less integration risk and more freedom of choice. SCMP defines how a control authority establishes and maintains trust from silicon root of trust through rack and pod, building on existing OCP initiatives and industry standards. “As AI infrastructure scales toward autonomous operation, the management and control plane becomes the foundation of trust. That foundation should be open and verifiable, and SCMP gives the industry a common architecture to achieve it, from

Saudi Fund for Development Announces Progress on Pristina–Mitrovica Highway Project in Kosovo13.10.2026 15:36:00 CEST | Press release

The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) today joined the Government of Kosovo to inaugurate the Pristina–Mitrovica Highway, marking SFD’s first completed project in Kosovo and an important milestone in the partnership between both sides. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261013433726/en/ SFD CEO and Kosovar's minsters sideline meeting (Photo: AETOSWire) His Excellency Sultan bin Abdulrahman Al-Marshad, Chief Executive Officer of the Saudi Fund for Development, inaugurated the upgraded highway section by cutting the ribbon at the newly completed road. He subsequently held a sideline meetings with His Excellency Hekuran Murati, Minister of Finance, His Excellency Dimal Basha Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, and His Excellency Arben Vitia, Minister of Health, to discuss the development projects and the continued SFD- Kosovo partnership. The project upgrades a 9.87 km section of the Prishtina–Mitrovica Highway

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