BELLEVUE, Washington—Hilton Worldwide Holdings’ biggest brand, Hampton, has opened its milestone 2,000th property. Focus on the brand’s future now shifts to more strategic growth, according to the brand’s leader.
Property No. 2,000 is the 128-room Hampton Inn & Suites Bellevue Downtown—Seattle. Members of the brand’s leadership, as well as other representatives, including from ownership group OTO Development, were on hand at the property Thursday during an opening ceremony for the week-old property. The property is managed by Palmetto Hospitality.
Prior to the festivities, Phil Cordell, global head of focused service and the Hampton brand, told Hotel News Now that despite the lofty number of Hampton-branded hotels in operation, there is still plenty of growth left in the 30-year-old flag.
“It’s a brand that has staying power,” Cordell said.
There are nearly 400 Hampton hotels and 40,000 rooms in the company’s pipeline that are signed or under construction. And with 2,000 properties operating, Hampton is about triple the size of Hilton-flagged properties, the next largest Hilton brand, he said.
The key to maintaining its staying power will lie in being smart about development, and being intelligent in how its guest offerings evolve over time, Cordell said.
“If we’re smart about how we grow, there’s room for a whole lot more Hamptons in a whole lot more parts of the world,” he said.
Hilton isn’t kicking in any capital to help owners develop these new properties, Cordell said. This is because the Hampton name carries a lot of brand equity with it, which lenders like to see.
“It makes it easy, or as easy as it can be, to get financing,” Cordell said.
Evolution of select service
Future growth of the brand will take place globally in places such as Eastern Europe and China as well as in urban locations in the United States and on the U.S. West Coast, Cordell said. There appears to be enough strength in the hotel industry to support perhaps another four or five years’ worth of development opportunities across the industry, Cordell said.
“We see very positive (revenue-per-available-room) growth, and development continues to be really strong,” he said. This also has been aided by generally widely available debt for development activities, Cordell said.
To achieve growth in those markets, though, will depend on Hampton not fading away and becoming a brand that was, he said. Evolution has been a hallmark of the brand during its history, he said. Hampton can no longer necessarily be thought of that roadside or suburban hotel with a lower rate, he said, referencing the $600 nightly rate achieved by its New York City property as well as property openings in Chicago and San Francisco.
Cordell pointed to several initiatives enacted by brand leadership during the past three decades that were aimed at meeting and identifying the changing needs of consumers. This has included the addition of grab-and-go snack items to the hotels as well as Cordell’s regular lunches with various Hampton owners to discuss what they need to be successful.
“If Hampton continues to evolve and grow and remains relevant to the consumer, then it can get bigger,” he said.
Editor's note: Hilton paid for travel, hotel stay, meals and activities during the trip. Complete editorial control was at the discretion of the Hotel News Now editorial team; Hilton had no influence on the coverage provided.