Hampton by Hilton’s new prototype design is all about optimization.
The upper-midscale brand celebrates its 40th birthday in 2024, and today it launched a new prototype for its North American hotels that adds additional rooms to the standard footprint, streamlines the suite room type, and upgrades lobby and guestroom elements to align to today’s travel trends.
“As we thought about the future, we thought how do we keep this brand on top of its game and stay relevant and healthy for the next-generation guest?” said Shruti Gandhi Buckley, senior vice president and brand leader for Hampton by Hilton. “We recognize that as rates continue to go up, so do expectations and it’s really important we continue to leverage our learnings.”
Hilton launched its new design today for North American Hampton by Hilton hotels in conjunction with a refreshed brand identity.
The first change is an increased room count. New hotels built on the same footprint can now accommodate three additional keys.
In the lobby, the front desk is repositioned to allow for a flexible multi-use space and personalized feature wall. The retail shop is in a more prominent position in the lobby. Pools remain a Hampton brand standard, and the new prototype has more gym and fitness options.
Guestrooms will have a multifunctional task table instead of a traditional desk, improved bathroom design including more storage, bigger windows and optimized in-room storage such as open closets, and more exposed shelves and hooks.
“We created a more efficient model without removing anything; if anything, we added things,” Gandhi Buckley said. “We have a hydration station in the main lobby, with not just tea and coffee, but ice and water.”
Hampton’s signature breakfast service continues to evolve, but Gandhi Buckley said the brand has zeroed in on breakfast offerings in the last few years that resonate with guests without too much cost strain.
“Pre-pandemic, brands were in ‘the breakfast wars,’ and all of a sudden it was driving up cost and making execution difficult,” she said. “Now we have to make sure we’re giving our guests an experience they’re willing to pay that 20% premium for without extras they don’t want.”
She said Hampton focuses on quality items, with hot breakfast, including the signature waffle, now offered in seasonal flavors.
For the Hampton Inn hotels with suites, the new prototype calls for a rectangular suite layout instead of the traditional square.
About 25% of Hampton hotels include suites, and that percentage has decreased a bit in recent years overall, though owners have flexibility to increase the number of suites if the market calls for it, or go down. Two nights is the average length of stay for Hampton guests.
Owners can choose from two décor packages, one centering on “beautiful landscapes” and the other on “the vibrancy of the city,” Gandhi Buckley said. “You’ll see colors and shapes reflect those themes.”
Outside, new-build Hampton hotels will have a simplified entrance canopy and a new outside patio for gatherings.
The last Hampton prototype update was in 2018, and it focused primarily on the building exteriors.
Of Hampton’s more than 3,000 hotels worldwide, 2,300 are in the U.S., and on average, 50 new-build Hamptons open every year, Gandhi Buckley said. While very few existing hotels convert into the Hampton brand — most Hamptons are new-build — owners going through property-improvement plans will begin to convert into the new design packages.
Gandhi Buckley said Hampton has retained its status as a primarily new-build brand even as it matures in part because the company and its owners network are in many cases transitioning older Hamptons into the new Spark by Hilton economy conversion brand.
“We had all these Hamptons that were great products with great owners, but maybe not in the right location anymore, or they were very small in markets where we could instead build a new larger Hampton,” she said. “That’s opening the door for new opportunities.”
The first new-build Hampton with the new prototype should open in 2025, she said.
In addition to the prototype, Hilton launched a new visual identity for Hampton, retaining its red, white and blue script lettering, but with more widespread global adoption.
"It's not a repositioning of the brand; it's a refinement of the visual identity," Gandhi Buckley said. "It could use a refresh."
The new logo will be standard around the world and better reflect the company's global mindset, she said.