Press Release
April 12, 2001
MEMPHIS, TN -- Hampton(TM), the national brand of mid-priced Hampton Inn® and Hampton Inn & Suites®
hotels, announced its top hotels, developer and new awards at its annual brand conference in Chicago.
A number of hotel properties and management were recognized as the brand's best hotels in 2000 among more than
1,000 Hampton Inn and Hampton Inn & Suites hotels in the United States, Canada and Latin America.
Hampton awarded its first place Pinnacle Award to the 116-room Hampton Inn -- Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., open since
1999. Second place Pinnacle Award went to the Hampton Inn & Suites in Mooresville, N.C., and third place went
to the Hampton Inn -- Lexington Historic area in Virginia. Winning hotels were recognized as the ``best of the
best,'' based on their high rankings for quality, guest satisfaction and business performance.
Two-thirds of the scoring was related to customer feedback measured through guest satisfaction surveys on the hotel,
as well as product quality and service scores measured quarterly by the company. The remaining one-third of the
criteria was based on the hotel's overall financial performance in 2000.
``The competition to be in the elite group of Hampton Pinnacle Award winners grows stronger each year as the brand
continues to grow,'' said Phil Cordell, senior vice president of brand management, Hampton Inn. ``These hotels
have set themselves apart from their competitors by implementing strategies that result in high returns and building
a strong team of employees committed to exceeding guests' expectations.''
For the first time in the brand's history, Hampton presented an award this year for Developer of the Year. Two
developers were honored in this category: Jeff Raymond of Raymond Management Inc. out of Madison, Wis., and Ronald
Kendall, president of Buffalo Lodging Associates out of Canton, Mass. Having a relationship with the Hampton brand
for more than 10 years, Raymond Management has 13 Hampton hotels currently in operation. Buffalo Lodging Associates,
in partnership with Benderson Development Co., is completing a more than $12 million renovation and historic rebuild
for a Hampton Inn & Suites in Downtown Buffalo, N.Y., slated to open this May. Kendall also is working with
Hampton to build more new hotels.
Another historic hotel rebuild that the Hampton brand recognized this year with the award for Best Adaptive Re-Use
is the 288-room Hampton Inn & Suites New Orleans-Convention Center hotel, which opened March 1999. Located
near the Port of New Orleans and originally built in the early 1900s to house a rice, bean and coffee shipping
company, this new Hampton hotel was honored for its efforts to showcase and preserve the historical ambiance of
the original building. Its hardwood floors, hand-hewed beams and unique tower section have made it a historical
landmark.
Another inaugural award announced by the brand this year was for Conversion of the Year, presented to the Hampton
Inn -- Daytona Beach Shores hotel on South Atlantic Avenue near the Daytona Beach International Speedway and Ocean
Center in Florida.
Due to the very defined and branded exterior look of Hampton hotels, conversions are not prevalent in the brand,
especially in the case of older hotels. This Hampton Daytona property, developed by Altavista Hotels, was renovated
down to its bare walls at a cost of $34,000 per room to turn a dark property into a ``bright and airy'' hotel with
the high-quality look and feel of a Hampton.
``We have so much to be proud of at Hampton, just coming off of a stellar year,'' said Cordell. ``These hotels
deserve special recognition for their commitment to deliver the amenities and services that Hampton customers trust
in, as well as the high customer satisfaction that results in the brand's award-winning performance in consumer
surveys year after year.''
Hampton also is proud to announce its 37 Pinnacle Award Finalists for 2000 for their outstanding performances.
This year's international finalists are the Hampton Inn in Vancouver (Downtown), Canada, and the Hampton Inn --
San Jose in Costa Rica. Pinnacle Award finalists throughout the United States include:
Alabama
Hampton Inn -- Birmingham-Colonnade
Hampton Inn -- Huntsville/Madison
Hampton Inn -- Tuscaloosa-University
Arkansas
Hampton Inn -- Clarksville
Hampton Inn -- Bentonville/Rogers
California
Hampton Inn -- Sacramento/Rancho Cordova
Florida
Hampton Inn -- Boca Raton
Hampton Inn -- Pensacola Airport
Hampton Inn & Suites -- Tampa-North
Georgia
Hampton Inn -- Savannah-Historic District
Hampton Inn -- St. Simons Island
Kentucky
Hampton Inn -- Somerset
Louisiana
Hampton Inn -- Natchitoches
Maine
Hampton Inn -- Bangor/Bar Harbor
Maryland
Hampton Inn & Suites -- Annapolis
Michigan
Hampton Inn -- Mt. Pleasant
Mississippi
Hampton Inn -- Brookhaven
Missouri
Hampton Inn -- Rolla
Montana
Hampton Inn -- Kalispell
Nebraska
Hampton Inn -- North Platte
North Carolina
Hampton Inn & Suites -- Asheville/I-26
Hampton Inn -- Jonesville/Elkin
Hampton Inn -- Mt. Airy
Hampton Inn -- Morganton
Hampton Inn -- Raleigh/Clayton I-40
Pennsylvania
Hampton Inn -- Clarks Summit/Scranton
Hampton Inn -- Harrisburg-West
South Carolina
Hampton Inn -- Charleston-North
Hampton Inn -- Columbia I-26/Harbison Blvd.
Hampton Inn -- Myrtle Beach
South Dakota
Hampton Inn -- Sioux Falls (Empire Mall)
Tennessee
Hampton Inn -- Dyersburg
Utah
Hampton Inn & Suites -- Orem
Virginia
Hampton Inn -- Richmond-West
West Virginia
Hampton Inn -- Summersville
Hampton is part of Hilton Hotels Corp., recognized internationally as a preeminent hospitality company. The company
develops, owns, manages or franchises 1,900 hotels, resorts and vacation ownership properties. Its portfolio includes
many of the world's best-known and most highly regarded hotel brands, including Hilton®, Conrad(TM), Doubletree®,
Embassy Suites Hotels®, Hampton Inn®, Hampton Inn & Suites®, Harrison Conference Centers®,
Hilton Garden Inn®, Hilton Grand Vacations Co.®, Homewood Suites® by Hilton and Red Lion Hotels &
Inns®.
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Contact:
Hilton Hotels Corp.
Melissa O'Brien, 901/374-5534
Kendra Walker, 310/205-4545
Web site: http://www.hilton.com