Hilton Hits Milestone With 1 Million Rooms

Hilton has surpassed the 1 million-room mark, a milestone the company achieved as it continued to weather the coronavirus outbreak.

The pandemic is one of the biggest challenges Hilton has faced in its 101-year history. The company credits its capital-light business model as one of the reasons it was able to reach its 1 million-room milestone.

The three hotels that pushed Hilton toward 1 million rooms were Hilton Garden Inn Umhlanga Arch in South Africa, Tru by Hilton Savannah Airport, Hilton Garden Inn Guizhou Maotai Town in China.

Hilton’s development pipeline continues to move forward 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 and CEO of 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.”

COVID-19 has created unprecedented challenges for the travel and tourism industry, and Hilton has developed industry-leading guest innovations to deliver a safe experience to its guests.

Hilton CleanStay was developed in partnership with RB, maker of Lysol and Dettol and in consultation with Mayo Clinic. Hilton EventReady builds on the CleanStay promise to set new standards for event cleanliness and customer service, and WorkSpaces by Hilton is a new option for alternative remote working spaces.

Hilton has also enabled guests to make their hotel stay a more contactless experience through the Hilton Honors app giving them 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.

Maybe one of its more popular and well-known steps Hilton took to assist Americans in the early stages of the pandemic was the release of its famous DoubleTree by Hilton chocolate-chip-cookie recipe.

Hilton also continued to engage with customers through campaigns such as the “To New Memories” marketing initiative and reached out to communities through an expanded partnership with American Express, its 2020 Hilton Effect Foundation Grants, the Travel with Purpose 2030 Goals and more.