Hampton Designs New 52-Room Prototype

NEW YORK— HOTEL BUSINESS® has learned that Hilton Hotels Corporation has designed a new prototype for its Hampton Inn brand, which features a smaller, 52-room model designed for rural markets. The move is dramatic in that Hampton properties typically comprise 100 rooms, said Phil Cordell, svp/brand management for Hampton, which currently has 1,100 properties open. The company had identified 400 to 500 markets in which it believes its new “Hometown” prototype will work, the majority of them being areas that have a population of about 10,000 people, with small manufacturing plants and “maybe a small college,” said Cordell, while visiting HOTEL BUSINESS New York offices. There is a need for a mid-priced product like Hampton in these rural areas, he said, since they typically tend to be served by small, Mom-and-Pop motels. If they are served by chains, they are served by those in the budget sector, or by full-service properties in need of refurbishment, he said. Hampton will especially target the western United States for the prototype, an area in which it would like to see the brand grow in general. The new model costs 20% less to build than a typical Hampton, said Cordell, who expects to have development contracts approved within the month for the prototype. To generate cost savings, the new model was designed in two sections. One contains only guestrooms, while another building, containing the public areas, is manufactured separately and attached to the guestroom unit. Guestrooms for the prototype are 250 square feet in size—compared to 310-320 square feet for a typical Hampton— and contain queen-sized beds rather than king, said Cordell, who noted that the majority of beds bought in the United States are queen-sized. Rooms are also arranged so that beds are set against an inside wall, a strategy aimed at giving a feeling of space, since guests can walk directly into the room without having to walk around the bed. Bathrooms are divided into bath and vanity areas, which are designed with good lighting and a roomy vanity shelf, said Cordell. The prototype costs $50,000 to $60,000 per key or $2.5 million to $3 million (including land) to build, he said, noting that that pricing makes Hampton “the most cost-effective way to enter the Hilton family.” “We think this prototype will appeal to the entrepreneurial operators,” said Cordell, who said the model is a good opportunity for independent hotel operators “to trade up.” Moreover, the prototypes pricing and the fact that it will be built in rural markets will likely provide opportunities for financing from Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, as well as local banks, he said. It is predicted that the prototype will take only six to eight months to build, said Cordell. And while the model is designed to be built on smaller parcels of land (1.3 acres as opposed to 2.5 acres for a typical Hampton), Cordell said the prototype is not for urban areas. “There will be some markets where a 50-room hotel would work, like in downtown Chicago, but those markets are not for this prototype,” said Cordell.