ARLINGTON, VA— Hilton Hotels Corp. reached another brand milestone here Oct. 3 with the opening of its 150th Hilton Garden Inn, with plans to add at least another dozen by years end. More than 100 persons, including brand executives, local officials and community members were greeted by general manager Kevin Robert, then crossed through the flower-bedecked lobby to the reception area, eyeing the wrought iron chandelier overhead and admiring the lobby lounge fireplace flanked by two olive green and red sofas as they made their way to a ribbon-cutting ceremony and cocktail reception. The property, a 189-room, eight-story high-rise model, was developed and is owned by Anders Eklov, Arlington Courthouse LLC, and managed by Hospitality Investment Management LLC. Eklovs partner in the venture, Edward MacMillan, who handled day-to-day development, also was on hand. According to Adrian Kurre, brand svp, the debut of the Hilton Garden Inn Arlington/Courthouse signals the first new build hotel in Arlington in three years. The global lodging chain has been increasingly aggressive in its development and distribution of the midprice new construction brand, which launched domestically in 1996. The brand is expected to surpass its much more mature siblings Hilton, Embassy Suites and Doubletree in terms of number of domestic properties in a relatively short time. “We’ll pass Doubletree in fourth quarter, then we’ll pass Embassy Suites somewhere in early 2003 and off in 2004 we’ll have more Hilton Garden Inn hotels than full-service Hilton Hotels domestically,” Kurre told HOTEL BUSINESS®. “We’re anticipating we’ll have 162 Garden Inn hotels open by the end of 2002,” said Mark Nogal, senior director/marketing for the brand. As to when HGI would overtake its siblings, Nogal said he couldn’t give specific numbers or times. “All that changes constantly depending on new deals and/or any hotels that are deemed necessary to leave the system.” He added customers are increasingly drawn to HGI because of the way the hotels operate, bundling their services, driving revenue and allowing for greater growth. “When you look at the growth numbers then, we’re growing through the franchise community— we only operate three Hilton Garden Inn hotels— so the franchisees have adopted the concept,” said Kurre. In an effort to make the brand increasingly attractive on the guest side, Kurre said the HGI brand would have complimentary high-speed Internet installed and accessible in all its guestrooms by 2003, mandated as a brand standard. That program officially launched in tandem with the HGI opening. “We’re going to make it easier for the traveler, the business traveler or for the person who’s on leisure travel,” said Nogal. To further boost brand awareness, HGI also formed a partnership with the 30-year-old, nonprofit National Gardening Association, based in South Burlington, VT. NGA’s president Valerie Kelsey and sales and marketing director Mitchell Kurker helped the Hilton execs and franchise owner cut the grand opening raffia ribbon in keeping with the garden theme. As part of the alliance, during October, 31 properties (including the Arlington HGI), will participate in “Grow a School Garden,” a hands-on endeavor to beautify community schools while teaching students about gardening and environmental responsibility. Hotel staff members from properties nationwide will join with teachers and students to cultivate a wide variety of plants, including vegetables, through both indoor and outdoor programs, and in some cases, at participating hotels.
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