Hilton Hotels Corporation Signs First Doubletree Hotel Management Agreement in China

    /24-7PressRelease/ - EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND, November 05, 2006 - Hilton Hotels Corporation (NYSE:HLT) today announced the latest milestone in its expansion effort for the upscale, full-service Doubletree hotel collection in the burgeoning China market. The Company has signed a multi-year agreement with Tianjin Automobile Industrial Group Company, one of China's largest automobile manufacturers, to manage an upscale, 360-room hotel in Tianjin, China's fourth largest city. The Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Tianjin is anticipated to open in this world-class city in late 2007.

The Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Tianjin will be located in the heart of this thriving business and tourism centre, 14 km from the Tianjin Binhai International Airport. Developer Tianjin Automobile will refurbish and redesign a 25-storey office building to house the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Tianjin, as well as a shopping centre.

Amenities and services at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Tianjin will include 2,500 square meters (26,900 square feet) of meeting and ballroom function space and state-of-the-art business centre facilities. The hotel will feature a variety of food and beverage outlets, including all-day dining facilities, to cater for in-house guests and local banqueting events. Room and suite sizes will range from 30 to 90 square meters (320 to 950 square feet) and the hotel will feature a fitness centre.

"This latest Doubletree management contract in China underscores our strategy to integrate our successful Hilton Family of Hotels brands into international growth markets," commented Koos Klein, president - Middle East and Asia Pacific for Hilton. "Apart from being a host city for the highly anticipated soccer competitions of the Beijing Games in 2008, Tianjin is a growing tourism destination in its own right, with more than 20 percent growth in 2005. As a full service upscale hotel, the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Tianjin will be well positioned to provide first class hospitality and amenities in this rapidly developing commercial hub."

Doubletree has a fast-growing portfolio of more than 170 full-service hotels and resorts in gateway cities, airport locations, suburban markets and leading leisure destinations throughout North America and South America. In July 2006, the Company announced its first Doubletree debut into the Asia Pacific region with a management contract for the Doubletree by Hilton Resort and Spa Near Sriracha, Thailand. The multi-phase, 358-room, upscale resort project is currently under development and scheduled to open in 2008.

"This first foray into the China hotel market is an incredible new chapter for our Doubletree hotel collection. We continue to attract considerable interest from hotel owners and management companies across North America, and now the world, as they discover Doubletree has quickly become one of the most dynamic brands in the upscale, full-service hotel market today," said Dave Horton, senior vice president - brand management for Doubletree Hotels. "Thanks to an experienced development team and strong operations infrastructure already in place through a great Hilton corporate team in this part of the world, we are look forward to expanding the reach of our Doubletree portfolio throughout China and across the Asia-Pacific Region."

Shi Tang Zhang, President, Tianjin Automobile Industrial Group, added, "We are delighted to announce the development of the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Tianjin. With its high product standards and service coupled with benefits from the industry's leading HHonors loyalty programme, we expect the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Tianjin to be a great success among local and foreign travelers alike."

"Doubletree Hotels embraces a strong philosophy of providing millions of travelers with a fine collection of full-service hotels across the Western Hemisphere that combine contemporary style and comfort with an attention to detail that ensures guests are appreciated and well taken care of. By introducing the Doubletree experience with the worldwide recognition of the Hilton name, we are honored to work with Tianjin Automobile to deliver this uniquely branded Doubletree by Hilton hotel opportunity," Horton added.

About Hilton Hotels Corporation
Hilton Hotels Corporation (NYSE:HLT) is the leading global hospitality company, with more than 2,800 hotels and 490,000 rooms in more than 80 countries, including 150,000 team members worldwide.
The company owns, manages or franchises a hotel portfolio of some of the best known and highly regarded brands, including Hilton , Conrad , Doubletree , Embassy Suites Hotels , Hampton Inn , Hampton Inn & Suites , Hilton Garden Inn , Hilton Grand Vacations , Homewood Suites by Hilton , Scandic and The Waldorf=Astoria Collection .

For more information about our company, please visit Hilton Worldwide.

Doubletree Hotels (USA)
Thomas Wingham, Director, Brand Communications,
310-205-3381
[email protected]
or
Hilton International (UK)
Linda Bain, VP, Communications, +44 (0)7974 229247
[email protected]
or
Hilton Middle East & Asia Pacific (SINGAPORE)
Faith Thoms, Director, Communications, +65 9177 0223
[email protected]

# # #