Hampton Inn
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hampton Inn and Hampton Inn & Suites are the names of a chain of hotels trademarked by Hilton Hotels Corporation. Most Hampton Inns are independently owned and operated by franchisees, though a few are owned by the Hilton Hotels Corporation. Hotels marked Hampton Inn & Suites offer suites in addition to the standard rooms found at a Hampton Inn. Both Hampton Inn and Hampton Inn and Suites are considered limited-service hotels as they do not have a restaurant in the building nor do they offer on-site room service. The Hampton Inn brand primarily caters to the budget-minded business traveler. As of March 2008, the chain has over 1,500 hotels. An overwhelming majority of the chain's properties are located in the United States however international locations include Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica and Ecuador.
Hampton Inn hotels are usually characterized by multi-story stucco construction, though there are some exceptions to this in the midwest, historical locations, and some conversion properties.
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[edit] History
Hampton Inns were originally owned by Promus Hotel Corporation, a Memphis, TN holding company that also owned Embassy Suites Hotels and Doubletree Hotels. In 1999, Promus Hotels was acquired by Hilton for $3.7 billion. Now, the Hampton brand is part of the Hilton Focused Service Group. The brand competes with La Quinta Inn/ Suites, Comfort Inn/ Suites, Courtyard by Marriott, Holiday Inn Express, Fairfield Inn/ Suites and Wingate by Wyndham.
The first Hampton Inn opened in Memphis, Tennessee in the summer of 1984. It was a two-story, exterior entrance building with 128 guest rooms. This hotel was located at 1585 Sycamore View Road. The hotel remained "The World's First Hampton Inn" until it closed in August 2005. At that time, the hotel was sold by its current owner and was re-flagged as a Ramada Inn.
Originally, Hampton hotels were given great latitude to customize the room decor and free hot breakfasts to suit local tastes. Since the acquisition by Hilton, nearly all of the decor, breakfast items, and signage is all dictated by the central corporate offices.
[edit] Make it Hampton
In early 2004, Hampton kicked off a $100 million renovation of the entire Hampton Inn chain entitled "Make it Hampton". Focused on "raising the bar" in customer service, "Make it Hampton" was the chain's response to similar renovations by competitors Courtyard by Marriott and Holiday Inn Express.
Such changes to the chain included the installation of curved shower curtain rods in guest bathrooms, the inclusion of hot items to the daily continental breakfast and upgrading all of the chain's beds to the "Cloud Nine" bed experience.
[edit] Cloud Nine Bed Experience
In 2006, during the second phase of the "Make it Hampton" program, the Cloud Nine. The Hampton bed experience plan was unveiled. The plan called for the replacement and upgrading of every bed in the entire Hampton Chain.
As of 2007, every Hampton has implemented the Cloud Nine. The Hampton bed experience includes a comfy mattress and soft sheets with a high thread count, a choice of synthetic or down pillows, lumbar pillow and a plush white down-like blanket and duvet cover.
[edit] External links
- Hampton Inn and Hampton Inn & Suites web site
- A Make it Hampton Press Release
- Hampton Inn Reservations: 1-800-HAMPTON
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