Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) today announced a re-branding of Embassy Suites Hotels and Hampton Hotels in the U.S., adding the "by Hilton" endorsement to their monikers. The new brand logos and names, Embassy Suites by Hilton and Hampton by Hilton, represent the next phase of a renewed business strategy to further reinforce the brands' identities within the Hilton Worldwide portfolio and the company's continued commitment to the future growth, expansion, and evolution of its brands. The phased rollout begins this quarter and will bring about greater consistency as these brands already carry the 'by Hilton' endorsement outside of the U.S.

"The Hilton brand symbolizes quality, consistency, and familiarity, providing further reassurance to guests and owners alike," said Jim Holthouser, executive vice president, global brands, Hilton Worldwide. "Research and historical brand data indicate that guests are more likely to stay at a 'by Hilton' hotel, and we are confident that this simple global modification to the Embassy Suites and Hampton brands will have a positive impact on brand performance for owners, developers, and franchisees as well as consumers."

This addition to the brand name follows the course of other Hilton brands including DoubleTree by Hilton, Canopy by Hilton, and Curio – A Collection by Hilton, and will continue to further align brand recognition and global consistency across the Hilton Worldwide portfolio. Currently, five Embassy Suites properties and 101 Hampton properties include "by Hilton" in their brand names, the majority of which are outside the U.S. This change will apply to all Embassy Suites hotels and Hampton hotels in the U.S., which will now be known as Hampton Inn by Hilton and Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton.

Source: HiltonSource: Hilton
Source: Hilton

Consumers can now confidently associate the Embassy Suites and Hampton brands with the quality and consistency of Hilton Worldwide, thereby increasing consumer familiarity of their brand attributes, including opportunities to earn/redeem points and benefits with Hilton HHonors, the award-winning guest-loyalty program for Hilton Worldwide's twelve distinct brands. Hilton HHonors members who book directly through preferred Hilton channels have access to benefits including digital check-in and choose-your-room, and coming in summer 2015, free Wi-Fi.

Supporting Brand Research

After looking at historical data from the DoubleTree by Hilton rebranding effort in 2011 and conducting proprietary market research, findings showed that the "by Hilton" association results in increased expectations around service, guest rooms, comfort, locations and awareness of the brand's association with the Hilton portfolio. The rebranding campaign of DoubleTree also saw improvement across key metrics, such as average daily rate (ADR), occupancy and revenue per available room (RevPar).

Brand Evolution

The "by Hilton" endorser will further reinforce the next generation and refresh of legacy Embassy Suites and Hampton properties. Between 2015 and 2019, more than 45 percent of Embassy Suites properties will have completed or be in the process of a relicensing and renovation, totaling more than $300 million across the portfolio. The brand has also introduced new food & beverage options and an additional design option for new build projects, offering greater flexibility for owners to adapt their hotels to their markets while maintaining Embassy Suites' signature brand pillars.

In addition, Hampton has remained focused on keeping the brand relevant for guests and franchise owners by re-envisioning it at appropriate times. In 2013, Hampton's forever young initiative (fyi) launched as a way to extend the life of current Hampton properties nearing the relicensing process. fyi created a fresh look and feel, welcoming new travelers with a modern makeover, keeping the core Hampton trust points intact. The program upgrades building exteriors, guestrooms and baths and to date, hundreds of Hampton hotels have completed the fyi renovations. For new-builds, the core elements of fyi have become part of brand standards.