Hilton recorded best ever growth in 2017

In 2017,ÊHiltonÊachieved record-setting growth, unveiled industry-leading innovations, and introduced new benefits for guests and Team Members.

2017 was a year of industry firsts, including the launch ofÊFive Feet To Fitness, Hilton Honors loyalty programÊpartnership with Amazon,ÊTapestry Collection by Hilton, and workplace innovations that receivedÊinternational recognition. It was also the year that Hilton introduced a ground-breaking concept ÐÊConnected RoomÊÐ the first truly mobile-centric hotel room that will let guests personalize and control their stays from the award-winning Hilton Honors smartphone app.

ÒLast year was another pioneering year for our team around the world, with the launch of new technologies, brands, and partnerships that redefine the guest experience,Ó

said Christopher J. Nassetta, president & chief executive officer, Hilton.

ÒAfter achieving record numbers across all development metrics, we look forward to driving even greater momentum as we charge toward Hilton’s centennial anniversary in 2019.Ó

ÒFor the third straight year, Hilton recorded its best ever results in net unit growth, approvals, and construction starts,Ó

said Kevin Jacobs, chief financial officer, Hilton.

ÒWe achieved 6.5 percent net unit growth, a record 51,574 net new rooms, and finished 2017 with the highest number of rooms under construction in the industry.Ó

Record growth

• Opened more than a hotel a day, creating 23,000 new hotel jobs and adding 399 properties to surpass 5,200 properties globally.
• Signed more than 700 hotels globally, including more than 100,000 rooms for the third consecutive year. Our existing system and pipeline are now a record 1.2 million rooms, with 345,000 rooms and more than 2,200 hotels in development.
• Finished the year with 21 percent of all rooms under construction globally Ð the most in the industry and 4.3 times Hilton’s existing market share.
• Extended Hilton’s hospitality to approximately 160 million guests across a record 105 countries and territories.
• Grew Hilton Honors to more than 71 million members, adding 11.5 million new members.
• Opened Hilton’sÊ5,000^thÊpropertyÊÐ the first Tru by Hilton, located in Oklahoma City. Continuing the most successful brand launch in industry history, we have since opened eight more properties and have more than 470 hotels in various stages of the development process.
• Launched upscale collection brand,ÊTapestry Collection by Hilton, approved nearly 30 new deals and opened the first property Ð the Hotel Skyler Syracuse in New York.
• Achieved major regional and brand milestones including the opening of the 100^thÊGreater China hotel with the Hilton Quanzhou, the 200^thÊAsia Pacific hotel with the Waldorf Astoria Chengdu, theÊ100^thÊLatin America hotelÊwith Hilton Rio de Janeiro Copacabana,Ê100,000 roomsÊtrading in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa region, and the 500^thÊDoubleTree by Hilton and 900^thÊAll Suites property.
• Launched the Hilton Africa Growth Initiative to add 100 properties to Hilton’s Sub-Saharan African portfolio in the next five years.
• Expanded the Luxury portfolio with openings of marquee properties including the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, Conrad Fort Lauderdale, and the first Canopy by Hilton in North America at the Wharf in Washington, D.C.
• Completed the spin-offsÊof Park Hotels & Resorts and Hilton Grand Vacations.

Customer innovations

• UnveiledÊConnected Room, a first-of-its-kind, high-tech room that enables guests to personalize and control every aspect of their stay from the Hilton Honors app. Connected Room is live in one hotel, and will deploy across several more in the coming weeks, scaling rapidly to hotels across the United States in 2018.
• Opened theÊInnovation Gallery, an incubator and experiential showcase for cutting-edge product developments that will shape the future of hospitality.
• Introduced a revolutionary new guest room,ÊFive Feet to Fitness, an in-room wellness concept that features more than 10 different fitness equipment and accessory options.
• Scaled the industry-firstÊDigital Key technologyÊand its room selection features to 352,000 hotel rooms in more than 2,500 hotels worldwide.
• Launched industry-first benefits for Hilton Honors members includingÊShop with PointsÊat Amazon.com. Hilton Honors was also the first and only loyalty program to offer members the choice to flexibly combine Points and money for a hotel stay, and allow family and friends to pool their Points for free.
• Announced four newÊHilton Honors co-branded credit cardsÊwith American Express to provide greater value for Hilton Honors members and further enhance guest rewards.

World’s bestÊworkplace

• Named aÊTop 10 World’s Best WorkplaceÊon Great Place to Work’s^¨Êannual list of 25 World’s Best Workplaces for the second year in a row.
• Expanded our commitment to helping our Team Members be at their best by launchingÊThrive@HiltonÊin partnership with innovative startupÊThrive Global.
• Named to theÊ2017 Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For^¨Êlist, which recognizes companies with exceptional workplace cultures. Ranked at No. 26, Hilton increased its position by 30 places over the prior year.
• Expanded theÊOperation: Opportunity commitmentÊto hire an additional 20,000 U.S. veterans, spouses, dependents and caregivers by the end of 2020 Ð building on the 10,000 military hires since 2013, exceeding theÊinitial goalÊtwo years early.
• Recognized as aÊTop 50 Company for Diversity by DiversityInc, climbing 12 places over last year to number 30. Hilton was also recognized on six additional DiversityInc lists, including Top Companies for Mentoring, Top Companies for Supplier Diversity, Top Companies for People with Disabilities, Top Companies for Employee Resource Groups, Top Companies for Veterans and Top Companies for Global Diversity.
• Launched Adoption Assistance and Thrive Sabbatical programs, and announced other industry-leading benefits including Go Hilton Long-Tenured Team Member Travel discount program.
• Ranked No. 1 in the hospitality industry by Forbes and JUST Capital for America’s Most JUST Companies.
• Volunteered more than 265,000 hours across 87 countries duringÊGlobal Week of Service.
• Included on leading market and sustainability indexes Ð the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index andÊThe Dow Jones Sustainability Index.
• Recognized (president and CEO Chris Nassetta) with Vital Voices’ ÒVoices of Solidarity AwardÓ for Hilton’s commitment to empowering women and advancing human rights.
• Strengthened communitiesÊwith more than $1 million in action grants to support local projects globally. Hilton also issued more than $3 million to support disaster relief across 20 individual campaigns.
• Distributed more than 6 million soap bars and diverted more than 15 million pounds of waste through the largest soap recycling program in the industry.

*Industry data from STR Global