Hilton signs contract for First Doubletree Hotel in China

Hilton Hotels is set to expand its upscale, full-service Doubletree hotel collection into the burgeoning China market. Hilton signed a multi-year agreement with Tianjin Automobile Industrial Group, 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 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% 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.

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