Hilton Garden Inn Honors Top Hotels of 2009

MEMPHIS, TN – Hilton Garden Inn, the worldwide brand of upscale, yet affordable, hotels, announced the brand’s top hotels of 2009.

Nearly 20 individual and hotel awards were presented to hotels chosen from the brand’s portfolio of nearly 500 hotels throughout the United States, Canada, Latin America and Europe.

“Hilton Garden Inn is dedicated to helping our guests prepare for their big days, and each of our team members at our hotels worldwide works tirelessly to ensure our guests are prepared,” said Adrian Kurre, (middle right photo)  Global Head, Hilton Garden Inn brand.

 “From providing a great sleep experience and a delicious cooked-to-order breakfast to all of the small things that demonstrate the special Hilton Garden Inn touch, our team members do everything they can to ensure guest loyalty. We are pleased to honor the Hilton Garden Inn hotels that epitomize what our brand is all about – guest satisfaction and a high level of customer service.”

The top hotel awards were presented based on year-end scores and results from the Hilton Garden Inn Balanced Scorecard, a tool used by the brand to measure and track overall performance of each Hilton Garden Inn hotel in various key performance indicators: Satisfaction and Loyalty Tracking (SALT) survey, Quality Assurance, and Brand Management and Product Standards.

The Connie Award, named in honor of company founder Conrad Hilton, (bottom left photo)  is awarded to the Top Hotel of the Year based on three key components, including: quality assurance audits measuring cleanliness, condition and brand standards; customer scores rating staff service; and customer service scores rating the quality of the hotel’s physical accommodations.

The winner represents the highest scores in the brand system in all of these categories. The 2009 Hilton Garden Inn Connie Award winner was the Hilton Garden Inn Salt Lake City/Downtown, (top left photo) Utah.

The 132-room Hilton Garden Inn Salt Lake City/Downtown opened in 2006 and is managed by Boise-based Ameritel Inns, Inc. The hotel is located in the heart of downtown Salt Lake City and is 100 percent smoke-free.

The Pride Merit Awards are given to the hotels in the 2nd and 3rd ranked position based on three components: quality assurance audits measuring, condition and brand standards; customer scores rating staff service; and customer service scores rating the quality of the hotel’s physical accommodations.

The winners of the 2009 Pride Merit Awards are the Hilton Garden Inn Panama City, (middle left photo)  Florida and the Hilton Garden Inn Dallas/Richardson, (bottom right photo) Texas.

The 111-room Hilton Garden Inn Panama City opened its doors to guests in 2006 and is a former Connie Award winner (2008). The hotel is owned by Panama City Hospitality Group, LLC and is managed by Tifton, Ga.-based GS Development, LLC.

Hilton Garden Inn Dallas Richardson is owned by Texas-based Shinn Richardson Hospitality, Ltd. and is managed by Magnolia Hospitality, LLC. The 125-room hotel opened in 2008.

Contact: Dawn Ray, HGI Public Relations, 901-374-5954, dawn.ray@hilton.com,
Jerry or Chris Daly, DalyGray, jerry@dalygray.com, chris@dalygray.com