Hilton Hotels announced the latest milestone in its expansion effort for the upscale, full-service Doubletree hotel collection in the burgeoning China market with the signing a multi-year agreement with Tianjin Automobile Industrial Group Company, one of China's largest automobile manufacturers, to manage an upscale, 360-room hotel in Tianjin.
"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 percent 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."
The Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Tianjin is anticipated to open in this world-class city in late 2007. 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 sqm 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 sqm and the hotel will feature a fitness center.
"This first foray into the China hotel market is an incredible new chapter for our Doubletree hotel collection. We continue to attract considerable interest from hotel owners and management companies across North America, and now the world, as they discover Doubletree has quickly become one of the most dynamic brands in the upscale, full-service hotel market today," said Dave Horton, senior vice president – brand management for Doubletree Hotels. âThanks to an experienced development team and strong operations infrastructure already in place through a great Hilton corporate team in this part of the world, we are look forward to expanding the reach of our Doubletree portfolio throughout China and across the Asia-Pacific Region.â?
Shi Tang Zhang, President, Tianjin Automobile Industrial Group, added, "We are delighted to announce the development of the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Tianjin. With its high product standards and service coupled with benefits from the industry's leading HHonors loyalty programme, we expect the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Tianjin to be a great success among local and foreign travelers alike."