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Hampton Inn
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hampton Inn and Hampton Inn & Suites are the names of a chain of hotels operated by Hilton Hotels Corporation. Hampton Inn & Suites offers suites in addition to the standard rooms found at a Hampton Inn.
As of December 2006, the chain had 1,281 hotels.
Hampton Inn hotels are usually characterized by multistory stucco construction, though there are some exceptions to this in the midwest.
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Hampton Inns were originally owned by Promus Hotel Corporation, a Memphis, TN holding company that also owned Embassy Suites Hotels and Doubletree Hotels. In 1999, Promus Hotels was acquired by Hilton for $3.7 billion. Now, the Hampton brand is part of the Hilton Focused Service Group.
The first Hampton Inn opened in Memphis, Tennessee in the summer of 1984. It was a two story, exterior entrance building with 128 guest rooms. This hotel was located at 1585 Sycamore View Road. The hotel remained "The World's First Hampton Inn" until it closed in August 2005. At that time the hotel was sold by its current owner and was re-flagged as a Ramada Inn.
Originally, Hampton hotels were given great latitude to customize the room decor and free hot breakfasts to suit local tastes. Since the acquisition by Hilton, decor, breakfast items, and signage is all dictated by the central corporate offices.
In early 2004, Hilton kicked off a $100 million renovation of the entire Hampton Inn chain entitled "Make it Hampton". Focused on "raising the bar" in customer service, "Make it Hampton" was the chain's response to similar renovations by competitors Courtyard by Marriott and Holiday Inn Express.
Such changes to the chain included the installation of curved shower curtain rods in guest bathrooms, the inclusion of hot items to the daily continental-style breakfast and the brand-new "Cloud Nine Bed Experience" - a program which aimed to redefine the hotel bed as the world knows it.
In 2006, during the second phase of the "Make it Hampton" program, the "Cloud Nine Bed Experience" plan was unveiled. The plan called for the replacement and upgrading of every bed in the entire Hampton Chain.
By the end of 2006, every Hampton in the nation will be required to replace its current mattresses and box springs with Sealy pillow-top mattresses and box springs. According to Hampton Inn, pillows and sheets will be replaced with 'more comfortable' ones, with higher thread counts and different varieties for added comfort.