Hilton Hotels Corporation Announces Top Developers and Hotels for Focused-Service Brands.

Business Editors/Travel Writers

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 16, 2004

Hilton Hotels Corporation announced its top developers and hotels during its Focused Service Brand Conference for Hampton Inn(R), Hampton Inn & Suites(R), Hilton Garden Inn(R) and Homewood

Each brand recognized a Developer of the Year for the developer who had the greatest number of project approvals or who developed one or more unique hotels that helped enhance the brand's image in 2003. Together, the brands also recognized a multi-brand developer with a Developer of the Year award who made significant contributions to the Hilton Family of Hotels with the most number of project approvals in 2003. To be considered, all hotels in the candidates' Hilton Family portfolio had to be rated high-quality and in good status, and could represent a combination of new projects, renovations and conversions.

    The recipients of the Developer of the Year award are:

    --  Multi-Brand Award Winner     Stonebridge Companies

    --  Hampton Hotels               ZMC Hotels Inc.

    --  Hilton Garden Inn            Mcsam Hotel LLC

    --  Homewood Suites by Hilton    Whiteco Industries Inc. &
                                     WPM Construction LLC

Hampton Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites, Hilton Garden Inn and Homewood Suites by Hilton also presented awards for Deal of the Year and Best Conversion, which recognizes the tremendous commitment of time and effort many owners devoted to building a particular brand's hotel and converting an existing hotel to the particular brand.

    The recipients of the Deal of the Year award are:

    --  Hampton Hotels               Sky Hotels LLC

    --  Hilton Garden Inn            Olympia Equity Investors

    --  Homewood Suites by Hilton    S & S Hotels LLC

    The recipients of the Best Conversion are:

    --  Hampton Hotels               Hampton Inn & Suites
                                      Colton, Calif.
                                     Palacio Hospitality Group, Inc.

    --  Hilton Garden Inn            Hilton Garden Inn Phoenix-Midtown
                                     Pacific Realty Advisors

    --  Homewood Suites by Hilton    Homewood Suites by Hilton
                                      Miami-Grand
                                     PH Hotel, Inc.

In addition, each Hilton family focused service brand presented an Outstanding Achievement Award given in recognition due to the developer's support of Hilton and the focused-service brands of Hampton, Hilton Garden Inn and Homewood Suites by Hilton. Each recipient is committed to growing the respective brands and the Hilton Family by investing in the development of new hotel projects.

    The Outstanding Achievement award winners were:

    --  Hampton Hotels               Darryl Lapointe, Highpointe
                                      Hotel Corporation

    --  Hilton Garden Inn            Robert Ray, Southern States
                                      Management Co.

    --  Homewood Suites by Hilton    Brad Honigfeld, The Braid Group

Hampton Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites, Hilton Garden Inn and Homewood Suites by Hilton also recognized top hotels based on customer feedback measured through guest satisfaction surveys on the hotel, as well as the product, quality and service scores measured quarterly by the company.

    The top hotel award winners were:

    --  Hampton Brand                Hampton Inn Jonesville/Elkin, NC
                                     (Top Hampton Inn)

                                     Hampton Inn San Jose - Airport,
                                      Costa Rica
                                     (Top International Hampton Inn
                                      hotel)

                                     Hampton Inn & Suites Stillwater,
                                      Okla.
                                     (Top Hampton Inn & Suites)

                                     Hampton Inn & Suites
                                      Langley/Surrey, BC, Canada
                                     (Top International Hampton Inn
                                      & Suites hotel)

    --  Hilton Garden Inn            Hilton Garden Inn Spokane Airport

    --  Homewood Suites by Hilton    Homewood Suites by Hilton
                                      Harrisburg-West, Pa.

"We are delighted to bestow the Multi-brand Developer of the Year award to Stonebridge Companies as a way of expressing our appreciation for their commitment to the Hilton Family of Hotels," said Bill Fortier, senior vice president - franchise development, Hilton Hotels Corporation. "Additionally, each of our three focused service brands is thrilled to recognize their respective award recipients as a way to express appreciation for the franchisee's brand loyalty and overall dedication to excellence, from the design stage to post-opening."

Multi Brand Developer of the Year

Denver-based Stonebridge Companies was formed in 1991 and has a portfolio of both full service and focused service hotels, with 4,000 rooms. Stonebridge owns and operates 40 hotels and five retail shopping centers, in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Utah and Washington. The company currently has 20 Hilton Family brands, including 12 Hampton Inn and Hampton Inn & Suites hotels. The developer also continues to develop additional properties within the Hilton Garden Inn and Homewood Suites by Hilton brands, including a new Homewood Suites hotel opening in Anchorage, Alaska, at the end of February.

Hampton

Duluth, Minn.-based ZMC Hotels Inc. was awarded the Hampton Developer of the Year accolade for the development of the Hampton Inn in Anthem, Ariz. The hotel opened in 2003 in the planned upscale community in the northern region of the Phoenix metropolitan area.

Hampton Inn Jonesville/Elkin, NC, received a Pride Award -- the brand's top Hampton Inn hotel award for the second consecutive year. The hotel has ranked in the top three of the brand's service scores for five out of the last six years.

The Hampton Inn & Suites in Stillwater, Okla., also received a Pride Award, recognized as the brand's top Hampton Inn & Suites hotel. The hotel opened in 2002 and has ranked high in guest satisfaction scores in the categories of service, product and guest loyalty.

Hilton Garden Inn

Mcsam Hotel LLC, and MikeSam Constructions Corporation were recognized as the Developer of the Year by Hilton Garden Inn. The company is currently developing the first Hilton Garden Inn property that will be located in the Tribeca area of Manhattan. With more than 20+ years in the hotel industry and with expertise in operations, development, construction, renovations and acquisitions, founder and owner Sam Chang is also in the process of converting a hotel in the Fort Washington, Pa., area and developing a hotel located one mile from JFK International Airport in New York City, due to open in April.

The Hilton Garden Inn Spokane Airport in Spokane, Wash., was presented with the brand's top hotel of the year award. The hotel ranked above all other 180+ Hilton Garden Inn hotels, in loyalty, brand standards compliance, cleanliness, physical condition and overall service and had zero brand standard violations.

Homewood Suites by Hilton

Homewood Suites by Hilton presented its Developer of the Year award to Whiteco Industries Inc. and WPM Construction LLC. The company is unique in concept by developing and building investment grade properties in high barrier-to-entry markets. The company developed its first hotel in 1969 and is currently developing two Homewood Suites by Hilton hotels -- one in Brandon, Fla., and a 14-story hotel being constructed over four stories of parking at the Houston Galleria.

The Homewood Suites by Hilton awarded its Harrisburg-West, Pa. hotel with the Homewood Suites by Hilton Pride Award. This 116-suite hotel has been a top performing hotel in the brand since opening in 1995, ranking in the top three for 7 out of 9 years. It scores consistently high in guest satisfaction surveys and product, quality and service scores.

Conference Backgrounder

Themed "Seize the Day!," the conference offered opportunities for more than 3,000 owners and general managers to learn, network and build relationships through general sessions, brand-specific meetings, workshops and presentations. Owners also had the chance to attend a private Development Session that included a special presentation by expert economist Steve Forbes.

Company Backgrounder

Hilton Hotels Corporation is recognized internationally as a preeminent hospitality company. The company develops, owns, manages or franchises more than 2,100 hotels, resorts and vacation ownership properties. Its portfolio includes many of the world's best known and most highly regarded hotel brands, including Hilton(R), Conrad(R), Doubletree(R), Embassy Suites Hotels(R), Hampton Inn(R), Hampton Inn & Suites(R), Hilton Garden Inn(R), Hilton Grand Vacations Club,(R) and Homewood Suites by Hilton(R).

The following trade marks are owned by Hilton Hospitality, Inc.: Hilton(R), Doubletree(R), Embassy Suites Hotels(R), Hampton Inn(R), Hampton Inn & Suites(R), Hilton Garden Inn(R), Hilton Grand Vacations Club(R), Homewood Suites by Hilton(R) and Suite Shop(R). Conrad(R) is owned by Conrad Hospitality, LLC.