MCLEAN, VA – For Hilton Worldwide, timing is more than everything. It’s essential to the future of the hotel brand family’s existence.

The company, formerly Hilton Hotels Corp., said it couldn’t have pinpointed a more appropriate time to announce an update of its corporate identity, including a new corporate name and logo and the hiring of a new leader to continue its luxury overhaul and entry into the lifestyle market.

On a grand platform, adding “worldwide” to the company’s persona comes at a time when the world is shrinking, travelers are becoming more international and hotel development is booming overseas.

A “Hilton Worldwide” sign lights up Hilton’s new corporate headquarters in McLean, Va.—a move aimed to relocate to more globally centered coordinates.

Looking within the ever-changing hospitality industry, Hilton’s announcements come at a time when fundamentals are expected to pick up, speculation runs rampant about its entry into the lifestyle market and the industry’s top movers and shakers meet at The Lodging Conference.

“From my perspective, it was the perfect time to do it,” said Christopher Nassetta, president and CEO. “We are culminating the transformation of our entire global enterprise. The timing of the events, coming together at a compressed timeframe, was the perfect opportunity to launch a new corporate identity that is representative of a new beginning.”

Nassetta said the new corporate name and logo have been mirrored by the internal launch of a refreshed company vision, mission and key strategic priorities.

“Today we’re providing great experiences for guests all around the world,” he said. “As we look at growth, we look at ourselves as a worldwide company. The future of our company over the next five, 10, 25 years will increasingly come from international markets. We are a very worldwide company, and in the future we will be even more so.”

Relocating headquarters

The changes follow the company’s recent relocation of its global headquarters from Beverly Hills, Calif., to McLean, Va., just outside of the nation’s capital.

Nassetta said that although moving a global headquarters is not for the faint of heart, and there was inevitably some disruption, overall it couldn’t have gone more smoothly.

“We opened up almost flawlessly, our systems were working and we didn’t miss a beat,” he said. “You look at everything going on in the world and compound that with some of the most challenging macroeconomic times ... we’ve managed to keep our eye on the ball and remain focused on running the business.”

Nassetta said Hilton will take advantage of the fact that it has transformed the company in more difficult times and use that as a catalyst to better its position for when healthier times come.

“We are more reflective of who we are and where we are going,” he said. “Our properties are gaining market share and customer satisfaction is going up. We’re extremely well positioned.”

New leader

Hilton’s announcements coincide with news a day earlier that the company hired former Club Med CEO John Vanderslice as the new global head of luxury and lifestyle brands.

Vanderslice, who has an extensive background in international hospitality and packaged goods, has worked at such notable companies as Club Med and Kraft General Foods.

“He is a terrific talent, a classically trained guy,” Nassetta said. “John is a really capable and experienced brand guy who is very excited about joining us. He’ll help us redefine what we’re doing in the high-end space and help us with our entry into the lifestyle market.”

Vanderslice takes over the position vacated in April by Ross Klein. Hilton placed Klein, Amar Lalvani and their entire luxury and lifestyle team on paid administrative leave as a result of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide’s lawsuit against the company. Starwood alleged Klein and others stole trade secrets and classified documents after leaving the company and used them while creating the Denizen brand, which was put on hold as a result.

Vanderslice served as president and CEO of Club Med Americas, operator of more than 100 leisure resorts in 30 countries, where he led Club Med’s operations in North and South America. He was credited with successfully integrating Club Med’s marketing and commercial activities, finance and operations while repositioning the all-inclusive resorts as upscale destinations.

Logo representation

Hilton said in a release that the new logo unites all members of the organization across all parts of the globe with one shared vision for success.

The logos and imagery of the hotel brands that comprise Hilton Worldwide, including Hilton Hotels, will remain unchanged, while the Hilton HHonors brand will adopt the core elements of the new corporate identity and logo, the statement said.

Nassetta said the new logo is representative of Hilton’s priority to be the leader in all areas of the business.

“In each of our 10 brands today, our focus is to be innovative in a enterprise-wide effort,” he said.

Copyright 2009 Questex Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. From http://www.hotelworldnetwork.com. By Jason Q. Freed.
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