Hilton has entered the big box meeting and events market with the launch of a new brand, Signia Hilton.
With a minimum of 500 guest rooms and 75-square-feet per key of meetings and events space, the brand experience focuses on wellness (including infinity pools, spas and fitness cenetrs), a social lobby space and anchoring signature restaurant, as well as upgraded technology.
There are already development contracts for the new brand underway in Indianapolis, Indiana, Atlanta and Orlando with an ultimate goal of global expansion. In Indiana, the brand’s debut property will be the 814-room Signia Hilton opening alongside the recently-announced 235,000-square-foot expansion of the Indiana Convention Center – all set to open in late 2022.
HOTELS spoke with David Marr, Hilton’s senior vice president and global head, of full-service brands, about what the move means for Hilton.
HOTELS: Why now and what’s the opportunity here?
David Marr: We’ve been talking about this brand for almost two years now, and it started with some dialogue with very important owners and developers that we work with who specialize in these large convention hotel deals. We call them P3 deals: public, private, partnerships. And they said that Hilton would be well served if we had a brand that fell above our flagship brand, Hilton Hotels and Resorts, but right below our luxury category; let’s say Conrad. So, having a hotel brand in that space would be very attractive. They didn’t want to have the luxury finish in a 300 to 1,000-room hotel, but they certainly wanted something that had upgraded finishes that could allow for them to drive a premium in that space.
H: And with cultivating all that, what’s the right price point per night for Signia?
DM: It’s hard to say, because these are all, well, mostly new builds. Obviously, it’ll take between 24 and 26 months to construct these hotels. So, it’ll be market-based. From our perspective, it will be the highest end of upper upscale, so you can imagine in that market, it will be one of the finest hotels in the market.
H: The emphasis on wellness here also stands out. Is this a direction Hilton decided to go based on feedback, or is this just keeping up with the trend that’s already started dominating many markets?
DM: Every one of the signature features of Signia Hilton comes from insight from our meeting planners and what they are looking for in today’s meetings hotels, because they definitely see a focus on wellness. They’re about balance and creating an experience for their meeting attendees that really is differentiating and memorable.
H: And is Hilton specifically targeting convention center cities?
DM: Yes. You’ll see Signia Hilton in major urban markets around the world and also highly sought-after resort markets. So, obviously the fit and finish of a Signia Hilton is, you need to be able to command the appropriate rate to pay for the features and benefits of the hotel. So, you wouldn’t see this in a suburban market or even in an airport market. You would see this in primary urban markets and highly sought-after resort markets where the rates are able to sustain this type of a product, and Atlanta, Orlando and Indianapolis fall into that category.