Hilton Family of Hotels Designs a Better Alarm Clock; Hilton Family to Install Custom-Designed Clocks in Nearly 250,000 Guest Rooms Nationwide

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 29, 2005--Ever get frustrated with the clock in a hotel room or worry about sleeping past the alarm in the morning? Starting this month, travelers who stay at the Hilton Family of Hotels won't have to lose sleep ever again over how to set the alarm clock.

In an effort to help guests be more productive, the Hilton Family of Hotels custom designed its own clock, featuring one of the easiest-to-set alarms ever. What's more, the new clocks also feature a connection cable for MP3 players and other portable music devices, an addition Hilton made after research revealed that consumers prefer to maintain their own music lifestyles while on the road.

“Just in time for Daylight Savings, the hour has arrived for a superior hotel alarm clock.”

Nearly 250,000 new clocks will be phased in to all existing and newly opened Hilton, Doubletree, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hampton Hotels, Hilton Garden Inn, Hilton Grand Vacations Club, and Homewood Suites by Hilton guest rooms between now and July 15, 2005. Hampton Hotels led the way by installing its version of the easily set clock in 2004 within more than 130,000 hotel rooms.(a)

"The Hilton Family continues to bring the comforts of home to the hotel room as part of the overall sleep experience -- including cozy beds -- enabling them to sleep more soundly," said Tom Keltner, executive vice president, Hilton Hotels Corporation and president - brand performance and development group. "Just in time for Daylight Savings, the hour has arrived for a superior hotel alarm clock."

Survey Reveals Consumer Frustrations with Hotel Clocks

By introducing the new clock, the Hilton Family of Hotels hopes to alleviate a commonly held frustration by consumers about hotel clocks. According to a recent survey, more than half of business travelers (57 percent) have worried about sleeping past their alarm, and only one in five respondents (18 percent) actually trust a hotel alarm clock to wake them up in the morning. In fact, millions of Americans consider setting a hotel alarm clock to be the most complicated task versus filing their taxes or programming their VCR.

The survey also revealed that 41 percent of respondents would rather wake up to music instead of a buzzer (39 percent) or nature sounds (11 percent). More women (45 percent) than men (37 percent) prefer to wake up to music.

World's Easiest-to-Set Alarm Features

The new Hilton Family clock houses a sleek design and simple digital alarm interface for buzzer, radio wake-up and snooze. The simple-to-set alarm feature requires just three easy steps (also printed on the front of the clock): 1. Press Alarm Set; 2. Indicate Alarm Time preferred by using increase or decrease buttons; 3. Press Enter. Additional features include:

-- Four pre-set buttons for local radio stations designated by a graphic of the music type

-- Connection cable for use with guest's personal MP3 player, portable CD player, laptop and other entertainment devices

-- Built-in stereo speakers for radio or connected devices

-- Large LCD screen with dimmer that adjusts to high, medium or low

-- Automatic daily alarm time reset, preventing an alarm set by a previous guest from repeating

Operationally, the hotel staff sets the time zone information only once (the clock arrives with time and calendar pre-set by the manufacturer) and the clocks automatically adjust one hour ahead for Daylight Savings Time and back to Standard Time, and adjust for Leap Year.

Beginning today, log on to hiltonfamily.com/virtualclock to enter the Hilton Family Timing Is Everything Sweepstakes(b), for a chance to win a Hilton Family Clock, song download certificates, hotel stays at participating Hilton Family hotels or an MP3 player. Sweepstakes end July 7, 2005. The clocks also will be available for purchase by consumers online at hiltonfamily.com by the third quarter of this year.

Donating its Time ... Literally

The Hilton Family of Hotels is donating the old clocks to their local communities through a coordinated program administered by Gifts In Kind International, the world's leading charity in product philanthropy. The clocks will be sent to a broad network of non-profit organizations such as the Salvation Army, American Red Cross, The United Way and local women's shelters.

Methodology

Kelton Research conducted the survey on behalf of the Hilton Family of Hotels between March 18-20, 2005. The survey includes responses by 1,000 consumers and has a +/- 5 percent degree of error.

About Hilton Family of Hotels

Hilton Hotels Corporation is recognized internationally as a preeminent hospitality company. The company develops, owns, manages or franchises more than 2,200 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).

(a) The new clocks at Hampton Hotels do not feature the jack for an MP3 or CD player hook-up.

(b) No purchase necessary to enter. Void where prohibited by law. Open only to persons who are 18 years of age or older and legal residents of the United States. Sweepstakes starts March 29, 2005 and ends July 7, 2005. Certain restrictions apply. Sweepstakes subject to Official Rules available at www.hiltonfamily.com/virtualclock.

The following service 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) and Homewood Suites by Hilton(R). Conrad(R) is owned by Conrad Hospitality, LLC.