Hilton and Signo Hospitality to Develop 10 New Hotels in Germany

GERMANY and MCLEAN, Va. - Hilton (NYSE: HLT) today announced an agreement with Signo Hospitality (Signo) to develop 10 new hotels in Germany over the next five years. The first two properties to open under the agreement will be Hilton Garden Inn Herne and Hampton by Hilton Bottrop. Both hotels will be the first from Hilton in their respective cities, which sit in Germany’s industrial centre in the Ruhr valley. 

Patrick Fitzgibbon, senior vice president, development, EMEA, Hilton, said: “We are excited to partner with Signo Hospitality to support the next phase of our development in Germany, where Hilton is growing rapidly with nearly 50 hotels trading or under development. Rising demand for our focused service brands has underpinned this growth – particularly Hampton by Hilton, which has doubled its footprint in the past few years. There remains a tremendous opportunity for Hampton, Hilton Garden Inn and Motto by Hilton in cities across Germany, from airports to regional business hubs. Working with partners like Signo will allow us to continue this momentum and unleash pent up demand for quality branded accommodation.” 

Commenting on the agreement, Sascha Konter, CEO of Signo Hospitality, said: “We are very happy to announce this landmark partnership with Hilton, which brings together Signo’s deep expertise in the German hospitality market with Hilton’s world-class brand portfolio, innovation and commercial power. This agreement will allow us to expand into new regional markets and capture local demand for quality accommodation.” 

Hilton Garden Inn Herne

This 154-key property will be the first Hilton-branded hotel in Herne, a major hub for Germany’s chemicals, machinery and transport industries. The hotel will be located in Shamrock Park, a growing business park just 800m from the city center. Guest facilities will include a full-service lobby restaurant and bar, a shop, a 60sqm gym and three meeting rooms totalling 100 square meters. Signo will operate the hotel under a franchise agreement with Hilton and a long-term lease agreement with third-party developer and landlord FAKT AG, which owns and operates Shamrock Park. Expected to open in early 2023, Hilton Garden Inn Herne will join additional hotels under the brand in Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Mannheim and Munich.

Hilton Garden Inn has a global portfolio of over 870 hotels representing over 127,000 rooms.

Hampton by Hilton Bottrop

Hilton’s first hotel in Bottrop, this property will join the award-winning Hampton portfolio – Hilton’s fastest-growing brand in Germany and Europe. The 108-key hotel is prominently located in the city centre on Berlin Square and is well-positioned to capture both business and leisure demand in the area. In addition to being a centre for the chemicals and machine production industries, Bottrop also boasts varied entertainment options, including Bottrop Movie Park and a local indoor skiing venue. Legoland, Seaworld, the Centro Shopping Centre and the Konig Pilsener Arena in nearby Oberhausen are also within easy reach. The hotel itself forms part of a shopping centre redevelopment, including retail outlets and a large cinema complex. Expected to open in early 2023, it will be operated under a franchise agreement between Hilton and Signo and a long-term lease with landlord FAKT AG. 

Hampton by Hilton is on track to open a further seven properties in Germany in 2021 and recently added its 100^th property in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region with the opening of Hampton by Hilton Turkistan, in Kazakhstan. Globally, the Hampton by Hilton portfolio includes over 2,600 properties representing nearly 277,000 rooms. 

All properties in Hilton’s portfolio will be part of the award-winning Hilton Honors guest loyalty programme, allowing more than 110 million members who book directly with Hilton to earn Points for hotel stays and experiences, plus instant benefits including contactless check-in with room selection, Digital Key and Connected Room. 

Hilton has a portfolio of 33 trading hotels in Germany, which is expected to expand by around 50% based on the current pipeline. Germany is Hilton’s second-largest market in Continental Europe, with properties in every major city, spanning five brands, including Waldorf Astoria, Curio Collection by Hilton, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Garden Inn, and Hampton by Hilton.

Hilton was ranked the No.1 brand in Germany across all industry sectors in the KPMG Global Customer Experience Excellence Report 2019.

About Signo Hospitality

Signo Hospitality GmbH is a hotel management company based in Regensburg. The vision and mission of the company is the successful operation of business, lifestyle, first-class, design and limited-service hotels across Europe. To this end, the company works with strong franchise partners such as Marriott, Hilton and Wyndham. The company’s activities extend from the operation of existing and new hotels, crisis and interim management, advice and implementation of concepts and strategies to increase business in the hotel and catering sectors, to the operation of catering facilities in interesting locations. In addition, the company also provides services such as the preparation of location and market analyses, as well as the acquisition and recommendations of suitable hotel brands for the respective property. Signo Hospitality plans to open at least seven new hotels in the next few years.