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came in March , when Hilton announced it agreed to pay $ 210 million to Chicago-based AJ Capital Partners for the rights to Graduate Hotels , a brand with more than 30 hotels situated in and around college markets ; a mere weeks later , Hilton said it had acquired a controlling interest in Sydell Group that will allow it to expand the NoMad Hotels brand with an expectation to grow it to as many as 100 hotels .
“ We bought a couple of things ,” Nassetta said with a toothy smile . It ’ s a bit of an about-face for Hilton , which typically has grown from within , organically , building out its own brands instead of acquiring others . In
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Graduate , Hilton saw a brand with tremendous upside that already had a footprint but needed the extra engine of a Hilton to effectively grow it to scale . In NoMad , Hilton had the rights to an already builtout luxury / lifestyle brand that it had always coveted . And with only one hotel in London , Hilton will be able to grow it globally with its existing and new development partners .
Nassetta called AutoCamp “ a really cool product ” and “ something our customers love .” The SLH deal allows current properties to opt in or out of the Hilton linkage , but Nassetta said it was “ off to a roaring start ” and that the company would communicate
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more news on it in the coming weeks .
Bottom line : Hilton is not just a hotel company ; it ’ s a travel company and wants to be where its guests want to go ( and do ). Nassetta makes that clear . “ We have a whole bunch of other fun things that we ’ re doing and experiences we are working on that we ’ re not going to announce today , but that you can imagine like , ’ What else would you like to do that sort of pairs nicely with your other travels ?’ You don ’ t stay in a hotel 100 % of the time . There are other things that you do that are symbiotic with what we do that we think afford our customers more ways to stay with us and more ways to keep them engaged .”
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Chris Nassetta , president and CEO of Hilton , with David Eisen , editor-inchief of HOTELS , during a showcase of Hilton brands in Nashville . |
The lobby mural at the combination Home2 Suites by Hilton Nashville Downtown Convention Center and Tru by Hilton Nashville Downtown Convention Center . |
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