BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - (Business Wire) From opening two new hotels and expanding its largest property in Beijing to offering complimentary concierge services and lounges, The Hilton Family of Hotels is extending a warm welcome to U.S. Olympic athletes and fans traveling to the 2008 Olympic Games.
As athletes train for Olympic and Paralympic competitions, The Hilton Family of Hotels, Official Hotel Sponsor of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams, launched a training program of its own in Beijing. Hilton Beijing hotel concierges and team members recently conducted hospitality training for a select group of Beijing residents knowledgeable of the local area, customs and services to staff. These local guides, which include several Beijing-based hospitality students, will staff the Hilton Family’s be hospitable® Center Concierge Desks. The Hilton Family’s complimentary concierge service will provide useful resources including maps, directions, taxi information and translation services to U.S. visitors at two locations in Beijing.
“For U.S. Olympic athletes and their family and friends, we hope the be hospitable Centers will feel like their homes away from home,” said Jeff Diskin, senior vice president, brand marketing, Hilton Hotels Corporation. “The Hilton Family’s ‘be hospitable’ philosophy stems from a simple premise: at the heart of every great experience is a gracious host. The Olympic experience is second to none and The Hilton Family looks forward to hosting its heroes and their biggest supporters.”
To help visitors escape the fast-paced atmosphere in Beijing, be hospitable Centers’ Lounges will offer a tranquil setting to sit back and relax. Local massage therapists will be on hand to give complimentary mini massages from 12 p.m. – 8 p.m. daily August 8-24. Visitors can also pick up a care package* that includes moist pocket towelettes, compact shoe buffs, mints and mini misting fans to help provide instant relief from Beijing’s summer heat. The centers will be open daily from 11am – 11pm, August 8-24, at the Bank of America Hometown Hopefuls® Family Center and USA House.
Copies of be hospitable: A World United Edition, a book created by The Hilton Family of Hotels and noted author/illustrator Todd Parr to teach young readers about teamwork, sportsmanship and accepting others differences will be available for purchase at both Hilton Family be hospitable® Centers. A portion of the books’ sales benefits the U.S. Paralympic Team.
The Hilton Family of Hotels also designed a pocket guide offering helpful tips for visitors to best integrate themselves into Chinese culture. The “Hilton Family be hospitable® Traveler Pocket Guide” is a convenient, on-the-go version of the be hospitable® Traveler Program launched earlier this spring at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. The program includes online and interactive tools designed by the Hilton Family to help educate U.S. Olympians about Chinese customs and culture and the principles of hospitality: awareness, character and thoughtfulness. For more information about the be hospitable Traveler Program please visit www.behospitabletraveler.com.
The Hilton Family also extends a warm welcome at its new and expanded properties in Beijing. The new Doubletree by Hilton Beijing hotel, the first Doubletree hotel in Asia and the new Hilton Beijing Wangfujing opened this summer. The Hilton Beijing, the largest Hilton Family hotel in the city, also opened a $32 million tower in early July, bringing its capacity to 503 guestrooms.
To learn more about the Hilton Family’s sponsorship of Team USA, visit www.hiltonfamily.com/usolympic.
* Care package is subject to availability.
About the U.S. Olympic Committee
The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee as the sole entity in the United States whose mission involves training, entering and underwriting the full expenses for the U.S. teams in the Olympic, Paralympic, Pan American and Parapan American Games. In addition to being the steward of the U.S. Olympic Movement, the USOC is the moving force for support of sports in the United States that are on the program of the Olympic, Paralympic, Pan American and Parapan American Games.
Hilton Family of Hotels
Kendra Walker, 310-205-4545
Kendra.Walker@hilton.com
http://www.hiltonworldwide.com
or
Cohn & Wolfe
Rob Novickas, US 310-967-2959/China 15601016852
Rob.Novickas@cohnwolfe.com
or
USOC
Nicole Saunches, 719-866-2236
Nicole.Saunches@usoc.org
