"There is nothing more powerful than an organization of caring people who come together and make a positive difference for their loyal customers.  We are proud to present the Doubletree Hotel Performance Awards Program to acknowledge those hotels that have created an outstanding hotel experience, as well as encourage all of our properties to meet and exceed our guests' expectations," said Dave Horton, senior vice president -- brand management for Doubletree.

Finalists for the Connie Awards and Doubletree Pride Awards were determined by two key components of the Doubletree Balanced Scorecard rating system: a Brand Consistency Index (a measurement of Physical Condition, Cleanliness, and compliance with Brand Standards)  and Guest Loyalty Scores (a combination of three scores from the Doubletree Customer Loyalty Tracking Study). 

CONNIE AWARDS

Named in honor of company founder Conrad Hilton, the top-performing hotel in each of the three Doubletree product lines with the highest overall hotel performance scores receives this distinct recognition:

• DOUBLETREE HOTELS & RESORTS � Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center, Virginia
• DOUBLETREE GUEST SUITES � Doubletree Guest Suites Naples, Florida
• DOUBLETREE CLUB � Doubletree Club Lake Buena Vista, Florida

The brand also was proud to present its Doubletree Pride Awards.  Combined with the Connie Award winners listed previously, these awards are presented to an additional top five hotels across all brand product lines.

• Doubletree Guest Suites Phoenix � Gateway Center, Arizona
• Doubletree Guest Suites Washington DC, District of Columbia
• Doubletree Guest Suites Naples, Florida
• Doubletree Hotel Biltmore/Asheville, North Carolina
• Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center, Virginia

DOUBLETREE 2003 CARE CUP � HOTEL ROANOKE & CONFERENCE CENTER, VIRGINIA

The Doubletree 2003 CARE Cup, one of the most prestigious hotel performance awards presented by the brand, was proudly presented to the Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center, Virginia.  This hotel demonstrated consistent and exceptional performance on:

• Quarterly summary reports (CARE Packets) they presented for each of the three qualifying quarters of 2002, which illustrates how hotel team members care about their guests, their team members and their local community. 
• The full-service hotel also scored consistently in the top 10% of the Doubletree Brand Promise Index �      a measurement of the Doubletree delivery of CARE Values to hotel guests.

Doubletree Crystal Cookie Awards are presented to those hotels who demonstrated outstanding service to their local community.

• Doubletree Hotel Charlottesville, Virginia - In September 2003, Hurricane Isabel devastated several cities and towns up and down the Mid-Atlantic Seaboard.  The team members at the Doubletree Charlottesville, which was the only fully functioning hotel in the region after the storm, turned misfortune into a triumph of teamwork and cooperation.  Because of the power outage that ensued following the hurricane, the Doubletree Hotel Charlottesville was fortunate enough to be able to serve hot meals and coffee to hotel guests and members of the community.   Game rooms were set up for kids and employees even made special trips to provide dog bones, catnip toys, rabbit food and bird seed to furry and winged members of people�s families.  For several days, employees performed double shifts to meet the needs of their customers.    The American Red Cross presented the hotel with a special letter of commendation, as the Doubletree was able to house several evacuees and their families, as well as repair crews from other states who brought the region back to normal. 

• Doubletree San Diego Golf Resort, California - The wildfires that ravaged Southern California in October 2003 left an indelible impression on our Doubletree team members who lived in the San Diego area.  The fires came closest to the Doubletree San Diego Golf Resort in the northeastern section of San Diego County.  Not only did the entire hotel team pull together to support and assist fellow family members, they also provided special support to area firefighters and offered members of the local community discounted room rates.  During the weeks just before the fires, the CARE Committee at the hotel began working with a local elementary school as part of the Doubletree Teaching Kids to CARE� program.  After the fires subsided, the hotel team decided to extend the valuable lesson of giving to others in the community one step further.  Not only did the hotel provide two second grade classes at Los Penasquitos Elementary School with 2,003 of the brand�s signature chocolate chip cookies as part of the program, they worked with the kids to conduct a Community CARE Cookie Sale.  This fundraiser resulted in a donation of hundreds of dollars to the San Diego chapter of the American Red Cross to replenish funds from their Disaster Relief Fund and a thank you of chocolate chip cookies to local firefighters, who worked long hours to save the lives and homes of thousands of people across San Diego County.

Hilton Hotels Corporation is recognized internationally as a preeminent hospitality company.  The company develops, owns, manages or franchises nearly 2,200 hotels, resorts and vacation ownership properties.