The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach and apparently, the way to creating world’s largest hotel chain, an honor held by Hilton’s Hampton Inn brand, is also through the stomach…
How Hampton Inn Became Largest Hotel Chain In The World
Hampton (which includes both Hampton Inn and Hampton Inn & Suites) sold about 90 million room nights last year, a few million more than its closest competitor: Holiday Inn Express. That generated $12 billion in revenue from guests rooms alone, with Bloomberg reporting that its revenue “dwarfed that of the industry’s luxury leaders.”
“Free” breakfast holds an almost mystical and sometimes irrational sway over hotel guests:
It costs a US Hampton franchisee less than $5 per occupied room to furnish this cornucopia, but to a family of four, the perceived value is closer to $50, or roughly one-third of the average cost of a nightly stay. That math has helped power Hampton Inn’s unlikely rise to become the world’s largest lodging brand, with almost 350,000 rooms spread across 43 countries.
Shruti Gandhi Buckley, the Hilton executive who leads the Hampton Inn portfolio, added, “There’s something more dynamic about making your waffle and pouring the batter and the anticipation of it coming out hot and steamy.” Yes folks, the secret is in the waffle batter…
I used to be a frequent Hampton Inn guest too, back when I was loyal to Hilton. Why? Well, I liked the breakfast too. The powdered eggs and nasty waffle batter no longer appeal to me, but I do appreciate that the chain provides a clean and consistent product. And that’s the secret…that cookie-cutter almost boring reliability is what has propelled Hampton Inn to be on top.
Hilton’s main customers are not you or me, but the franchises that pay for the Hampton Inn name. That brings in business and allows a higher nightly rate than an unbranded hotel. Over the last 16 years, Hampton Inn has not only been the top brand for Hilton, but the top franchised hotel in the USA in terms of revenue (and made the CEO of Hilton a billionaire…). Even Barack Obama likes Hampton Inn…
Hilton bought Hampton Inn in 1999 and added touches that are still around today like those annoying alarm clocks and white bedding. But what really set it apart was that it became the first mid-tier hotel chain to offer a free hot breakfast.
These days, the layout and amenities at Hampton Inn are heavily driven by market research:
Hilton’s research also showed that the average guest resembles a slovenly teenager: They leave suitcases unpacked and do most of their laptop work in bed. In Herndon, designers removed the desks and took the doors off the wardrobes so guests wouldn’t forget their coats.
And indeed, it appears that Hampton Inn may be a very good investment, especially over time:
On the low end, an 89-room Hampton Inn costs $15 million to build in the US, not including the price of the land. But the returns are remarkable: The average Hampton location outperformed competitors by 21% in 2024.
CONCLUSION
Hampton Inn is now the world’s largest hotel chain. Analysts believe the free breakfast is a driver of this great success, though its pioneering of what so many mid-tier hotel chains now offer helped to give it an advantage that is has continued to maintain.
Were you aware Hampton was the largest hotel chain?
image: Hampton Inn // H/T: SINJim
Hilton didn’t buy Hampton from Holiday Inn.
I’m shocked that their estate is approximately double that of ibis, but on closer inspection it looks like they have a staggering 2400 properties in the USA out of a total 3k globally. That explains both their overall size and the fact that I don’t really see that many of them in the places that I visit.
The limited service hotel landscape in the US is MASSIVE. Lots of construction, oilfield, and blue-collar workers on assignment fill the rooms, as do traveling salesmen and consultants. The fact that anywhere outside of city centers is 100% car dependent makes these sprawling cookie cutter boxes necessary.
I always feel bad for unknowing Europeans who check in to these properties expecting international brand standards, only to be checked in by a surly and uninterested front desk agent, and given a key to a hotel that isn’t being maintained.
I knew they were the biggest brand in the Hilton portfolio but not the biggest hotel chain in the industry.
Not fancy but totally reliable – I dont hesitate to stay in them.
As FNT notes, Hilton didn’t buy Hampton from Holiday Inn. It bought Hampton’s parent, Promus Hotels, in 1999, though Promus itself was a spin-off of Holiday Corporation some years before that.
As someone who still road trips semi-frequently, Hampton is boring but has a few things going for it:
– They’re literally everywhere along the interstates
– They’re consistent
– The breakfast might not be great, but the ability to grab something on-site and hit the road is a huge convenience factor, since there’s no need to separately find a restaurant
The convenience factor is the bigger play than the breakfast itself IMO. Even 15-20 minutes back in my day is a big deal when I’ve got 600 miles ahead of me.
I haven’t stayed at a Hampton in 20 years but I find Holiday Inn Express to be one of the best roadside options. They’re generally newer and nicer than a full-service Holiday Inn and, in many markets, the Holiday Inn Express and maybe a Hampton are the only chain options. Sometimes there’s a Fairfield too. But Holiday Inn Express is almost always better than Fairfield and even a Courtyard.
My job requires me to stay at limited service hotels in the middle of nowhere all the time. To me, Hampton’s biggest problem is Hilton Honors. It’s simply not worth giving them any business I don’t have to give them.
All of these brands: Hyatt Place, Fairfield, Spring Hill, Hampton, HIX have really just let their standards go post-pandemic. The breakfast was always poor quality, but you’re lucky to have all items available nowadays. Gym equipment isn’t maintained, water coolers, ice machines, and elevators are always broken. Pools are closed. Lotion, conditioner, and hand soap are disappearing from the rooms. Corners are cut in cleaning.
…No wonder they’re so profitable.
It is a solid and reliable option that attracts a specific crowd. Same crowd that lines up at the drive thru of Mc Donald’s and Chick-fil-A for “breakfast” in the morning.
It’s interesting that ibis doesn’t seem to attract a ‘specific crowd’, you get all sorts of people there as it works differently for different groups- e.g. I’m happy to trade down from Novotel for one night stays whereas at the same time backpackers trade up from hostels for longer visits, tradespeople go if they can find cheap and/or secure van parking, consultants will tolerate it if it’s near a client site, young people living with parents treat it as a Western love motel etc.
What Hyatt Place could be….if they increased the number of locations. Disappointing that they aren’t aggressively, or even passively, trying to add to their footprint.
When our son was younger and we were happy to share a room and use the hotel as solely a sleeping place, we often stayed at Hampton’s and were fine with the meager breakfast offerings. Life has changed for us now but I can understand it’s general appeal.
Is it now a place to meet other swingers? Otherwise what more is a hotel?
Or are you just too good for them now?
The eggs aren’t powdered lol
They are nasty, though.