BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (May 29, 2003) - Keith Hess has been named general manager of the Hilton Omaha. The 450-room downtown convention headquarters hotel is currently under development and is anticipated to open in April 2004. Hess most recently served as general manager of the Doubletree® Hotel Downtown Omaha, a position he has held since early 2002. He reports to Timothy Benolken, area vice president - North Central hotel operations for Hilton Hotels Corporation.
Celebrating his 20th year in the hospitality industry, Hess began his career in 1983 with the engineering department of the Hilton in the Walt Disney World® Resort in Orlando. During the next several years, he held managerial positions in food and beverage, front office and operations at Doubletree full-service hotels in Orlando, Jacksonville and St. Louis. From 1996-2002, Hess assumed the general manager positions at two Chicago area hotels—the Doubletree Club® Chicago O`Hare Airport and the Doubletree Guest Suites® Downers Grove.
A native of Pittsburgh, Hess is active in the Omaha community. He is currently a board member of both the Nebraska Hotel and Motel Association and the Nebraska Restaurant Association. Hess also is an active member of the Metropolitan Hospitality Association and the Downtown Omaha Rotary Club.
The Hilton Omaha will be one of the newest and most technologically advanced hotels in the Upper Midwest, when it opens its doors in Spring 2004. Located on the new 10th Street corridor, the main artery from Eppley Airfield to the downtown area, the Hilton Omaha will feature more than 30,000 square feet of flexible pre-function and meeting space for events of up to 900 people. The hotel will be connected by an enclosed, glass skybridge to the new 300,000 square-foot Omaha Convention Center and 17,500-seat Omaha Arena, which are both expected to open during the Fall of 2003.
Less than an hour`s non-stop flight from most major Midwest cities, the Hilton Omaha, the Omaha Convention Center and Arena are the cornerstones of Omaha`s extensive downtown riverfront revitalization. This revitalization brings new facilities such as the Gallup® World Headquarters, the 40-story First National Bank Tower, a new headquarters building for the Union Pacific® Railroad, as well as riverfront parks, pedestrian areas, and many new restaurants and shops.
Hilton Hotels Corporation is recognized internationally as a preeminent hospitality company. The company develops, owns, manages or franchises 2,100 hotels, resorts and vacation ownership properties. Its portfolio includes many of the world`s best known and most highly regarded hotel brands, including Hilton®, Conrad®, Doubletree®, Embassy Suites Hotels®, Hampton Inn®, Hilton Garden Inn® and Homewood Suites by Hilton®. For more information, please visit our corporate website at www.hiltonworldwide.com.
For more information on the newly developing Hilton Omaha, please contact the hotel`s pre-opening office at (402) 342-4313.

——-