Hampton, the national brand of mid-priced Hampton Inn and Hampton Inn & Suites hotels, announced today it has broken ground on its newest hotel prototype, a 75-room Hampton Inn & Suites located in Tampa, Fla. The new prototype was designed to showcase the brand’s “Make it Hampton” initiative that significantly raises the standards of the upper-mid-market, focused-service hotel segment, coupled with additional new structural design elements.

“The highly successful ‘Make It Hampton’ program, the first phase of which has been completed in nearly 1,300 existing hotels, is raising the bar for the mid-market hotel segment and giving Hampton hotels a leg up on the competition, particularly older brands that have neglected to maintain levels of guest and quality satisfaction,” said Phil Cordell, senior vice president, Hampton brand management. “Together with the first-phase ‘Make it Hampton’ elements, all new Hampton Inn and Hampton Inn & Suites hotels approved as of the end of first quarter 2004 and moving forward will feature the new prototype design, including additional structural changes that will appeal greatly to guests.”

Representing the first prototype hotel, Hampton Inn & Suites Tampa will incorporate “Make It Hampton” elements in all areas of the hotel, from the point of entrance and hallways to guest and bathrooms. It will introduce several new features, including: hallways will be six-feet wide, a foot larger than traditional Hampton hotels, to allow guests more room for luggage handling; bathrooms will feature new, open-under-counter wood vanities with storage shelves, as well as new silver fixtures, and most showers will be walk-in and contain new signature shower curtains with a see-through section near the top to allow more light, as well as a curved shower bar that provides additional room.

Guest rooms will be wider and more square than the customary rectangular room, and measure 14 x 24 feet versus the standard 12 x 26 feet. Beds now will be placed against the bathroom wall, as opposed to the center of the largest wall, creating more living space. With that goal in mind, the television and chest of drawers also will be placed strategically in the far corner of the room.

“We are very proud to be the first hotelier to develop this new Hampton hotel prototype. We had already completed our plans for another hotel, but decided to take the extra time and effort to be the first to break ground on this new version,” said Ford Smith, president, BayStar Hotel Group—owner/operator of the hotel. “Guests visiting our property will receive the same benefits they have come to associate with Hampton, including: complimentary high-speed Internet access, complimentary hot breakfast, and the consistent friendly service experience that has made the brand a segment leader.”
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