Hilton Worldwide is making great strides in expanding its global footprint and today is able to announce that it has the largest number of rooms under development across the region – with more than 15,000 in its active pipeline.

The latest STR Global research shows Hilton Worldwide ahead of its main rivals with 15,411 rooms in the active pipeline and 8,643 rooms under construction, which is 12.4 percent and 14 percent of the industry totals, respectively*.

Patrick Fitzgibbon, senior vice president of development Hilton Worldwide Europe, Middle East and Africa, said, "Significant investment in our brands and teams has seen a record-breaking 12 months for Hilton Worldwide in Europe and we are now positioned ahead of competitors. Over the past few years, brands that have been new to Europe have gained great momentum – and now have a considerable presence in key strategic development markets across the region, including the UK, Germany, Italy and Turkey. We've exceeded development targets in 2010 and have reason to be even more optimistic about the year ahead."

In Germany alone, Hilton Worldwide is bringing three new brands to market;
The economy brand Hampton by Hilton which was launched at the end of 2010; the luxury brand Waldorf Astoria Hotels and Resorts in Berlin; and Hilton Garden Inn which is due to open later this year within THE SQUAIRE, alongside Hilton Frankfurt Airport, complementing Germany's first Hilton Garden Inn, which opened in Stuttgart in 2006.

Hilton Worldwide has seen many other milestones surpassed in Europe recently, including:

• Doubletree by Hilton Varna – Golden Sands in Bulgaria took the honour of being the 200th hotel in the region, a significant achievement within the company's global growth plan and highlighting the growing popularity of the full service brand in Europe with 19 now open across the region.
• Fifty hotels were opened in the region over the last three years, with 20 percent of its European estate now comprised of newly introduced brands such as Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Doubletree by Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn and Hampton by Hilton.
• Twenty-two hotels were opened in 2010 with 3,366 rooms, and the development team signed management or franchise agreements on 47 hotels with more than 7,900 rooms – despite the drag from the economic downturn.
• These signings contributed to the increased pipeline for the company outside the U.S. by nearly 40 percent in 2010 in terms of number of rooms, with the Asia Pacific and Middle East & Africa regions combined increasing 52 percent.
• The percentage of its total pipeline of rooms outside the U.S. was also increased from 15 percent in 2007 to approximately 50 percent by the end of 2010, and the percentage of its rooms under construction outside the U.S. grew from 11 percent in 2007 to 73 percent by the end of 2010.

Hilton Worldwide currently operates 205 hotels across 30 countries in Europe. Key hotels due to open within the next 12 months include: London Syon Park, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel – UK, Conrad Algarve - Portugal, Hilton Baku – Azerbaijan, Hilton and Hampton by Hilton Bursa – Turkey and Doubletree by Hilton Oradea, Romania.