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 from Holiday 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