Leading hospitality chain Hilton Worldwide has expanded its footprint to 100 countries and territories around the world by raising the Hilton flag at the Hilton N’Djamena in Chad, a landlocked country in Central Africa.

In 2015, it was a record year for the global hotel company which opens nearly one hotel per day thus maintaining the industry’s largest pipeline, said a statement from Hilton Worldwide.

The company’s strategic focus on organic growth, led by 12 clearly-defined, market-leading brands, has resulted in Hilton continuing to be the largest and fastest growing global hospitality company, said its top official.

“Entering our 100th country is a testament to the strength of our brands, which continue to position Hilton Worldwide as the fastest-growing global hospitality company with a record pipeline of rooms,” remarked Christopher J. Nassetta, the president and CEO, Hilton Worldwide.

“We strive to be the first choice for our owners by driving the best returns, for our guests by providing a compelling brand for any travel need, and for our Team Members by creating a great place to work,” he stated.

Other achievements for the year include:

•A record 100,000+ rooms were signed for development, adding to an industry-leading pipeline of 275,000 rooms globally, half of which are under construction, representing nearly 20 per cent of all rooms under construction globally;
•More than 50,000 gross rooms were added, and more than 43,000 net rooms, representing 6.6% growth in the managed and franchised segment; and
•14,500 rooms were converted from competitors’ brands and independent hotels, representing nearly 30 per cent of all openings in 2015.

Last year Hilton Worldwide also created an estimated over 20,000 new hotel jobs as a result of managed and franchised properties opening in its portfolio besides welcoming more than 140 million visitors to the more than 4,600 owned, managed and franchised hotels and timeshare properties in its portfolio, said the company in a statement.

Since 2007, Hilton Worldwide has expanded by more than 50 percent and has successfully launched three new brands which collectively have nearly 60,000 rooms either open or in various stages of development, boosting the company’s growth.

To provide even more options for guests and owners, Hilton Worldwide will unveil a midscale brand later this month, which will add meaningfully to the company’s growth, it added.

In the Americas, the hospitality giant's largest market it was a record-breaking year for Hilton Worldwide, where the company signed a record over 500 approvals for development representing more than one deal per day and totaling 65,000 rooms signed.

Also in 2015, the company forayed into new markets in Latin America and the Caribbean (with 100 hotels now open) including Aruba, Bolivia and Guatemala.

In Europe, Middle East & Africa region, Hilton opened more than 7,000 rooms across Europe in 2015. It was also a monumental year for signings including Botswana and Armenia, said the company in its statement.

On its achievements in the Asia Pacific region, Hilton said it opened more than 5,000 rooms in the region for the third consecutive year.

There was significant growth across price points from luxury to limited service with market entries in several countries for Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton by Hilton, Embassy by Hilton and Hilton Hotels & Resorts.-TradeArabia News Service