Hilton To Expand Huanying Program

Chinese citizens are already the world’s largest travel market. By 2020, according to Hilton the number of Chinese travelers is expected to explode to around 200 million. To cater to this group, Hilton has had a special program in place since 2011 that offers Chinese travelers a specialized experience. Called Hilton Huanying, it was first rolled out at 51 properties in 13 countries. The test program has been very successful, and to accommodate the upcoming population growth Hilton is expanding their Huanying program.

What does the Hilton Huanying program consist of? Participating locations (now expanding to 110 total Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, Hilton and DoubleTree by Hilton properties) will offer the following –

ARRIVAL EXPERIENCE

– Welcome note in Simplified Chinese
– 24-hour Mandarin interpretation service
– Mandarin speaking team member (at some properties)

GUEST ROOM AMENITIES

– Tea kettles
– Jasmine tea
– Slippers
– Dedicated Mandarin-speaking television channel

BREAKFAST EXPERIENCE

– Two varieties of congee (a kind of porridge) with condiments, hard boiled eggs, fried rice or fried noodles, dim sum, fried dough fritters and fresh fruit
– Chinese tea and soy milk
– Chopsticks, Chinese spoons and a soy sauce dish

Here’s a link to the current Huanying properties.

Here are the locations –

China- Hong Kong
South Korea- Seoul
Maldives- Maldives
Japan- Nagoya, Fukuoka, Tokyo, Osaka, Okinawa, Hokkaido, Naha
Thailand- Koh Samui, Phuket, Bangkok, Hua Hin, Pattaya
Singapore- Singapore
Indonesia Bali
United Arab Emirates- Dubai
Israel- Tel Aviv
Malaysia- Kuala Lumpur
Sri Lanka- Colombo
Turkey- Istanbul
United Arab Emirates- Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah
Vietnam- Hanoi
France- Paris
Netherlands- Amsterdam
Italy- Venice, Milan
United Kingdom- London
Germany- Munich, Dusseldorf,Austria, Vienna
Ireland- Dublin
Portugal- Algarve
Hungary- Budapest
United States- Chicago, Hawaii, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, Orlando, Miami, Guam
Canada- Vancouver
Australia- Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Cairns
New Zealand- Queenstown
Seychelles- Seychelles
Republic of Mauritius- Mauritius
South Africa- Johannesburg
Ethiopia- Addis

Regardless of the country the traveler is from, I think these small touches are a really neat way to make a hotel stay more like home to some. Although Chinese travelers are the highest population so the current customization makes sense for that group, it’d be a welcome touch if they opened the program to other countries’ travelers as well.

Rob Palleschi, global head or full service brands, Hilton Worldwide said, “Since being introduced in 2011…, Huanying has empowered more than a million Chinese travelers to explore new destinations with the comforts of home. We are very proud of this program, and the benefits are clear. Chinese travelers who stay at Huanying properties express a greater overall satisfaction in their hospitality experience.”

What do you think of the Huanying program? Have you stayed at a hotel that offers the program?