This past Thursday Hilton executives were in Central Florida to hold a groundbreaking ceremony for their new 1500 room facility which will operate under both the Waldorf-Astoria and Hilton names. The facility is being constructed adjacent to Fairfield’s Bonnet Creek timeshare, just south of Walt Disney World.
This will be just the second hotel to carry the “Waldorf-Astoria” name, but it signals the start of a new worldwide branding plan for Hilton. Quoting an article from the Orlando Sentinel’s Christopher Boyd:
“'We are looking at every major city in the world,’ said David Greydanus, senior vice president for brand management with Hilton's The Waldorf-Astoria Collection. ‘Our goal is for people to think not only of the Waldorf-Astoria in New York, but of the Waldorf-Astoria as a brand.’”
The development, scheduled to open in late-2009, will include 498 rooms under the Waldorf name, 1000 rooms under the Hilton name and 125,000 sq ft of shared meeting space.
Source: Orlando Sentinel
