MCLEAN, VA—Hilton Worldwide has entered into an exclusive license agreement with Plateno Hotels Group, one of China's leading hospitality groups, to rapidly launch and develop the Hampton by Hilton brand in China. With this agreement, Hampton plans to have over 400 deals signed, with the first hotel expected to open by the end of 2015. Hampton by Hilton is a leader in the mid-priced hotel segment with nearly 2,000 properties in 17 countries. Plateno Hotels Group operates five brands with a portfolio of over 3,000 hotels in 300 cities across China and operates China's largest hotel loyalty program.

“We expect that this partnership will allow us to accelerate our efforts to gain broad geographic and chain scale distribution in China, enabling us to access a large, growing customer base for both in country and outbound business,” said Jim Holthouser, executive vice president, global brands, Hilton Worldwide. “Our five existing brands in China are growing at a rapid pace, and after extensively researching the market, we've seen an untapped opportunity to grow in the upper economy to mid-scale category. We're now seizing the opportunity to introduce the Hampton by Hilton brand at scale with an unprecedented partnership with Plateno Hotels Group.”

China has a growing demand for the mid-scale hotel market and has a low supply of 3- to 3.5-star hotels. Hampton has designed a 3-star hotel prototype to fit top-tier cities in China, serving value-conscious, quality-driven business and leisure travelers. Hampton by Hilton's portfolio in China will be a mixture of new builds, conversions and adaptive reuse properties. Plateno Hotels Group will lead the development and management of the hotels.