I'm not so familiar with the Hilton group but I do see Doubletrees popping up everywhere. How come they are increasingly popular and adding so many properties in such a short amount of time?

I noticed that the one that's near me that's been around for ages recently had "BY HILTON" added after the Doubletree logo on the top of the building. So they're definitely trying to do something with the brand.

It seems to be the case that hotels that are so tatty that they are too ashamed to called them Hiltons any more are re-branded Doubletree. The former Hilton in Luxembourg is a case in point.

I am not seeing that. I find that I am seeing more and more new HGIs, many adjacent to or very near Hamptons.

Yeah, this happened to the one near me as well.

Also, I think the cookies play a big role in how well the brand is doing (seriously.) They seem to be a hit with all the guests.

My impresssion:

DoubleTree is often a brand they use for conversions (hotels which used to be in another program). So in areas where hotels change programs a lot, DoubleTree is likely to be the brand.

In areas where there are new builds, they're less likely to be the brand, and HGI may be more common there.

+1 ^^

Those cookies are great! You can even buy a gift box of them to take home with you.
Personally, I love them and so do my kiddos.

Do NOT look too closely at their nutritional profile. I once had a former Doubletree employee implore me not to eat the cookies... "You have no idea how bad they are for you!"

But right now the cookies are all that's holding the brand together. They've just been through a big logo refresh and they're doing some marketing. But in truth Doubletree is a catch-all for random properties of all types. Some scruffy, some great. From motels to resorts. Doubletree as a brand story doesn't mean anything. It's the one brand in the Hilton family that is a floater, with no strong profile, and they don't know what the hell to do with it. It's like Hilton's Oldsmobile. They could kill it tomorrow and it wouldn't hurt the Hilton proposition much.

Yeah, I love them too They might actually be the best cookies I've ever had!

DT is the biggest mish-mosh of properties in the HH family. There are great properties like the Fess Parker Santa Barbara resort and then there are numerous DT Club properties and worn-out regular DT properties that are awful. And the cookies do indeed taste good but are absolute poison to your body.

Definitely what I noticed. They're converting a hotel by the Tucson Airport that will become a DoubleTree. There's also one in London being converted to a DoubleTree.

Depends on the property, but I find them to be decent overall.

I noticed this week that the paper sleeves now include nutritional information on the back. Something like 40% average daily value of saturated fat in one cookie.

Ugh, every time I stay at a DT I go back to the counter over and over again. I swear I gain 5lbs/stay!

It might be hard but I would suggest eating half a cookie one day and the other half the next day. It's still not that healthy but not so bad if you only have it once in a while.

The 15-page guide on how to raise the DT Flag: http://www.hiltondevelopment.com/dl/...tree-guide.pdf