Hilton Tests Redesigns to Update 106-Year-Old Flagship Brand: Exclusive

The 106-year-old Hilton flagship brand wants to shed its legacy, corporate image, with local partnerships, better storytelling, and redesigned aesthetics. The challenge: pleasing both TikTok-using travelers and cost-conscious hotel owners.

In an exclusive interview, Leonard Gooz, brand leader, outlined some of the moves. The company is trying out its new ideas at the 36-story Hilton Arlington Rosslyn The Key, which will soft-open on Tuesday with 331 rooms.

The hotel, with its warm woods, ample natural light, and blue rugs evoking the nearby Potomac River, represents what Gooz hopes will become one of a few inspirational templates for opening 171 new Hiltons and gradually updating 612 existing ones worldwide. The property is even the first to showcase the brand's revamped logo.

Exterior view of the Hilton Arlington RoSslyn. The Key Hotel source: Hilton. Applying New Thinking

At the new hotel, the front desk sits in the middle of the lobby rather t