Featured photo: HGI Flint Downtown Exterior – Photo Credit HGI Flint Downtown
During a year filled with uncertainty, Hilton Garden Inn continued to demonstrate growth in 2020 by opening 43 new hotels with nearly 6,500 rooms as the brand reached nearly 900 properties worldwide. Entering new and emerging markets such as Camden, N.J.; Flint, Mich.; and the Faroe Islands, these Hilton Garden Inn openings brought opportunities to revitalize communities and pioneer new travel markets during one of the most challenging years in history.
Hilton Garden Inn Flint Downtown opened in November 2020 and reinvigorates the city’s skyline by restoring a historic 100-year-old building that was vacant for decades, bringing much-needed accommodations downtown. Located in the former 1920s-era bank, the hotel features Italian Renaissance Revival architectural style with Art Deco elements, a coffee shop, a seasonal rooftop and a restaurant called Sauce Italian American Kitchen, which incorporates Michigan-made ingredients in its fare.
As Hilton moves into its next century, it is building on its momentum and strengthening its collective impact through the Hilton Effect Foundation. To further emphasize Hilton Garden Inn’s commitment to jump-start impact in local communities, the Hilton Effect Foundation will be issuing grants to three local nonprofit organizations: Cathedral Kitchen (Camden, N.J.), the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan (Flint, Mich.) and Tórsbyrgi (Faroe Islands). Each nonprofit’s mission ladders up to Hilton’s Travel with Purpose 2030 Goals, through which Hilton is committed to doubling its investment in social impact and cutting its environmental footprint in half by 2030.
“Each of these Hilton Garden Inn hotels will make the communities they serve stronger than before they opened by creating opportunities for employment, attracting more guests to these areas, and investing time and energy to directly support those around them,” said Kate Mikesell, vice president, corporate responsibility, Hilton and president, Hilton Effect Foundation.
These actions ultimately align with the foundation’s goal of creating a better world to travel,” Mikesell added. “The foundation worked with each of these local hotel teams to identify initial investments we can make to jump-start Hilton Garden Inn’s impact in these communities–creating job skills training opportunities through Cathedral Kitchen in Camden, addressing food insecurity and waste with the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan in Flint and increasing locally produced and sourced food with Tórsbyrgi in the Faroe Islands.”
The Hilton Effect Foundation made an initial investment to the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan for $5,000, which will allow the organization to provide 30,000 meals to local Flint residents. The grant is intended to help support the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan’s mission to support hunger need in the Flint community, in addition to kick-starting a future relationship with Hilton Garden Inn Flint Downtown and the hotel team.
As Hilton Garden Inn responds to the COVID-19 pandemic, some services and amenities have been adjusted in order to adhere to health and safety guidance from local government. To emphasize the brand’s commitment to the health and safety of guests, these properties are participating in Hilton CleanStay to deliver an industry-defining standard of cleanliness and disinfection. Hilton’s elevated processes and team member training have been developed with RB, maker of Lysol and Dettol, to help Hilton Garden Inn guests enjoy an even cleaner and safer stay from check-in to check-out.
The Hilton Effect Foundation is Hilton’s primary international philanthropic arm. The foundation is a nonprofit established in the U.S. and is a registered 501(c)3 charitable organization. The foundation awards grants, in alignment with Hilton’s Travel with Purpose 2030 Goals, that have a positive impact on travel destinations around the world. Foundation grants are awarded throughout the year in accordance with tax and legal requirements. Visit HiltonEffect.org for more information.
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People in need of help can visit FBEM.org for a calendar with upcoming food distributions and other resources.
