Design, Art and Theatre in Hilton Hotels

Running head: DESIGN, ART AND THEATRE IN HILTON HOTELS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report intends to highlight the manner in which the usage of art, design and different
kinds of theatrical performances enhance the aspect of guest experience in the particular
context of Hilton Hotels. The report begins by offering a brief background information of the
Hilton Hotel and the kind of services that they offer. The report next discusses the manner in
which the concerned hotel chain takes the help of arts, designs and theatrical performances in
the particular context of the musical events, local events, movie events, “Sleep Amongst
Botanics” and other similar initiatives taken by the hotel. The report finally concludes by how
these entertainment services offered by the concerned hotel have enhanced the experience of
the guests and thereby enabled it to earn a higher amount of profitability. It is seen that these
services have helped the hotel to attain competitive advantage within the highly competitive
hospitality industry.

2DESIGN, ART AND THEATRE IN HILTON HOTELS
Introduction
As opined by Ellis et al. (2019), the hospitality industry in the present times had
undergone a substantial amount of transformation because of the commercialisation of the
services offered by them (p.117). Cheng et al. (2018) are of the viewpoint that the different
hotels and resorts are increasingly resorting to the usage of different kinds of entertainment
events so as to enhance the experience as well as satisfaction level of the guests (p.198). This
is important because of the fact that the financial returns or the profitability earned by the
different hotels or firms greatly depend on the kind of kind of services and also entertainment
options that they offer to the guests (Secchi, Roth and Verma 2018, p.157). For example,
hotels like Hilton, J.M. Marriott and others are actively taking the help of different kinds of
arts, theatre and other kinds of events for enhancing the experience of the guests during their
stay at the concerned hotels which in turn had enabled them to earn the loyalty as well as the
satisfaction of the guests in a significant manner. This in turn had not only significantly
enhanced the amount of financial returns earned by them but at the same time had helped
them to gain competitive advantage within the hospitality industry as well. This report will
analyse the impact of arts, theatre and design on the entity of guest experience in the
particular context of Hilton Hotels, Australia.
Overview of Hilton Hotel
Hilton Hotel, founded by Conrad Hilton in 1919 and headquartered in Virginia, USA,
is one of the most popular hotel and resort chains of the world (Hilton.com 2019). Presently,
the hotel is called by the name of “Hilton Hotels & Resorts” and specialises in offering a
wide range of hospitality services to the guests from all the over the world (Hilton.com
2019). More importantly, taking the help of the process of globalisation, the concerned hotel
chain had expanded its business into the different nations of the world and as a matter of fact

3DESIGN, ART AND THEATRE IN HILTON HOTELS
that the hotel chain under discussion here presently has more than 570 hotels and resorts in
around 85 nations of the world (Hilton.com 2019). One of the major reasons for the
unprecedented growth attained by the hotel chain under discussion here can be attributed to
the fact that the concerned hotel apart from offering traditional hospitality services to the
guests also offers a plethora of entertainment services to the guests as well during their stay at
the concerned hotels (Hilton.com 2019). More importantly, these entertainment services
which often involve design events, art events, theatrical performances, live music, celebrity
appearances and others have been much appreciated by the guests over the years and thereby
had enabled the concerned hotel chain to attain a unique position with the hospitality industry
as the hotel which apart from the hospitality needs of the guests also takes into account their
entertainment needs as well (Hilton.com 2019). This in turn had enabled the concerned hotel
chain to attain competitive advantage within the hospitality industry and also helped to gain a
higher amount of profitability in comparison to the other hotels and resorts.
Use of design, art and theatre in Hilton Hotels
Ali, Amin and Cobanoglu (2016) have stated that the business prospects of a hotel or
for that matter of the firms belonging to the hospitality industry greatly depends not only on
the kind of hospitality services that they offer but also on the kind of entertainment services
that they offer to the guests (p.471). As opined by Wang et al. (2018), this can be explained
on the basis of the fact that the entertainment industry is directly related to the hospitality
industry and the guests during their stay at the hotels or the resorts like to get some sort of
entertainment which is likely to make their stay at the hotel or the resort a memorable or a
remarkable one (p.171). More importantly, the guests during their stay at the resorts or the
hotels like to get away from the mundane or the routine life that they normally lead and it is
precisely here that the different kinds of entertainment events organised by the hotels or the
resorts become important (Tang et al. 2018, p.391). Furthermore, the hotels or firms also

4DESIGN, ART AND THEATRE IN HILTON HOTELS
have the opportunity to earn a higher amount of profitability by undergoing collaborations
with the entertainment service providers like artists, dramatists and others (Ellis et al. 2019,
p.114). In this regard, the Hilton Hotel is an important one since it is seen that the concerned
hotel organises on a regular basis different kinds of entertainment events so as to elevate the
experience of the guests during their stay at the concerned hotel.
Hilton Hotels over the years have developed their own unique brand of entertainment
services which although different from hotel to hotel and also from nation to nation yet are in
synchronicity with the needs or the requirements of the guests who opt for the hospitality
services offered by them (Hilton.com 2019). For example, the local community events that
the hotel chain regularly organises in its different hotels which not only highlight the cultural
traditions as well as the way of life of the local people but at the same time offer the much-
needed entertainment to the guests as well are a great source of entertainment for the guests
(Hilton.com 2019). The different kinds of cultural events, food events, boutique events and
others which the hotel chain regularly organises belongs to this category (Hilton.com 2019).
This is in complete contrast to the guest services or hospitality services offered by the hotel
chain Marriott Hotels, which focuses on maintain a professional environment within their
hotels and this in turn had significantly affected the profitability of the concerned hotel chain
in the present times (Getz and Page 2016, p.161).
Another important initiative of the concerned hotel chain in this regard to cater to the
entertainment needs of the guests is the “Fabulous Fox Theatre” initiative which was started
by it in the year 2004 (Hilton.com 2019). This feature of the concerned hotel chain initially
focused on the “the eclectic arts and entertainment district of Midtown Atlanta” however in
the present times it is seen that this initiative had been extended and different kinds of
movies, dramatical performances and others are being regularly organised by the concerned
hotel for entertaining the guests almost on a regular basis (Hilton.com 2019). In addition to