ISTANBUL, Turkey, July xx, 2008: Hilton Hotels Corporation has today announced the signing of two Management Agreements with the Kosifler Group to open Hilton Garden Inn properties in the Turkish cities of Mardin and Sanliurfa. These hotels form part of a non-exclusive Strategic Development Agreement (SDA) recently announced with the Kosifler Group to develop approximately 25 new properties (comprising 3,500 rooms) in key regional locations across the country.

“With the signing of these two new hotels, the expansion of our award winning mid-priced Hilton Garden Inn brand is now gathering significant momentum in Turkey as we look to triple our presence in just five years“ said Wolfgang M. Neumann, President of Hilton Hotels - Europe. “With demand for quality mid-market hotels in Turkey continuing to grow, we are looking forward to building on our alliance with Kosifler to accelerate our expansion plans and quickly establish Hilton Garden Inn as one of the country’s leading hotel brands.”

Welcoming this announcement, Hasan Kosif, President of the Kosifler Group commented: ”We are delighted to have signed these two new hotels, which highlight the real progress we are now making since announcing our partnership with Hilton Hotels Corporation."

The hotels in Mardin and Sanliurfa, which are set to open in 2010, represent the second and third Turkish Hilton Garden Inn™ management contracts to be signed with the Kosifler Group, following the recent signing of the Hilton Garden Inn property in Kutahya. With further Hilton Garden Inn projects under development in Diyarbakir, Bursa and Manisa, Hilton Hotels Corporation now has a total of six Hilton Garden Inn projects under development in Turkey all of which it will manage.

Hilton has named Turkey as one of its key development regions, joining Russia, the UK & Ireland, Italy, the Iberian Peninsula, Germany and Poland as core strategic areas for the introduction of the Hilton Family of hotels in Europe.

Today’s news reflects the dynamic growth of the innovative Hilton Garden Inn™ brand across Europe, with plans to introduce properties in 11 new locations (Bari, Lecce, Milan and Bologna in Italy; Rzeszow in Poland; Frankfurt, Germany; Perm, Russia; Bursa, Manisa, Diyarbakir and Kutahya in Turkey over the next 24 months. 

Hilton currently operates eight properties - seven Hilton™ hotels and one Conrad™ hotel - across six locations in Turkey. Over the next five years, the company anticipates it will open more than 40 Hilton Family hotels across the country.

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About Kosifler Group
Kosifler Group was established in 1945 and operates in a wide range of sectors extending from domestic trade and imports to manufacture and construction. The company first entered the automotive sector with the founding of Kosifler Oto in 1985. Pioneering a brand new level of service in automobile sales and aftersales in keeping with the Group's commitment to excellence in all its endeavors, Kosifler Oto has built its success and steady growth on a basis of quality and reliability. The Group has an annual turnover of US$100m (2006) and total employees of 300.

About Hilton Hotels Corporation
Hilton Hotels Corporation is the leading global hospitality company, with more than 3,000 hotels and 500,000 rooms in 74 countries and territories, including 135,000 team members worldwide. 

The company owns, manages or franchises a hotel portfolio of some of the best known and highly regarded brands, including Hiltonâ, Conradâ Hotels & Resorts, Doubletreeâ, Embassy Suites Hotelsâ, Hampton Innâ, Hampton Inn & Suitesâ, Hilton Garden Innâ, Hilton Grand Vacationsâ, Homewood Suites by Hiltonâ and The Waldorf=Astoria Collection™. 

The Hilton Family of Hotels adheres to founder Conrad Hilton’s philosophy that, “It has been, and continues to be, our responsibility to fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality.”  The company put a name to its unique brand of service that has made it the best known and most highly regarded hotel company:  be hospitable®. The philosophy is shared by all nine brands in the Hilton Family of Hotels, and is the inspiration for its overarching message of
kindness and generosity.

For more information about our company, please visit www.hiltonworldwide.com, and to learn more about our be hospitable philosophy, please visit www.behospitable.com

Media Enquiries:

Hilton Hotels
Nicola McShane                                               Iain Wearmouth
Director of Communications Europe                 Communications Manager Europe
Tel:+44 (0)207 856 8077                                  Tel:+44 (0)207 856 8547                       
Email: nicola.mcshane@hilton.com                   Email: iain.wearmouth@hilton.com