Hampton Names Kurt Smith Senior Director, Product and Service Development
	Hampton announced that it has named Kurt Smith senior director, product service and development, leading up a team of six people.
In his new role, Smith will be responsible for developing and implementing new product and service standards as well as the global development strategy for the hotel brand. 'Kurt is continuing to enjoy a productive and prosperous industry career, highlighted by his leadership role within the Hampton information technology department,' said Phil Cordell, senior vice-president, Hampton brand management. 'He has played a critical role with our hotel performance support team and most recently added invaluable insight and contribution towards our international development strategy, from service design to standards. We are confident that Kurt will continue to excel in his new position.' Prior to being named senior director, Smith held a variety of increasingly important positions within the company, most recently serving in the role of director, global brand integration, where he developed and communicated the direction and implementation of brand strategies and resources in countries targeted for global brand growth. Before that, he was appointed director, hotel performance support for the Hampton brand. In this role, he provided consultative support to a 130-hotel portfolio of Hampton Inn(R) and Hampton Inn & Suites(R) hotels in the states of North Carolina and Virginia. Previously, he was resident manager of a competitive hotel in Evanston, Ill. Smith received his Bachelor of Science degree with a concentration in Management and Criminal Justice from Indiana University. About Hampton Hotels Hampton, which includes Hampton Inn and Hampton Inn & Suites hotels, is a mid-priced leader in the lodging segment. Hampton is part of Hilton Hotels Corporation (NYSE:HLT), the leading global hospitality company, with more than 2,800 hotels and 480,000 rooms in 76 countries and territories, including 100,000 team members worldwide.