“Hilton is not going to be the brand your father stayed at,” declared Hilton Hotels & Resorts global brand head Dave Horton Tuesday during a media tour of the newly renovated lobby at the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner.

Horton was there to talk about the stunning new lobby design, just one of 25 initiatives to Hilton Worldwide’s five-year strategic plan to revamp its 92-year-old flagship brand. As described by CEO Chris Nassetta during an exclusive interview with Lodging Hospitality last year, the intensive global review of the brand dubbed H360 aims “to make sure Hilton is as relevant tomorrow as it once was 20 or 30 years ago.”

Horton revealed more details about H360 Tuesday, saying the five pillars of it are clean, smart and functionally relevant guestrooms; new restaurant concepts elevating Hilton’s F&B outlets to more than focus-service-type offerings; improved community spaces like the Hilton McLean’s new lobby; respecting and honoring the brand’s best guests through Hilton Honors; and “showing people we care” through a global brand culture. “Innovation is in the blood of our brand,” he said.

Is it a repositioning, he was asked? “Yes.” A mandate? “Yes.”

“H360 is about making the brand more relevant, fresher and more vibrant than ever before,” Horton said.

Sense of Arrival
Although glimpses of the new guestrooms and a taste of the new restaurant Harth were offered, the lobby was the star of the show Tuesday at the corporate-owned property next door to Hilton Worldwide’s global headquarters.

“The goal was to breathe life into a place that had become transitional space all about checking in and going to your room,” explained Larry Traxler, Hilton Worldwide’s senior vice president of global design services.

The new lobby experience was created as part of a $40-million renovation at the hotel and features a stylish and flexible layout mixing opportunities to socialize, relax and work. An 18-hour bar under a spectacular art display evolves during the day to offer coffee and breakfast pastries in the morning, different grab-and-go items for lunch and a menu of handcrafted cocktails, regional wines and beers, flatbreads and other small plates of food later in the day.

Multiple seating arrangements of various heights and designs surround the bar throughout the lobby, allowing for different activities and uses. A combination of art elements and TVs are interspersed for viewing pleasure.

The Technology Lounge is Hilton’s take on the traditional business center and offers more individual workstations and communal spaces for socializing or meeting. Hard not to miss are the four 60-inch screens from LG Electronics that can show different programs or combine to show one program on what would amount to a 120-inch screen. Hidden outlets offer plenty of opportunities for guests to connect, while two Macs and two PCs offer computers for those without their own.

Click here to see a video from Hilton unveiling and explaining the new lobby.

The new lobby is not and will not become a prototype for the other 539 Hilton hotels and resorts worldwide, instead becoming part of the brand DNA, said Horton.

“Every lobby needs to have the components of social and communal, meeting and productivity, relaxation and connectivity,” he said.

But what may work in McLean, VA likely won’t work in Venice, Italy, and an exact replica of the new lobby won’t be mandated. Instead certain elements, like the Technology Lounge, will become part of Hilton’s standards, but they can be interpreted locally and with help from Traxler and Hilton’s design team.

Differing Degrees of H360
A similar approach is being taken with Hilton’s new guestroom designs, which are underway and part of the renovation in McLean. Model rooms showed a cleaner, less cluttered and more functional design approach. A sliding barn door into the bathroom frees up space and also serves as a full-length mirror. All white beds no longer feature a colored bed skirt or scarf. A pebble floor in the shower adds a touch of spa.

Härth, the new three-meal restaurant concept debuting in McLean, is one of eight or nine new restaurant concepts Hilton is working on for its portfolio, said Horton. A bistro concept will debut in New York later this year and another new restaurant will open in Chicago as well. A large wood-burning oven is central to the open kitchen design at Härth, which serves a fresh and contemporary take on American comfort foods.

“We’re designing multiple guestrooms, too,” Horton said. “The point is we’ve got solutions for every hotel, new build or conversion.”

When and how the new Hilton evolves remains to be seen. As open as the lobby was, the rest of the story remains to be told. Horton hinted at more significant changes coming with H360, but was tightlipped on exactly what and when.

Horton said the approximate 130 Hiltons under development would be built using the new design DNA and 118 of the existing properties in the process of significant property improvement plans—guestroom, restaurant and lobby renovations—would use it as well, meaning roughly “40% of the brand is transforming under our current thinking,” he said.

With just those PIPs alone, he said, more than $3 billion would be spent on the brand. The remaining properties would evolve over time with annual capital expenditures and upcoming PIPs.

“Three years down the road,” Horton said, “you’ll see a brand completely transformed.”