History
The first Doubletree Inn opened in Scottsdale, Arizona in 1969.[13] It was located on the grounds of Scottsdale Fashion Square and was built by Sam Kitchell.[2] The Doubletree Hotels Corporation merged with the Guest Quarters Hotels Partnership of Boston in December 1993.[14] The acquired all-suite hotels were rebranded as Doubletree Guest Suites hotels. The Doubletree Corporation later merged with the Promus Hotel Corporation in December 1997, bringing together the Doubletree, Red Lion, Hampton Inn, and Embassy Suites brands.[15] In December 1999, Hilton Hotels Corporation acquired Promus Hotel Corporation, which brought Doubletree Hotels and other Promus hotel brands under the umbrella of the newly renamed Hilton Worldwide.[16] In October 2010, Hilton Worldwide launched a logo and name rebranding for the chain, replacing the name "Doubletree" with "DoubleTree by Hilton".[17]
DoubleTree's strategy to grow the brand has been to convince operators of other brands to switch flags. This is in contrast to brands like Marriott or Sheraton, prior to its acquisition, which rely on new construction to grow their footprint. DoubleTree also provides lower cost options to improve properties, which help operators remain in the brand system.[18]
On November 2, 2019, DoubleTree Cookie became the first cookie baked in space as ISS Commander Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency baked the brand's cookie dough inside the prototype oven.
On October 31, 2024, workers at the San Jose-based Doubletree, which underwent a three day strike in September 2024,[19] were able to get new labor contracts.[20][21] From October to November 2024, workers at Doubletree's Seattle area Seatac and Boston-Cambridge locations would successfully wage strikes.[22][23][24][25][26][27]