For Subscribers

How Major Hotel Brands are Downsizing in All the Right Ways Hilton's low-budget offering, Tru, will start rolling out later this year. Check out how it will compare to the company's Hampton brand.

By Elaine Glusac

This story appears in the May 2016 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »

Photographs courtesy of Hampton Hotels & Tru by Hilton

Big hotel chains are going low-budget, appealing to workers for whom cost and cool are more important than cushy comfort. Hyatt's new Hyatt House in Denver offers local art and craft beer. Marriott's Moxy Hotels opened this April in New Orleans, with a photo booth in the lobby. And Hilton will begin rolling out Tru later this year, with rates starting at $90 per night. "The question was how to design a new hotel brand without thinking like a traditional hotel," says Phil Cordell, Hilton's global head of focused service. The answer: Think like a Starbucks, a community center and a modern office. So, what to expect? Here, we compare Tru to Hampton by Hilton, the brand's next step up.

Hampton


Rooms

The usual: four pillows, a white duvet and a bed skirt on a box-frame bed, plus a traditional desk, a dresser that doubles as a TV stand and a coffeemaker.


Lobby

A front desk, and then all that stuff you use when you have nowhere better to be -- living-room-like sitting area, dining area and 24-hour convenience store stocked with snacks and drinks.


Complimentary Breakfast

Basic and body-building: scrambled eggs, bacon, waffles, turkey sausage, hard-boiled eggs.


Work Spaces

Traditional business centers and meeting rooms, to put everyone to sleep.


Fitness Centers

Decent fitness centers -- and you might even get a pool, depending on the property.

Tru


Rooms

No desks (which go unused by bed-reclining laptop users) or dressers (there's an open closet with hangers and hooks) or box frame (platform beds instead). You do get a white duvet -- but only three pillows.


Lobby

A 25 percent bigger space with zones for work (laptop-friendly spaces), play (foosball and Ping-Pong tables), lounging (hammock chairs), drinking (wine in disposable wineglasses) and dining.


Complimentary Breakfast

Cute and customizable: a breakfast bar of basics -- Greek yogurt, bagels and so on -- plus a 30-item topping bar ranging from jam and cheese to sprinkles and frosting.


Work Spaces

There are semi-soundproof cubes and a printer in the lobby. Or gather a meeting at the stadium seating area near the Ping-Pong table.


Fitness Centers

Typically no pool -- did you ever use one anyway? But you'll get natural light from window walls and more mat space for yoga and stretching.

Chicago-based Elaine Glusac covers travel and transit for The New York Times and National Geographic Traveler.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Side Hustle

They Started a Side Hustle Producing an 'Obvious' Food Item. It Hit $300,000 Monthly Revenue Fast — On Track for Over $20 Million in 2025.

When Jason Rosenbaum and Hailey Swartz couldn't find the product they wanted to see on grocery store shelves, they took matters into their own hands.

Business Solutions

Tackle Big Goals With This Simple $10 Project Manager

Save time, money, and resources with a lifetime subscription to Microsoft Project 2021 Professional.

Marketing

The PR Playbook Every Emerging Brand Needs — But No One Talks About

The unglamorous (but necessary) work that makes press coverage possible.

Franchise

4 Reasons Why Local Entrepreneurship Is the Secret Weapon of Great Franchises

Community-driven leaders not only strengthen customer relationships but also innovate and elevate the brand, proving that the best franchises are built on the foundation of trust, collaboration and local intuition.

Growing a Business

Can't Get an Email Back? These 7 Tips Will Make Sure You Get a Response Every Time

Whether you're trying to get someone to email you back, slide out of the DM void or simply have a real human moment amid all the noise, these tips will get people to actually respond.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.