Hilton Launches Incubator to Fast-Track Guest Innovations

Hilton announced the opening of its Innovation Gallery, a first-of-its-kind incubator and experiential showcase for cutting-edge product developments that will shape the future of Hilton hospitality.

Open to invited guests including Hilton Team Members, hotel owners and technology partners, the 4,300-square-foot gallery brings together all elements of Hilton's innovation process. It is a physical space where conversations between thought leaders, design experts and hospitality professionals deliver new products and solutions for Hilton's guests.

Located next to Hilton's global headquarters at Hilton McLean Tysons Corner, and designed by the LAB at Rockwell Group, the award-winning architecture firm's in-house design innovation studio, the gallery showcases a variety of technologies, design elements and dining concepts, ranging from noise-cancellation and sleep-inducing devices for guestrooms to more functional and sustainable materials. The products on display have been recently launched or are under testing, with many developed through Hilton's partnerships with companies in various industries, including IBM, LG, Amazon and Tesla.

"Innovation has been in Hilton's DNA since entrepreneur Conrad Hilton purchased his first hotel and pioneered the industry nearly a century ago," said Jon Witter, Hilton's Chief Customer Officer. "Today, we honor our legacy of innovation with the opening of the Hilton Innovation Gallery - a space for us to incubate, test, scale and showcase the products and processes we're creating to enhance our guests' experiences and redefine the future of hospitality."

The Innovation Gallery Experience

Hilton has created an immersive experience in the gallery, which mirrors the guest's experience of a hotel by embedding custom architecture, experiential technologies and cutting-edge materials throughout. Upon entering the space, visitors will make their way through five experiences including: 

• Product Showcase: A space for visitors to interact with physical and virtual products that Hilton is exploring for use in hotels. Examples of current installations include Nightingale, a noise-masking product; Somabar, a personal mixology solution; Meural, a customizable digital art display; and Pilot, a real-time translation solution. 
• Food & Beverage Concept Studio: This show kitchen offers an opportunity to experience and showcase the latest restaurant concepts developed by Hilton's Food and Beverage team, along with technology to film and webcast.
• Virtual Reality (VR) Stage: A dedicated space for visitors to use virtual reality headsets to experience new Hilton concepts. At launch, visitors will be able to view model rooms from two of Hilton's newest brands, Tru by Hilton and Canopy by Hilton.
• Darkroom: A progressive model guestroom dedicated to showing cutting-edge material technologies that have the potential to yield better quality, sustainability, design interest and operational returns.
• Innovation Theater: The nucleus of the gallery serves as a gathering space to brainstorm, collaborate and intersect around innovative ideas. The design highlights the functionality and social aspects of a modern gathering space while leveraging immersive high-end presentation technology solutions for sound and lighting.

Hilton designed the Innovation Gallery to showcase its culture of creativity and continuous drive to employ meaningful innovations that ease and enhance every aspect of the guest experience, from smartphone capabilities such as Digital Key to rooms enabling integrated entertainment. The space also showcases the company's focus on creating new hotel brands that match travelers' specific needs, such as Tru by Hilton for young-of-heart travelers seeking an energetic but relaxing environment and Canopy by Hilton, a modern boutique lifestyle brand.