Nationwide Survey Shows Today's Kids Are Environmentally Savvy; Doubletree Teaching Kids to CARE(R) Spring Initiative Provides Grade School Students with a Fun Way to Learn about Environmental Responsibility.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Kids across America are turning off the lights, shutting off the water and recycling their trash! According to the findings of the "Caring About America" survey conducted on behalf of Doubletree Hotels (NYSE:HLT), ninety-nine (99) percent of kids ages six to eleven surveyed across the country believe that it's important to take care of the environment.

According to the survey, unlike previous generations, today's kids are quick to conserve energy by turning off the lights when they leave a room (83 percent), conserve water by turning off the tap when they're brushing their teeth (84 percent) and recycle (82 percent), giving Mom and Dad fewer things to remind them about. A majority of those kids surveyed (65 percent) even report bringing their lunch to school in a reusable container.

The brand's third "Caring About America" survey reinforces the latest environmental education initiative that has recently been undertaken by Doubletree Hotels for their award-winning Teaching Kids to CARE(R) community outreach program. Through a unique relationship with The National Arbor Day Foundation(R), more than 160 Doubletree hotels across the U.S. and Canada are teaming up with local schools to share lessons on environmental education with more than 10,000 six-to-eleven-year-olds in a fun and interactive classroom environment this spring.

"Our latest 'Caring About America' survey proves that students care about the environment and Doubletree is providing a fun and interactive way for students to learn more about environmental awareness," said Dave Horton, senior vice president, brand management for Doubletree. "By teaching and empowering children at an early age how easy it is to practice the environmental three Rs every day, we also can remind thousands of adults that reducing, reusing and recycling will ensure a better quality of life for future generations."

Given that 96 percent of those parents whose kids were surveyed believe it's important to teach kids about caring for the environment, it's no surprise that third graders are getting the message -- and viewing themselves as an active part of the process. When kids were asked during the survey who helps protect the environment, parents came in first (31 percent), while kids and the President of the United States were close ties (27 and 26 percent respectively).

Additional survey findings include:

--What Do Kids Worry About? - Most kids surveyed worry about pollution (68 percent), animal extinction (62 percent) and trash (59 percent) as well as acid rain (31 percent) or the ice caps melting (26 percent).

--Who is teaching them? - Students are learning just as much about environmental education from their teachers as from their parents. Kid respondents reported that it's just as likely to be Mom and Dad (79 percent), who's teaching them that caring for the environment is important, as a teacher (78 percent).

--Over the River and Through the Woods - While almost half the kids surveyed (47 percent) rank an ocean or lake as their favorite part of the environment, more than a third (37 percent) prefer trees; a smaller group (11 percent) meanwhile, counts the sky as their favorite part of the environment.

--Listen up! - Grade school kids are also listening in science class. A whopping 84 percent understand that trees are important to the environment because they provide oxygen for us to breathe.

At the core of the Doubletree Teaching Kids to CARE program is an educator-approved lesson plan designed in conjunction with the National Arbor Day Foundation to encourage kids to begin making conscious decisions about the environment and what they can do to help protect the world they live in.

By discovering and implementing the practices of the environmental three Rs (Reuse, Reduce and Recycle), students will work hand in hand with their teachers and Doubletree hotel volunteers to turn collected trash into artistic treasures known as "litter critters." These "critters," created from ordinary household products, encouraged students to develop essays that discuss the positive impacts for these animals that can come from practicing the environmental three Rs in their everyday lives.

As a second, reinforcing lesson, kids will plant more than 10,000 seedling trees in self-decorated planters made from recycled milk cartons. The kids will then be charged with taking care of the trees, until they're large enough to re-plant in their own communities.

Students from more than 150 communities across North America are expected to participate in these Teaching Kids to CARE activities that will take place from April 20 through June 30.

For more information on the Doubletree Teaching Kids to CARE program, please visit the program's website at www.doubletree.com/teachingkidstocare.

About the Doubletree "Caring About America" Survey

The Doubletree "Caring About America" Survey was conducted in March 2006 by Kelton Research. The survey polled 400 parents and 400 pre-teens (ages six to 11-years old) across the U.S. to learn more about the attitudes and actions of parents and kids on the environment and taking care of it.

NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information on the Teaching Kids to CARE events happening in your communities from April 15 through June 15, please call Thomas Wingham at 310.205.3381 or Laura Kinsman at 310.967.2900.