Sixty percent of the group leads that come into the Hilton Family of Hotels is for 25 rooms or fewer, and in December the company launched an online technology it hopes can help those buyers: e-Events Small Group Product.

The new tool allows planners to book five to 25 guest rooms online, with real-time confirmation. The contract is executed online and secured with a credit card. The ability to reserve meeting rooms, as well as order food and beverage and basic audiovisual, is expected to be added this spring.

In a separate technology move, Hilton's new Guest List Manager tool gives planners some control over their rooming lists. Planners can book multiple reservations online, view and manage the group lists, and view room-count summaries for a particular room block.

These tools are available through www.hiltonfamily.com and work with all the Hilton brands.