Riyadh, 24th January, 2009: InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) and Ishraq Gulf Real Estate Holding Co. will further strengthen the Holiday Inn Express brand in the Gulf in 2009 with two new properties in the UAE and Bahrain.

Due to open in the summer in Dubai's Al Garhoud district, Holiday Inn Express Dubai Airport will offer 381 rooms. It will be the fourth Holiday Inn Express in the Emirate.

Holiday Inn Express Manama will be the brand's first venture in the Middle East outside Dubai. The 249-room property is expected to open in the third quarter of 2010.

IHG & Ishraq sees healthy demand for limited service hotels as high real estate prices and growing competition for travellers encourage the region's hospitality sector to diversify. The third Holiday Inn Express hotel - the Holiday Inn Express Dubai Jumeirah - opened last September.

John Bamsey, Chief Operating Officer, IHG, Middle East and Africa (MEA), said: "Delivering on our promise of Great Hotels Guests Love is about offering a diversity of choice to meet different customer expectations. Holiday Inn Express brings reliability and quality to the limited service sector - and the confidence that comes with one of world's best-known hotel names, Holiday Inn."

Bamsey said: "Globally, Holiday Inn Express is one of the fastest growing brands, opening an average of two hotels a week, with 1889 hotels and a further 728 hotels in the pipeline, worldwide.  We see great potential for the chain in the Middle East."

Both Holiday Inn Express properties will be operated by Ishraq Hospitality Management, a subsidiary of Ishraq Gulf Real Estate Holding Co., the exclusive developer of Holiday Inn Express hotels in the GCC, excluding Saudi Arabia. 

Sami Al Ansari, Chief Executive Officer, Ishraq Gulf Real Estate Holding BSC, said: "We're confident Holiday Inn Express Airport Dubai will continue the successful trend started by our three other properties in Dubai - and we're excited by the opportunities in Bahrain.

"We're fully committed to developing more than 20 Holiday Inn Express properties over the next five years in the region."

IHG announced in 2007 the worldwide relaunch of the Holiday Inn brand family (comprising Holiday Inn Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express and Express by Holiday Inn).   The US$1 billion relaunch is bringing improved consistency and service levels, as well as a more contemporary brand image and identity, to almost 3,200 hotels worldwide. The global relaunch is expected to be completed by the end of 2010.  

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About IHG
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is the world's largest hotel group by number of rooms.  IHG owns, manages, leases or franchises, through various subsidiaries, over 4,100 hotels and more than 600,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories around the world.  The Group owns a portfolio of well recognised and respected hotel brands including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites® and Candlewood Suites®, and also manages the world's largest hotel loyalty programme, Priority Club® Rewards with 40 million members worldwide.

IHG's portfolio within the UAE numbered 12 properties as of 30 September 2008, comprising three InterContinental, three Crowne Plaza, three Holiday Inn and three Express by Holiday Inn hotels

IHG's portfolio within Bahrain numbered two properties as of 30 September 2008, comprising one InterContinental and one Crowne Plaza hotels

IHG has more than 1,700 hotels in its development pipeline, which will create 200,000 jobs worldwide over the next few years.

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group's holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.

IHG offers information and online reservations for all its hotel brands at www.ihg.com and information for the Priority Club Rewards programme at www.priorityclub.com. For the latest news from IHG, visit our online Press Office at www.ihg.com/media

About the Holiday Inn Relaunch
To find out more about the relaunch, click here to read the news release on our corporate website, or visit the site at www.ihg.com/corporate.

About Ishraq:
Ishraq Gulf Real Estate Holding BSC ©, a company incorporated in Bahrain with Dubai-based headquarters, is the exclusive developer of the Express by Holiday Inn hotels in the entire GCC (With the exception of Saudi Arabia). Ishraq will develop more than 20 Hotels within a 5 year roll-out plan, Dubai International Capital LLC, the international investment arm of Dubai Holding is the major shareholder of ISHRAQ.

For more information, please visit the website: http://www.ishraqholding.com 

© Press Release 2009