London, 24 October 2007: InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) yesterday announced a worldwide relaunch of the Holiday Inn® brand family, which comprises Holiday Inn, Express by Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express®.
All Holiday Inn hotels will be required to implement the relaunch programme to create a more contemporary brand image, increase quality and drive consistency. The relaunch will incorporate a new service promise, a redesigned welcome experience as well as refreshed guestrooms. The new brand signage will be installed at hotels once they have successfully implemented the relaunch programme, resulting in a refreshed and contemporary brand image. All Holiday Inn hotels currently open or under development are expected to have implemented the relaunch programme by the end of 2010, with the first new-look 'show-case' hotels expected in major markets from spring 2008.
As part of this process all Express by Holiday Inn hotels across Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA) and Asia Pacific will become Holiday Inn Express properties in line with those in the Americas. By making the global branding of Holiday Inn consistent, IHG can ensure customers and owners in each of our markets benefit from a level of investment and experience in innovation and design, while ensuring that the important distinctions between the brand identities and their target audience are maintained.
Established in 1952, Holiday Inn is one of the world's most recognised hotel brands with more than 400,000 rooms (3,125 hotels) open and a development pipeline of more than 110,000 rooms (942 hotels). This development pipeline continues to grow rapidly, with more than 16,000 rooms signed in the third quarter of 2007, a 6% increase on Q3 2006.
In EMEA IHG has an operating portfolio of 330 Holiday Inn (51,458 rooms) and 176 Express by Holiday Inn (18,323) properties, with 115 hotels in the combined development pipeline. Holiday Inn is the largest full-service hotel brand in the UK, with 116 hotels (17,300 rooms), and also the number one hotel for business travel in Europe. The Holiday Inn brand first entered Europe in Leiden, The Netherlands, in 1968, with the first UK property opening in Leicester in 1971. Express by Holiday Inn, voted 'Best budget' hotel chain seven times since 2000 in the Business Traveller Awards, currently numbers 109 properties (11,322) in the UK.
Announcing this to an audience of over 4,500 hotel owners, managers and investors at IHG's annual Americas conference in Dallas, Andrew Cosslett, IHG's Chief Executive Officer, said: "This is an important moment in Holiday Inn's history. The brand is the largest and one of the most successful in the hotel industry and its relaunch will ensure that this position is maintained. We have spent a considerable amount of time getting the facts and the insights to enable us to make these changes in partnership with our owners. The Holiday Inn sign is seen by hundreds of millions of people every day around the world. The changes we are making will ensure the Holiday Inn brand goes forward into the future with a strong and confident new image. We want our guests to get as much enjoyment from Holiday Inn hotels over the next 50 years as they have over the last 50."
By better delivering on guest needs and expectations, IHG expects the relaunch programme to allow Holiday Inn hotels to generate significantly higher revenue per available room (RevPAR), and secure an enhanced return on investment for their owners. Owners and franchisees will invest up to $1 billion over a three year period in total to carry out the brand relaunch to meet the required service and quality levels.
Elements of the relaunch programme include:
Redesigned Brand Signage: Holiday Inn is making dramatic changes to its signage - evolving the iconic script logo, energising the signature colour green and eliminating the current shield shape. The brand will replace more than 11,000 signs around the world to reflect this refreshed and contemporary look. The redesigned brand signage also will be incorporated into design elements in each of the more than 3,100 hotel lobbies and more than 400,000 guest rooms.
Refreshed Guest Room: A sense of comfort and ease will be created by a bedroom that looks fresh, clean and inviting, featuring bed throws with pillow wraps and a pillow menu. Bathrooms will feature enhanced amenities such as a signature shower curtain with curved rod and an elegant toiletry caddy to deliver an invigorating and contemporary bath experience.
Warm Welcome: A new signature arrival, - including new feature lighting, landscaping and reception design - will create an energised sense of welcome that is universally recognisable and unique to the brand. Guests can expect a more interactive and efficient check-in process, while customised music and scent selections will also engage them in a complete sensory experience.
New Service Promise: Since a differentiated hotel experience cannot be delivered through imagery and product alone, Holiday Inn is committed to providing best-in-class service. As part of the relaunch, the brand will initiate a new service culture - "Stay Real". The service culture will enhance staff behaviour and skills to best serve guests, treating them as real people and consistently delivering the genuine service for which Holiday Inn is known.
Images:
High resolution images to accompany this announcement are available for the media to download free of charge from www.vismedia.co.uk.
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Notes to Editors:
InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (IHG) of the United Kingdom [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 3,800 hotels and more than 563,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories around the world. IHG owns a portfolio of well recognised and respected hotel brands, including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites®, Candlewood Suites® and Hotel Indigo®, and also manages the world's largest hotel loyalty programme, Priority Club® Rewards, with over 33 million members worldwide.
IHG's portfolio within the UK numbered 241 properties as of 30 June 2007, comprising one InterContinental, 15 Crowne Plaza, 116 Holiday Inn and 109 Express by Holiday Inn hotels
The company pioneered the travel industry's first collaborative response to environmental issues as founder of the International Hotels and Environment Initiative (IHEI). The IHEI formed the foundations of the Tourism Partnership launched by the International Business Leaders Forum in 2004, of which IHG is still a member today. The environment and local communities remain at the heart of IHG's global corporate responsibility focus.
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.
© Press Release 2007
