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IHG relaunches Holiday Inn |
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Owners to invest US$1 billion to meet new standards or get booted out
By Raini Hamdi
SINGAPORE – InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has announced full details of a renewed Holiday Inn brand (TTG Daily News, October 24) and travel agents booking Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express properties worldwide can expect massive changes to the brand (see box), as their owners and franchisees invest up to US$1 billion in total over a three-year period
to meet the new service and quality levels.
Those that do not will be booted out.
IHG expects 1,000 hotels will exit by the end of 2010, but says it is also experiencing a 20-year record signings
pace, with almost 1,000 hotels in the pipeline.
As the 55-year-old brand has a distribution of 3,125 hotels with 400,000 rooms worldwide, and a development pipeline of 942 hotels with 110,000 rooms, the relaunch is of interest not just to agents and end-users, but is being watched closely by players in the mid-tier, the fastest-growing segment of the hotel industry, particularly in Asian markets such as India and China.
This is also a total revamp, which includes the first major change to the Holiday Inn logo in more than 50 years.
IHG CEO, Mr Andrew Cosslett, described it as “an important moment in Holiday Inn’s history”.
The first Asia-Pacific new-look Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels are expected in China, Thailand and Australia by the second quarter of 2008.
In Asia-Pacific, IHG has 100 Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels with 26,900 rooms, and nearly 60 hotels with 17,500 rooms under development.
The brand first entered Asia in Kyoto, Japan, in 1973, and was among the first international hotel brands to open in China in 1984.
The roll-out rate of new-look Holiday Inns is 150 hotels worldwide a month until each property is in line by end-2010.
As soon as the hotels have successfully implemented the changes, they will feature the new brand signage.
An IHG statement said: “The room removals combined with aggressive growth of new hotels will itself result in a refresh of more than a third of our system and ensure a consistently high quality product throughout the world by the end of 2010.”
Mr Cosslett told TTG Asia the revamp was backed by an IHG-commissioned consumer research, which gathered input from 18,000 travellers globally.
Asked why there was a need to take Holiday Inn to “its next chapter”, Mr Cosslett said: “We continually find ways to drive performance.
“For owners, it is putting more people through the front door and getting a higher rate.
“It is clear to us all if we could move up the Holiday Inn revPAR (revenue per available room) over the next few years, and in most markets there is headroom to do it, we will increase the value of the asset to owners.”
He added the changes being made would ensure the Holiday Inn brand went 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,” Mr Cosslett said.
What the relaunch includes
• Redesigned brand signage: Evolving the iconic script logo, energising the signature colour green and eliminating the current shield shape.
• Refreshed guest room: A new bedding experience with fresh, white duvets and pillows that come in soft and firm options. Bathrooms will feature a power shower and enhanced amenities.
• Warm welcome: A new signature arrival, including new lighting, landscaping and designed features, that will create a sense
of welcome universally recognisable and unique to the brand. Check-in will be more interactive and efficient, with customised music and scent selections giving a sensory experience.
• New service promise: A new service culture, Stay Real, will enhance staff behaviour and skills to best serve guests and consistently deliver the real, genuine service for which Holiday Inn is known.
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