INTERCONTINENTAL Hotels Group (IHG) is expanding the presence of its Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express brands in Thailand with the launch earlier this month of Holiday Inn Resort Phuket Mai Khao Beach, and the scheduled opening of Holiday Inn Express Phuket Patong Beach Central in 2013.
The 246-room Holiday Inn Resort Phuket Mai Khao Beach, located on the northwest coast of Phuket, offers a beachfront infinity pool, a resort leisure centre, a fitness centre, and a Tea Tree Spa.
“This is our second Holiday Inn resort in Phuket, and our fourth in Thailand,” said Alan Watts, vice president for operations, South-east Asia at IHG. The three other Holiday Inn-branded properties in the country include Holiday Inn Resort Cha-am, Holiday Inn Resort Phi Phi Island, and Holiday Inn Resort Phuket.
Jennifer Yuen, brand director for Holiday Inn, Asia Australasia, said: “The Holiday Inn portfolio is expanding rapidly in the region with a pipeline of 28 hotels in the next three years.”
Meanwhile, the 280-room Holiday Inn Express Phuket Patong Beach Central, located in central Patong, will feature meeting rooms, a gym and swimming pool, as well as a self-service business centre.
The property is the fourth confirmed development for the economy brand in Thailand, with the first due to open in Bangkok by year-end, and another two currently being developed in Bangkok Sukhumvit and Pattaya.
In Asia-Pacific, the Holiday Inn Express portfolio is expanding rapidly from its current 30 hotels, and will open new hotels in Singapore, India and Indonesia over the next few years.
Jan Smits, IHG chief executive for Asia, the Middle East and Africa, said: “The (Holiday Inn Express) brand is growing strongly across the region, with a pipeline of 47 hotels in Asia-Pacific.”
