Holiday Inn to get $1b global overhaul

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has unveiled details of an ambitious three-year $1b (£489m) global overhaul of its Holiday Inn brand.

The initiative, announced to more than 4,500 hotel owners, managers and investors at IHG's annual Americas conference in Dallas today, will include the launch of a new logo along with investment in customer service, lobby areas, bedrooms and bathrooms.

All Holiday Inn hotels open or under development, including Express by Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express, are expected to have implemented the rebrand by the end of 2010, with the first due to open next spring in the USA.

Owners and franchisees will invest up to $1b over three years, while IHG will contribute £30m towards the new signage.

Speaking to Caterer ahead of today's announcement, Andy Cosslett, chief executive of IHG, said the initiative would drive real financial benefits.

"We've franchised the hotels we run so we can focus on the things that matter and part of that is the look and feel," he said. "We believe we will be driving revpar (revenue per available room) up by between 3% and 7% - a meaningful number."

IHG resisted the temptation to completely change the Holiday Inn brand, which launched in the USA in 1952. "We've spent the past two years asking customers a lot of questions and we've created our biggest ever database of facts and insights,"

Cosslett said. "You have to make sure you're not going to put off your loyal customers and throw away 50 years of brand-building."

The rebrand, spearheaded by Nina Bibby, Mark Snyder and Peter Gowers from the IHG senior marketing team, has been welcomed by the International Association of Holiday Inn, which represents nearly 3,000 of the group's owners and operators.

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By Daniel Thomas 

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