InterContinental Hotels Group has 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.
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