IHG ANA Hotels Group Japan, the hotel operating joint venture formed by IHG and ANA, plans to co-brand and enhance 13 hotels in Japan currently trading under the ANA brand. All hotels will undergo product, service and operational enhancements and will be progressively co-branded as either ANA InterContinental, ANA Crowne Plaza or ANA Holiday Inn hotels. IHG ANA Hotels Group Japan is committed to ensuring that the co-branding and enhancement efforts bring about significant benefits to hotel guests, corporate clients and events planners from Japan and globally.

Co-branding activities will kick off with the repositioning of the flagship ANA Hotel Tokyo to ANA InterContinental Tokyo on 1 April 2007. Other hotels to be co-branded include:

The Strings Hotel Tokyo to The Strings by InterContinental Tokyo in May 2007.
Six ANA Hotels across Japan will be co-branded as ANA Crowne Plaza hotels by December 2007. These hotels will be known as ANA Crowne Plaza Narita, ANA Crowne Plaza Hiroshima, ANA Crowne Plaza Chitose, ANA Crowne Plaza Toyama, ANA Crowne Plaza Kanazawa and Harborview Okinawa by Crowne Plaza.
By 2008, ANA Hotel & Resort Ishigaki will be co-branded as ANA InterContinental Ishigaki Resort and ANA Hotel Osaka as ANA Crowne Plaza Osaka
Manza Beach Hotel & Resort will be co-branded as ANA InterContinental Manza Beach Resort in 2009.

The ANA InterContinental hotels will join IHG’s existing network of 148 InterContinental Hotels & Resorts properties worldwide in providing guests with a unique blend of luxury, with authentic local knowledge and experiences. Meanwhile, those bearing the ANA Crowne Plaza brand will offer stylish, sophisticated and innovative products and services targeted at meetings, weddings, social interactions and celebrations.

Chris Moloney, chief executive officer, IHG ANA Hotels Group Japan, said: “The pace of our co-branding effort means that we are serious about making our hotels the preferred choice among guests, corporate clients and event planners across Japan. Our key focus now is on gaining even deeper insight into the needs and expectations of our customers in order to further enhance our product and service offerings. Our co-branded hotels will gain more of an international flavour while still maintaining the essence of Japanese hospitality that has made ANA the number one hotel brand in Japan.”
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