InterContinental Hotels Group has launched a “Friends and Family” programme that harnesses its over 330,000 staff strength to promote hotel bookings to their social networks. The new global IHG Friends and Family programme provides hotel rooms at over 4,150 hotels worldwide at attractive rates for friends and family of IHG colleagues around the world.
Everyone who works in an owned, managed or franchised hotel or in an IHG corporate office is eligible to participate in the programme.
IHG’s brands include InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites.
After registering through IHG’s intranet, all staff will receive an email with a unique web link to a special personal hotel booking webpage.  Staff can then forward the web link to their friends and family, who then click the link to go to this personal web page and book their stays at exclusive rates.
Staff will enjoy special rates for any reservation made before 31st May 2009 for bookings made up to one year in advance of stay. They can even see the discount they are getting.
“We are seeing tremendous excitement and results for this programme which leverages our scale. We’ve always been proud of our brands and we can now share the passion we have for our brands and offer attractive hotel rates to our social circles,” said Gary Rosen, senior vice president Sales and Marketing, IHG Asia Pacific. 
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