IHG has announced plans to establish a managed service centre that will provide support services for its hotels as it grows Russia and the CIS.

Once it is open (most likely around March 2013) the Moscow-based centre will enable IHG hotels to access specialised clustered (non-guest facing) services including sales and marketing, finance, IT and human resources.

IHG’s VP Operations, Russia, Commonwealth of Independent States and Georgia, Robert Kennedy, said: “Our decision to establish such a centre underlines our commitment to growing in Russia and the rest of the CIS: one of IHG’s priority markets.

“The managed service centre will be a bespoke offering for this region.  It will provide a dedicated, fully resourced office staffed to deliver essential specialised operational expertise for our future properties.

“The centre will reinforce our already compelling management offer to owners, an offer based on more than sixty years’ of expertise with world-renowned brands and leading system delivery.

“The centre’s focus will be to drive operational excellence and consistency, freeing up hotel staff to focus on delivering exceptional guest experiences.

“We have already talked about our ambition to have 100 hotels across Russia and the CIS open or in the pipeline by 2020.  We will continue to grow in Moscow and St. Petersburg while working with local investors to introduce managed and franchised hotels across the country, wherever there is a need for internationally branded hotels.”