IHG Rebrands Holiday Inn

InterContinental Hotels Group announces worldwide brand relaunch of Holiday Inn

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) announces a worldwide relaunch of the Holiday Inn brand family, comprising Holiday Inn, Express by Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express ('Holiday Inn').

All Holiday Inn hotels will be required to implement the relaunch programme, focused on delivering consistently best-in-class service and physical quality levels, including a redesigned welcome experience, signature bedding and bathroom products. Redesigned brand signage will be installed at hotels once they have implemented the relaunch programme. This will give Holiday Inn a refreshed and contemporary brand image. All Holiday Inn hotels open or under development are expected to have implemented the relaunch programme by the end of 2010, with the first due to open in spring 2008 in the US.

IHG expects the relaunch programme to allow Holiday Inn hotels to generate significantly higher revenue per available room (RevPAR), and generate an enhanced return on investment for their owners. Owners and franchisees will invest up to $1billion over a three year period in total to carry out the brand relaunch to meet the required service and quality levels.

IHG will make a non-recurring revenue investment of up to £30m to accelerate implementation of the relaunch. This cost is anticipated to be accounted for as an exceptional item. This investment will, inter alia, fund a proportion of the cost of signage conversion at recently opened Holiday Inn hotels that agree to fully implement the relaunch programme during 2008, and fund the relaunch programme at certain high profile hotels that will be used to showcase the brand. IHG expects to generate a strong return on this investment through RevPAR increases across the Holiday Inn brand family following completion of the relaunch.

Announcing this to an audience of over 4,500 hotel owners, managers and investors at IHG's annual Americas conference in Dallas, Chief Executive Andrew Cosslett, 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. 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."