November 16, 2009 // Franchising.com // Holiday Inn has taken the unprecedented step of banning garlic from its Christmas menu to help single workmates increase their chances of stealing a quick festive kiss under the mistletoe this party season.
Ghastly garlic breath is universally seen as the number one kissing killer and is the most common cause (along with smoking) of occasional bad breath*. But from today, Holiday Inn's 'Fresh Breath Menu' will be completely garlic-free - no garlic bread, sausage or aioli sauce -- meaning seasonal snogs could be back on the menu for more office workers.
Author of 'Flirt Coach' and dating expert, Peta Heskall comments: "There's nothing worse than going in for a quick Christmas kiss with your colleague and not being able to look them in the eyes due to the stench of garlic, let alone kiss them. The Holiday Inn 'Breath of Fresh Air' menu is a great idea as party goers no longer have to think about whether their food will put anyone off a mistletoe kiss."
Jane Bednall, spokesperson for Holiday Inn comments: "With the party season fast approaching, we saw now as the perfect time to introduce a garlic-free menu to boost people's chances of a kiss at their work Christmas party."
Available at 70 Holiday Inn hotels across the country, the kiss friendly meals include dishes such as a winter vegetable soup, a full Christmas dinner with all the trimmings or a roast salmon fillet and a traditional Christmas pudding.
* Dr Hilary Jones, GP
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is the world's largest hotel group by number of rooms. IHG owns, manages, leases or franchises, through various subsidiaries, nearly 4,400 hotels and over 640,000 guest rooms in 100 countries and territories around the world. The Group owns a portfolio of well recognised and respected hotel brands including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites® and Candlewood Suites® and also manages the world's largest hotel loyalty programme, Priority Club® Rewards with 47 million members worldwide.
IHG has 1,500 hotels in its development pipeline, which will create 140,000 jobs worldwide over the next few years.
InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group's holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.
Holiday Inn offers today's business and leisure travellers dependability, friendly service, modern facilities and excellent value.