October 31, 2011 // Franchising.com // Today, Holiday Inn, the official hotel provider to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, hosted a cycling experience to remember with 2011 World Champion and Tour de France Green Jersey winner Mark Cavendish.
The Ride with Cav event was open to all cyclists and took place at Redbridge Cycling Centre just half an hour from Central London. The first 100 cyclists that completed the ride were rewarded with a free breakfast served trackside, courtesy of Holiday Inn Express London Newbury Park.
Mark Cavendish is part of Holiday Inn’s Athlete Engagement Programme which supports 50 emerging and established British athletes, including Rebecca Adlington, Mo Farah and Victoria Pendleton, in their quest for medals by giving them over 1,500 free room nights.
Holiday Inn has provided athletes with free overnight stays at hotels around the world in the lead up to London 2012. Athletes and their support teams can use their free hotel night stays while they are training, competing or for rest and recovery. The hotels are from the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) family of brands and include InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express and Staybridge Suites.
In return for hotel rooms, athletes provide unique experiences for Holiday Inn staff and guests. The Ride with Cav event is an example of one of these and follows hot on the heels of the Mo Farah 5,000 metre run that Holiday Inn hosted for keen runners earlier this year. Over 150 people turned out to run with the World Champion in Regent’s Park, London.
Cavendish said: “As I spend a lot of time away from home at cycling events around the world it’s great to have the support and free nights from Holiday Inn. It’s also a huge advantage to be able to have my coaching team and family with me when I’m training or competing abroad because they give me an extra boost.
I really enjoyed hosting this event for Holiday Inn. It’s been great to meet so many fans and to see so many cycling enthusiasts taking part.”
IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global company operating seven 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®. IHG also manages Priority Club® Rewards, the world’s first and largest hotel loyalty programme with almost 60 million members worldwide.
IHG is the world’s largest hotel group by number of rooms and franchises, leases, manages or owns over 4,400 hotels and more than 656,000 guest rooms in 100 countries and territories, and has more than 1,100 hotels in its development pipeline.
IHG expects to recruit around 160,000 people worldwide over the next few years and is committed to gender balance throughout its business. We aspire to continue retaining a minimum of 25% female representation on the Board.
InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group’s holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.
Visit www.ihg.com for hotel information and reservations and www.priorityclub.com for more on Priority Club Rewards. For our latest news, visit www.ihg.com/media, www.twitter.com/ihgplc or www.youtube.com/ihgplc.
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InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) is a multinational company which operates several hotel brands.