Crowne Plaza doubles its global estate since 2000

By: Crowne Plaza | 4 Shares 123 Reads

New Qatar signing adds to Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) total of 99 hotels

15 new EMEA hotels signed in past year* as strong growth continues

June 23, 2008 // Franchising.com // InterContinental Hotels Group's (IHG) upscale Crowne Plaza hotel brand has more than doubled the size of its estate since the Millennium - and the strong growth continues.

At the end of 2000 there were 149 Crowne Plaza hotels open globally and 43 new hotel agreements already signed in IHG's development pipeline (192 total); by the end of March 2008 that figure had more than doubled to 308 open and 118 in the pipeline (426 total) - a total growth of 122 per cent.

This week IHG announced the addition of a further property to its Middle East estate with the signing of the Crowne Plaza Doha, Qatar. At the end of March 2008 there were 99 Crowne Plaza hotels (open or signed) across the EMEA region. Since then IHG has signed three further hotels including the Crowne Plaza Doha.

Other Crowne Plaza hotels recently signed and in the pipeline across EMEA include:

the Crowne Plaza Liverpool John Lennon Airport, signed May 2008

the 415-room Crowne Plaza Belgrade, set for a €30 million refurbishment, signed April 2008

Crowne Plaza hotels which have recently opened in the EMEA region include:

the Crowne Plaza Tel Aviv City Center, Israel, opened 3 June 2008

the Crowne Plaza Minsk, Belarus, opened May 2008

the Crowne Plaza Athens City Centre, opened April 2008

the Crowne Plaza Milan City, opened March 2008

the Middle-East flagship 316-room Crowne Plaza Dubai Festival City, opened March 2008.

According to IHG's President EMEA Kirk Kinsell, "Crowne Plaza has been extremely successful globally. The brand has built a very strong reputation in the lucrative business traveller market as a comfortable, contemporary and productive place to stay and do business. Supported by the world's largest loyalty programme - IHG's Priority Club Rewards - the brand has very high rates of repeat business.

"With the significant benefits of IHG's global revenue systems and considerable hotel experience, Crowne Plaza is a very attractive investment opportunity."

In its most recent British Hotel Guest Survey 2007 - which questioned more than 2,000 business and leisure travellers - respected industry researchers BDRC ranked Crowne Plaza the most improved brand 2007.

Crowne Plaza hotel and room number breakdown



Globally: 308 (84,727 rooms) open / 118 (36,673 rooms) in pipeline

EMEA: 76 (18,077 rooms) open / 23 (5,867 rooms) in pipeline

*15 new signings in the year to March 31st 2008.

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is one of the world's largest hotel groups by number of rooms. IHG owns, manages, leases or franchises, through various subsidiaries, almost 4,000 hotels and more than 590,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories around the world. The Group owns a portfolio of well recognised and respected hotel brands including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites®, Candlewood Suites® and Hotel Indigo®, and also manages the world's largest hotel loyalty programme, Priority Club® Rewards with over 37 million members worldwide.

IHG pioneered the travel industry's first collaborative response to environmental issues as founder of the International Hotels and Environment Initiative (IHEI). The environment and local communities remain at the heart of IHG's global corporate responsibility focus. IHG is the first major hotel group to have measured the environmental and carbon footprints of hotels that operate under our brands globally and is in the process of setting reduction targets.

With more than 1,600 hotels in its development pipeline, IHG needs to recruit around 150,000 people over the next few years to meet its global expansion plans.

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group's holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.

IHG offers information and online reservations for all its hotel brands at www.ihg.com and information for the Priority Club Rewards programme at www.priorityclub.com. For the latest news from IHG, visit our online Press Office at www.ihg.com/media

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