IHG Shrinks the Globe with Launch of New Public Online Community

By: InterContinental Hotels Group | 0 Shares 76 Reads

Priority Club Connect allows users to seek travel information, share experiences with fellow travelers and communicate with IHG executives

April 15, 2009 // Franchising.com // Atlanta - Travelers from around the world can now come closer together as IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group), [LON: IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)], the world's largest hotel group by number of rooms, launches its new public online community for its more than 42 million Priority Club® Rewards members called Priority Club Connect.

The Priority Club Connect online community provides a multitude of benefits for Priority Club Rewards members participating in the community. The online community encourages members to engage in on-going and robust dialogue with other community participants, and delivers valuable content about IHG and its Priority Club Rewards loyalty program.

"Priority Club Connect is a great way for our members to communicate with each other and allows us to build stronger relationships with them," said Lincoln Barrett, vice president, CRM & Multi-Brand Marketing, IHG. "The majority of our Priority Club Rewards members have something in common - they travel a lot or they love to travel. This community was designed by our customers and gives them the opportunity to come together to share great tips, advice and recommendations as well as to participate in special promotions."

Members using Priority Club Connect will have the unique opportunity to be bloggers on the site, upload photos and video content about their travel experiences and get details about special offers available only through the community.

Priority Club Connect participants will also be able to communicate with IHG executives. Based on questions that members submit through Priority Club Connect, executives at IHG will create a video to answer the questions and post it on the site for all members to view.

"I think it would be a good place to go to get more opinions and information on members, hotels, and destinations," said Christine Yurko, Priority Club Rewards Platinum member. "It could be a valuable resource when planning business and leisure trips. I'm glad to see that IHG is entering this foray for all its members."

Priority Club Rewards is the loyalty program for IHG's seven hotel brands - InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites® and Candlewood Suites®. The program is the largest in the industry with 42 million members worldwide. Membership in Priority Club Rewards is free. Customers can register at any of IHG's more than 4,150 hotels worldwide or through the Internet at www.priorityclub.com.

Notes to Editors:

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, more than 4,150 hotels and almost 620,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories around the world. The Group owns a portfolio of well recognized 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 program, Priority Club® Rewards with 42 million members worldwide.

IHG has more than 1,700 hotels in its development pipeline, which will create 200,000 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.

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