IHG expands in coastal south, continuing Greater China leadership

By: InterContinental Hotels Group | 4 Shares 168 Reads

Four contracts signed during Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific

October 13, 2010 // Franchising.com // Hong Kong - InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), the world's largest hotel group by number of rooms, signed four hotel contracts today in Hong Kong at the Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific (HICAP).

This signing covers contracts for its expansion in Taipei, Hong Kong and Xiamen, adding more than 700 rooms to its pipeline with four hotels which will open under Hotel Indigo, the industry's first branded boutique hotel brand, and Holiday Inn Express, the newly refreshed mid-scale brand respectively.

Already one of the largest international hotel groups in Taiwan, IHG's new Hotel Indigo Taipei Xinyi and Holiday Inn Express Taipei Xinyi will tap into Taiwan's most well-defined and growing market - Taipei city centre. While Hotel Indigo will address the growing consumer needs for more distinctive and unique lodging experiences, Holiday Inn Express will uniquely satisfy both business and leisure travelers with its competitive rates in Taipei.

Having five open hotels under InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express brand, and another five in the pipeline including Hotel Indigo in Hong Kong, IHG has the largest pipeline in Hong Kong among international hotels operators. The new Holiday Inn Express Hong Kong Mongkok will add 300 rooms into the current pipeline, totaling 1,400 rooms.

As one of the fastest growing hotel brands in its segment, opening on average two hotels a week across the globe, Hotel Inn Express is perfectly fitting into Mongkok, a well-travelled and high population density area. The hotel will offer value-conscious business and leisure travellers quality accommodation at affordable price.

Hotel Indigo is the very first lifestyle branded boutique hotel brand in Xiamen. The newly-signed Hotel Indigo Xiamen Harbour View sits on the "Gold Coast" and also the Central Business District (CBD) of Xiamen. The project also contains a retail street aiming to set a new trend of fashion and lifestyle in Xiamen, the nearest city to Taiwan.

"This expansion is a clear sign of our long term confidence in the Greater China market and we are honoured to be partnering with three cutting-edge real estate developers in their respective region," said Keith Barr, managing director, IHG Greater China. "As the industry's international leader in Greater China, IHG's ambition is to address the growing needs in the country's most energetic cities."

Having great confidence in IHG's strong brands and track-record of management experience and expertise, many owners have multiple properties under different brands. The four newly signed hotels are partnered with three owners, which include:

Hotel Indigo Xiamen Harbour View: Owned by Xiamen SK Development Ltd., a well established Hong Kong company, the hotel has 127 rooms and will be open in 2011.
Hotel Indigo Taipei Xinyi: Owned by Elements Innovation Co., Ltd., a Taiwan listed real estate company majoring in projects including residential and office development, the hotel offers 173 rooms and expected to open in 2011.
Holiday Inn Express Taipei Xinyi: Also owned by Elements Innovation Co., Ltd., the 125-room hotel is expected to open in 2011.
Holiday Inn Express Hong Kong Mongkok: Owned by Tai Hung Fai Enterprise Co. Ltd, a Hong Kong based real estate developer that owns over 100 properties across Hong Kong and Macau including Hotel Indigo Hong Kong Island, the hotel offers 300 rooms and expected to open in 2014.

Having been established in the China market since 1984, IHG has become a trusted partner for local owners through its successful operations, strategic expansion and high return for owners. Growing its footprint in Chinese cities, IHG currently has 132 hotels open under four brands -InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn Hotels Resorts and Holiday Inn Express Hotels - with more than 140 hotels in the development pipeline. The soon-to-launch Hotel Indigo Shanghai on the Bund marks the entry of IHG's fifth brand in Asia Pacific.

About IHG

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is the world's largest hotel group by number of rooms. IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns, through various subsidiaries, over 4,500 hotels and more than 650,000 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 52 million members worldwide.

IHG has over 1,300 hotels in its development pipeline, which will create 160,000 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.

###