Rebecca Adlington, Victoria Pendleton and Christine Ohuruogu among athletes to benefit from free stays at Holiday Inn hotels as they prepare for London 2012

By: Holiday Inn | 1 Shares 121 Reads

November 16, 2010 // Franchising.com // Today Holiday Inn introduced a programme to support up to 50 emerging and established British athletes including Rebecca Adlington, Victoria Pendleton, Tim Brabants and Shelly Woods in their quest for medals by providing over 1,500 free nights.

Athletes will be given free overnight stays at hotels across the IHG brand family - InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites - over the next two years. Athletes and their support teams can use the stays at any time while they are training, competing or during rest and recovery.

Other athletes benefiting include Shanaze Reade, Richard Whitehead, Becky Downie, Tom Hide and JJ Jegede who were at today's launch in London alongside Tim Brabants.

Speaking at the launch, Shanaze Reade said: "I expect to spend over 75 nights away from home in 2011. As I travel around the world it's great to know that I have this support from Holiday Inn. And it's a huge benefit to be able to use the rooms for my coaching team and family so that they can travel with me more often."

In return for hotel rooms, participating athletes will provide unique experiences for Holiday Inn staff. They will also help to promote Holiday Inn's role as Official Hotel Provider to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Sir Clive Woodward, Director of Sport, BOA said: "All athletes understand the importance of a good night's sleep as part of their training regime. Less well known but I feel just as important is being surrounded by their family and support team when training and competing. Athletes spend a huge amount of time away from home each year and travelling alone puts extra pressure on them to achieve world class performances. As London 2012 approaches athletes must not compromise in their preparations. Knowing that wherever they are in the world they can be supported by their families and coaches will give the athletes the confidence to perform at their best without worrying about the cost of travel."

Sacha Clark, spokesperson for Holiday Inn said: "Holiday Inn will host British athletes at hotels around the world during the next two years and in return they will help inspire our people. We're committed to doing all we can to support the British team in their preparations for London 2012 and it's great that our hotels can be actively involved in this way."

Other elements of Holiday Inn's London 2012 partnership include:

Together with LOCOG, Holiday Inn will host the world's athletes in the Athletes Village. Holiday Inn will use its hospitality expertise to help London 2012, and will provide residential managers, receptionists and concierges.
Holiday Inn will employ a number of aspiring Olympic and Paralympic athletes on a flexible basis at hotels in the lead up to the Games helping athletes to build their work experience and earn money while they train and compete.
As Official Hotel Provider to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Holiday Inn will use its hospitality expertise at all stages of the Games to deliver a warm welcome for everyone. As part of this partnership, Holiday Inn will support the Olympic Torch Relay, hosting the team as they travel around the UK.
Holiday Inn will welcome guests, including staff from LOCOG and other organising bodies, into hotels across London in the lead up to, during, and after the Games.

Media enquiries:

Amy King at Hill & Knowlton on 020 7413 3225 or 07971 703 304 or at aking@hillandknowlton.com

Carly Gibb at Hill & Knowlton on 020 7413 3709 or 07773 023 393 or at cgibb@hillandknowlton.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 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 1,200 hotels in its development pipeline, which we expect to 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.

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

###