Kew Green Hotels has become IHG's (InterContinental Hotels Group) first owner outside the USA to relaunch its entire Holiday Inn estate. Its 15 UK hotels have now unveiled their new image, with the final changes at the Holiday Inn Slough Windsor taking the number of relaunched properties in the UK and Ireland to 50.
The upgrade is part of the £600 million relaunch of the Holiday Inn brand family (Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels) to create a more contemporary look and feel, improve quality and drive consistency across more than 3,200 hotels around the world.
Kirk Kinsell, president, Europe, Middle East and Africa, IHG, said: "Reaching this milestone in the current economic climate shows our owners' commitment to the relaunch. In tough times people look for value and quality - this is what the Holiday Inn relaunch is delivering."
Relaunched hotels are seeing the benefits of the new look and improved guest experience with their RevPAR outperforming hotels that haven’t relaunched by more than five per cent on average, as well as increased levels of guest satisfaction.
Holiday Inn is maintaining its heritage of creating a comfortable, relaxed environment by focusing on the elements that matter most to guests, including an informal service culture and improved bedding to help guests get a great night's sleep.
The first sign that a hotel has completed changes both inside and out greets you before entering the building: Holiday Inn's iconic logo has had a makeover - its first major change since the brand launched more than 50 years ago.
The contemporary feel continues inside where Holiday Inn guests are welcomed by a scent unique to Holiday Inn properties plus a signature music programme which changes from an upbeat to a relaxing tempo at different times of the day.
Paul Johnston, managing director of Kew Green Hotels, said: "We see the downturn as the right time for people to reassess brands they may not have tried for some time. We're hoping business and leisure travellers will try out our hotels now and keep coming back. We've made a big investment and it's rewarding to see the results."
IHG relaunched three hotels every day in the first quarter of 2009 and has already relaunched more hotels this year than in all of 2008.
