InterContinental Hotels Group Hotel Owners Capitalize On Mixed-Brand Development Trend
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InterContinental Hotels Group Hotel Owners Capitalize On Mixed-Brand Development Trend
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Category: Worldwide
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2006-04-25
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) [Lon: IHG; NYSE: IHG (ADRs)] is the world’s largest hotel group by number of rooms, and demand for its hotels is at an all-time high. This demand, along with rising land prices across the nation, have resulted in mixed-brand development -- a trend where hotel owners are building IHG brand hotels adjacent to one another on the same land parcel.
Developers can build IHG brand hotels side-by-side to meet market demand because IHG’s brands feature well-defined offerings that respectively cater to distinct customer segments. IHG has some of the most recognized and respected brands in the world, including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo™, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites® and Candlewood Suites®.
“IHG provides a great advantage for developers who want to more fully realize their return on real estate investment,” said Kirk Kinsell, SVP and chief development officer, the Americas, IHG. “A hotel development automatically raises the value of the remainder of the land since it represents built-in demand for other businesses such as restaurants and retailers. And when properties are built together, you can leverage these assets and manage more efficiently to maximize the return on these investments.”
For example, a Holiday Inn can be built adjacent to a Staybridge Suites, or a Crowne Plaza can be built next to a Holiday Inn Express or Hotel Indigo to take advantage of resources (shared parking lots, restaurants) and personnel (general managers, housekeepers) without saturating the market in one customer segment.
Phil Barney, CEO of Barney Hospitality Group, is building a Staybridge Suites property next to his Holiday Inn hotel in California. He sees mixed-brand development as a growing trend.
“When you have a great property with great people and a successful infrastructure already in place, and you can build another hotel next door, the chances of being successful increase in geometric proportion,” Barney said. “Because of the way the brands are positioned, we will bring in new long-term stay customers. The synergy, economies of scale and efficiencies make a lot of business sense to me. It’s an incredible win-win situation for us.”
With 3,600 hotels and 537,500 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories around the world, IHG is able to help hotel owners maximize side-by-side properties through such offerings as a global reservation system, hotel management expertise, the industry’s most comprehensive e-Commerce engine that drives nearly $4 billion in revenue each year, and Priority Club® Rewards, the largest and fastest-growing guest loyalty program.
For Barney, the partnership with IHG is a natural fit. “After looking at major players in the marketplace, I wanted a company that had a great legacy and that had the ability to deliver if I delivered,” he said. “I’ve finally found a partner that’s doing what they’re supposed to do while I’m doing what I’m supposed to do.”
IHG currently has 11 dual development projects in the pipeline, including Ft. Lauderdale Airport; Killeen, Texas; Las Vegas; Lincoln, Neb.; Miami National Airport; Northwest Arkansas; Oklahoma City; Omaha Airport; Rolla, Mo.; South Bend, Ind. and Tucson, Ariz
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