InterContinental Hotels Group has gone on a signing spree in recent days, with several new hotels planned.
United Kingdom
IHG has signed a deal to open the Holiday Inn London – Kensington, which will be one of the largest Holiday Inn hotels in Europe. The 694-room franchised hotel will be rebranding from the independent Kensington Close Hotel, one of the largest hotels in London, and is due to open as a Holiday Inn in December 2016.
Holiday Inn London – Kensington will operate under a franchise agreement with Kensington Close Hotel Limited.
IHG also announced a dual-branded hotel development near Heathrow Airport, London. The combined Holiday Inn London - Heathrow Bath Road and Staybridge Suites London - Heathrow Bath Road will operate under a franchise agreement with Bathroad Corp Sarl.
Due to open in 2018, the 190-room Staybridge Suites property will be built alongside a new 433-room Holiday Inn hotel.
Poland, Armenia & Kazakhstan
The Hotel Indigo Krakow - Florian Gate will be the brand’s debut in Poland, and is due to open later this year under a franchise agreement with Hotel Filipa 18 ltd and SAO Investments. The property is a 100-year-old former residential building which will be converted into a hotel while preserving its original architecture. Florian Gate (pictured above) is a popular tourist attraction in the city.
In Armenia, meanwhile, IHG has announced plans to open the Crowne Plaza Yerevan Armenia following last year's signing of the first Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express in Yerevan. Opening in 2018, the hotel will operate under a management agreement with Hotel SR LLC.
Finally, the Holiday Inn Express Astana is set to open in 2018 in the capital of Kazakhstan. It will be the fourth IHG hotel in Kazakhstan and the first Holiday Inn Express in the country. The hotel will operate under a franchise agreement with Fido Estate LLP.
The Holiday Inn Express Astana will be the sixth hotel under this brand in the pipeline for Russia, the CIS and Georgia, and the fourth IHG-branded hotel in Kazakhstan. The Crowne Plaza Yerevan, meanwhile, will be the sixth hotel under this brand in the region. As of the end of Q1 206, there are 23 IHG hotels open across Russia, Georgia and the CIS, and another 22 in the pipeline.
New Zealand
IHG has signed deals for its sixth and seventh hotels in New Zealand. The company will add its first Holiday Inn hotel in Queenstown later this year following the $3.5-million renovation of the former Goldridge Resort; and a new-build 120-room Holiday Inn Express hotel in Christchurch city center, to open in 2018.
The new hotels will operate under franchise agreements in partnership with USAR Queenstown and USAR Christchurch, backed by the New Zealand hotelier Sarin family.
IHG also has a Crowne Plaza hotel under construction in Christchurch, due to open mid-2017.
IHG Australasia and Japan chief operating officer Karin Sheppard said there was high demand for hotels in key destinations across New Zealand – including both Queenstown and Christchurch – as the result of the thriving tourism economy.
IHG has five hotels operating under three brands in New Zealand: InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn, with Holiday Inn Express Christchurch city centre marking the launch of the fourth brand in the country.