InterContinental Hotels Group has launched franchising for its nascent Avid Hotels brand in Mexico. German Ongay, RVP of IHG's franchise sales & development unit in Mexico, said in a statement that several franchisees across the country already plan to operate Avid hotels.
The franchise fee for the brand will be five percent of gross rooms revenue. All Avid Hotels franchise agreements signed in Mexico before Sept. 30, 2018 for properties opening by Sept. 30, 2020 will be eligible for a two-point franchise fee discount for the first year and a one-point franchise fee discount in the second year.
The future Avid hotels will follow the launch of Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites in the country. They will also join a portfolio of 140 hotels in Mexico and another 31 hotel projects in the development pipeline for the country. IHG has already signed 75 Avid Hotels franchise agreements in the U.S. and Canada for the brand, which entered the hotel market last September.
IHG developed the brand's design and operating model with an owner advisory board. Avid's hotels will come with its standard exterior and interior design and facilities, guestrooms with sound reducing features, IHG Connect Wi-Fi, a cloud-based reservation system and the IHG Rewards Club. All Avid properties are also designed for new-build construction on an average lot size of close to 68,889 square feet with an environmentally friendly design.
IHG's first Avid hotel—the Avid Hotel Oklahoma City–Quail Springs—began construction eight weeks after the brand launched in the U.S. The property, which is being developed and operated by Champion Hotels, is slated to open in the third quarter of 2018, months ahead of its originally predicted completion date.