InterContinental Hotels Group and Nagoya Railroad (Meitetsu) have signed an agreement to open the Hotel Indigo Inuyama Urakuen in the second half of 2021.
The new Hotel Indigo, which will feature a retail outlet, will be the first internationally branded hotel in Inuyama in Japan’s Aichi Prefecture.
The 150-room hotel originally opened in 1965. The property currently operates as the Meitetsu Inuyama Hotel. It is near Inuyama’s 16th-century castle, the Urakuen garden with the Jo-an teahouse, the Meiji-mura Museum and Little World open-air museum.
“Inuyama has been a popular destination for residents of Nagoya and throughout Japan for many years, but there is an opportunity in the market for a great global branded hotel. Inuyama, with its rich story and heritage, is the perfect location for a Hotel Indigo, and from 2021 we will deliver an amazing product that meets the needs of those travelers who are looking for the winning mix of international brand and local experience,” Hans Heijligers, IHG’s head of Japan, said in a statement.
The new hotel signing falls in line with IHG’s plans to expand the Hotel Indigo brand. The new property follows the signing of the Hotel Indigo Hakone Gora in 2017.
The Hotel Indigo brand arrived in Asia-Pacific in January 2015 with the opening of Hotel Indigo Bangkok Wireless Road. The opening of the Hotel Indigo Singapore Katong followed soon after in July 2016, before the Hotel Indigo Bali Seminyak Beach opened in late 2017. Another 88 Hotel Indigo properties with 10,888 guestrooms are in the global pipeline.
IHG has a portfolio of 33 hotels operating under three brands in Japan—the InterContinental, ANA Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn brands. An additional two hotels—ANA InterContinental Beppu Resort & Spa and the Hotel Indigo Hakone Gora—are in the pipeline for the country.