The FINANCIAL — IHG announces its continued expansion in Germany with the opening of its sixth hotel and signing of its 13th hotel this year. IHG now has a total of nearly 120 hotels open and in the development pipeline in the country.
The recently opened 323-room Holiday Inn Express Cologne – City Centre is the largest Holiday Inn Express in Europe and brings the company’s number of hotels across Germany to 72 (over 14,600 rooms). Holiday Inn Express Goettingen is IHG’s 13th signing in the market this year, with the development pipeline now at 46 hotels.
IHG’s progress in Germany has been driven through a strategic focus on Multiple Development Agreement (MDA) deals with selected partners; executed by a local growth team who have a deep understanding of the lease-driven property market. IHG’s MDA partners have signed almost all of the deals in Germany so far this year, all of which have been under the Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express brands.
The Holiday Inn Brand Family continues to go from strength to strength across Germany, with owners recognising the value of the latest design and service innovations that are transforming the estate. This includes the Holiday Inn Open Lobby, where hotels which have implemented this newly designed public space have benefitted from increased guest satisfaction and an average 20% uplift in food and beverage revenue, according to IHG.
Based on consumer insight, the Holiday Inn Express Next Generation rooms have also enhanced the guest experience, with features such as smart TVs for guests to stream media from their own device, and beds with noise reducing headboards and in-built USB and power sockets. Hotels with Next Generation guest rooms are also seeing improved guest satisfaction and an average RevPAR increase of 9%. Both Holiday Inn Open Lobby and Holiday Inn Express Next Generation guest room designs will be a brand standard, and featured in hotels across Europe, by the end of 2019 and end of 2018 respectively.
Robert Shepherd, Chief Development Officer and SVP Growth & Transformation, Europe commented: “Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express are known and loved worldwide, welcoming millions of guests each year. At double the size of its nearest competitor globally, the Holiday Inn Brand Family is a powerful growth engine for IHG.
These brands have enduring consumer appeal, and at the same time our ongoing transformation programmes, including Open Lobby and Next Generation guest rooms, ensure they are more relevant than ever. This is recognised by hotel owners and investors here in Germany and reflected in our signings and openings across the country this year.”
These hotels have been signed, and are supported, by the local IHG team based in Frankfurt who work across development, design, engineering, legal, finance and franchised and managed operations.
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