Tag: brand

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Principal Edinburgh George Street rejoins InterContinental

The Principal Edinburgh George Street hotel has rejoined the InterContinental brand after 14 years.

The 240-bedroom hotel operated as an InterContinental property until 2005, when it was sold to what was then Principal Hayley Group and became the George hotel. It was then renamed the Principal Edinburgh George Street following the launch of the Principal brand in 2016.

After the sale of the Principal group to French-group Covivio and InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) last year and “significant renovations”, it is being rebranded once more as the InterContinental Edinburgh – The George.

The property is an integration of a number of Georgian townhouses that were originally built in the 1780s.

Karan Khanna, managing director, UK & Ireland, IHG, said: “We are excited to grow our luxury presence in Scotland as we continue the integration of the Principal portfolio. Edinburgh is a key city in our home market so it’s great to reintroduce our flagship brand, InterContinental, to the city. I am confident its arrival will receive a warm welcome and the team will deliver a great service to guests.”

Tom Rowntree, vice president, global luxury brands, IHG, said: “InterContinental Edinburgh – The George is a fabulous addition to the brand, marking the return of InterContinental to Edinburgh.  We look forward to helping our guests unlock the heritage of this hotel and the enchanting city of Edinburgh.”

InterContinental Edinburgh – The George is the third InterContinental in the UK, joining InterContinental London – Park Lane and InterContinental London – The O2. IHG has 349 hotels operating under eight brands in the UK, with a further 26 in the pipeline.

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IHG® unveils new brand prototypes

IHG® (InterContinental Hotels Group), one of the world’s leading global hotel companies, has unveiled its latest brand updates and innovations to its mainstream hotel owners. During its 2019 Americas Investors and Leadership Conference in Las Vegas, IHG shared the next phase of design prototypes for Holiday Inn®, Staybridge Suites® and Candlewood Suites®.

Heather Balsley, Senior Vice President, Global Marketing Mainstream Brands, IHG, commented: “We are continually evolving and investing in our brands, and at the center of our latest enhancements sits extensive customer research and close collaboration with our owners. This is crucial to delivering brand experiences that fit the ever-evolving needs of mainstream travelers and drive performance for our hotel owners. As these new prototypes start rolling out across the market, we know they will take guest satisfaction and brand strength to the next level.”

As an industry icon, Holiday Inn continues to innovate the guest experience through H4 Design. Launched in 2017, this flexible solution empowers guests to adapt the space to meet their individual needs and is a brand standard for all new hotel openings, conversions and hotels undergoing renovations.

The brand introduced the H4 prototype, an evolution of H4 Design, which provides owners with a more modern and efficient building that flexes to meet the needs of individual markets, including:

  • Flexible, open public spaces that allow guests to be productive while maintaining their connection to the wider social environment.
  • Multiple restaurant and bar concepts which can be tailored to the available space, allowing for flexibility while offering guests high quality dining in an inviting environment.
  • Adaptable meeting space which can be quickly and easily adjusted to the needs of both business and leisure groups.
  • Welcoming guest room design including thoughtful touches to ensure a great night’s sleep, abundant power and connectivity points, and the signature “Welcome Nook” that provides multi-functional storage so guests can unpack in a way that works for them.

Both of IHG’s extended stay brands, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites, also unveiled prototypes and interior design solutions for new build hotels and properties going through renovations. These have been designed to help create an inviting space for guests while maintaining a cost per key for hotel owners that is in line with the previous prototype.

The new design solution for Staybridge Suites, Generation 7.0, will roll out in October 2019 and includes:

  • A new exterior design with a front porch to create a more vibrant sense of arrival.
  • A reimagined public space designed to create a wide-open sense of arrival with shared workspaces, areas to socialize, more seating, a breakfast space that seamlessly transitions to a comfortable lounge area, and stronger connection to the outdoor space.
  • Updated suites with distinct zones for working, relaxing and sleeping, ample storage options, contemporary kitchens and furniture that is easy to move so that guests can easily make the space their own.

Candlewood Suites revealed a new brand logo alongside its new design program, Beacon 4.0. Starting this summer, the logo will appear on all new hotel openings, refurbished hotels and across marketing platforms. This is ahead of the full Beacon 4.0 roll out, which will commence in December 2019.

While updating the public spaces and hotel exterior, the brand is introducing significant changes to the guest suites to better meet the changing needs of extended stay travelers, including:

  • A distinctive building exterior that delivers storefront windows that let in more natural light and an updated Gazebo Grill with bar-like seating.
  • An open and modern lobby with spacious communal areas offering a variety of seating; and a refreshed Candlewood Cupboard – the 24-hour market – which is now integrated into the lobby itself.
  • Enhanced comfort in the guest suites featuring the brand’s signature recliner, larger TVs, twice as much storage, contemporary kitchens and easy-to-move end tables with integrated cupholders.
  • A signature “welcome perch” in the one-bedroom suites where guests can immediately begin the process of settling in by dropping their bags or taking off their shoes.
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Hampton by Hilton pipeline ‘largest in brands history’

Hilton has revealed its Hampton by Hilton brand, the largest in the Hilton portfolio, “continues to lead the way in the upper-midscale segment” and has “the largest pipeline in brand history”.

Hampton was also recently recognized at the top of the ‘Hotels and Motels’ category on the Entrepreneur magazine Franchise 500 list for the 10th year in a row.

Shruti Gandhi Buckley, global head, Hampton by Hilton, said: “Building on our record of innovation and performance success, Hampton maintains strong momentum worldwide.

“Our decade-long No. 1 ranking on Entrepreneur magazine’s Franchise 500 Hotels and Motels list underscores the brand’s ability to empower our owners and franchise partners to continue to build and operate successful hotels that meet the evolving needs of travelers.”

Hampton currently has more than 2,430 properties in 25 countries and territories. In the fourth quarter of 2018 alone, the brand opened the doors to 24 new hotels, including 10 in China, and surpassed the milestone of more than 250,000 rooms open worldwide.

With more than 640 hotels in development, Hampton’s pipeline is currently the largest in brand history and the largest within the Hilton enterprise. The brand will continue to expand in key global regions including South America, with four first-in-country locations slated to open in 2019: Chile, Peru, Argentina and Brazil. Hampton will also expand its footprint in China, where it is the fastest-growing international hospitality brand, with 59 open and nearly 200 signed hotels in the country.

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IHG to launch new all-suites upper midscale brand

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has announced plans to launch a new all-suites upper midscale brand in its preliminary 2018 financial results.

The company said launching the new brand this year would build on its “existing mainstream strength”, targeting an $18b (£14b) industry segment where strong guest and owner demand has driven around a 70% increase in room supply in the last four years.

The group reported total revenue for the year of $4.34b (£3.36m), an increase of 6% on the previous year, and operating profit of $670m (£519m), down 7%.

Global revenue per available room (revpar) increased 2.5% and IHG also announced it was raising the total dividend for the year by 10% and follows the payment of a $500m (£387m) special dividend in January 2019, taking total shareholder returns announced for the year to more than $700m (£542m).

The hotel company reported its strongest net system size growth in a decade of 4.8% including the addition of 56,000 room additions, up 17% year on year. After the removal of 18,000 rooms, this leaves IHG with 837,000 rooms globally.

Chief executive Keith Barr said: “We have made excellent progress in 2018 executing against the strategic initiatives I set out a year ago to accelerate our growth, whilst delivering a strong financial performance. The investments we have made have had a significant impact, allowing us to further evolve our established brands, move quickly to strengthen our portfolio both organically and by acquisition, and create real momentum in our business.

“Our strategic focus on accelerating our net rooms growth helped drive a net system size increase of 4.8%, and our best performance for both openings and signings in a decade, leaving us well-positioned for future growth.

“The investments we have made have been funded through our group efficiency programme which is on track to deliver $125m (£97m) of annual savings by 2020. We have successfully implemented a more efficient and agile organisational structure while building resources and capabilities focused on the most attractive growth opportunities.

“The fundamentals of our business remain strong, and while there are macro-economic and geopolitical uncertainties in some markets, we are confident in the year ahead and that our strategy will deliver industry-leading net rooms growth over the medium term.”

The group’s revpar in the UK grew just 1%, with London up 3% and the provinces flat. Fourth quarter revpar in the UK was up 4%, with strong leisure demand driving revpar in London up 10%, while the provinces were up just 1%.

2018 saw IHG acquire Principal with Covivio, enabling it to convert properties into the group’s first UK Voco and Kimpton hotels; as well as its acquisition of the luxury Regent Hotels & Resorts brand. IHG announced its acquisition of Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas just last week for £232m.