Pipeline growth led by the Americas region with record-breaking activity throughout, 2006
As reported in the IHG, 2006 year-end earnings (to Dec. 31, 2006) stock exchange announcement issued on Feb. 20th, IHG, the world's largest hotel group by number of rooms, entered 2007 with tremendous momentum having built the world's largest development pipeline (nearly 158,000 rooms). The Americas region, with a current portfolio of 2,930 hotels, comprises 80 percent of the company's global pipeline with record-breaking signings across all brands. This marks the first time that IHG's pipeline in the U.S. moved past all of its competitors to the number one position. At the center of this growth was 380 new license agreements signed for the Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express brands. For two years in a row, IHG has signed a record number of agreements for Holiday Inn ahead of any prior year in the brand's 53-year history.
"Our growth is a testament to the value we create for owners through our powerful marketing and revenue channels combined with our high-touch relationships," said Kirk Kinsell, SVP and chief development officer, the Americas, IHG. "In the Americas region, we ended 2006 with over 1,000 hotels and over 105,000 rooms in our pipeline, and we signed 552 license agreements, totaling over 61,600 rooms. And - there is still much more to come."
The world's most recognized hotel brand, Holiday Inn, launched its prototype hotel in the U.S. two years ago. Today the brand has 16 prototype hotels open and another 176 hotels in the development pipeline. The prototype combines the brand's quality and performance with an economically savvy design that allows it to command an 11 percent RevPAR premium over the previous Holiday Inn model.
IHG's newest brand, Hotel Indigo, has experienced remarkable growth since it was first introduced two and a half years ago. The industry's first branded boutique hotel in the lifestyle segment now has eight properties open and 40 under development. Properties currently open are located in Ottawa, Canada, Scottsdale, Ariz., Sarasota, Fla., Dallas, Houston, Chicago(2 properties), and Atlanta.
Candlewood Suites is IHG's fastest growing U.S. brand with a total of 128 hotels in the Americas pipeline, of which 71 agreements were signed in 2006 (6,510 rooms). The opening of a new Candlewood Suites in New York City in Spring 2008 will mark the industry's first mid-priced extended-stay hotel located there.
The continued interest by developers in IHG's family of brands is further fueled by strong RevPAR performance as demonstrated in 2006 with an increase of 9.2 percent in the Americas region. InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express and Candlewood Suites each outperformed their market segments in RevPAR.
IHG experiences great success in attracting developers not only because of the company's strength in performance, franchising and branding, but also as a result of IHG's proven hotel management capabilities. The Hotel Management Group, the America's operations division of IHG, has a management pipeline of more than 3,700 rooms which will join its existing portfolio of more than 44,000 rooms which include the recently opened InterContinental Boston and InterContinental Los Angeles Century City. The Hotel Management Group has continued to execute contracts for hotels in cities across the U.S. including San Antonio, Houston, Denver and Savannah, Ga.
Additional information regarding growth of other IHG brands:
InterContinental Hotels & Resorts
The InterContinental brand currently has six hotels in the Americas pipeline to complement its existing portfolio of 49 hotels. Significant openings in the region include the InterContinental Boston, which was recognized with the 2006 Development of the Year Award at the recently held Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) in Los Angeles. Carrying this momentum forward, just at year-end, the InterContinental
Milwaukee opened, a conversion from a Wyndham Hotel and the InterContinental Los Angeles Century City opened in January following a record 22-day conversion process of the Park Hyatt in Century City. With this important West Coast presence in place, the brand now has a global portfolio of 148 hotels with another 36 properties in the global pipeline.
Crowne Plaza
The market's fastest growing U.S. upscale brand, Crowne Plaza, experienced 15 percent growth in 2006 and now has 155 hotels open in the Americas region. The brand has another 24 hotels in the region's pipeline including a new prototype property which is scheduled to open in Milwaukee, Wis., in 2008. The new prototype design was introduced in 2006 to meet the demands of the emerging marketplace, both from the developers' and the guests' perspectives.
Holiday Inn Express
Holiday Inn Express, the fastest-growing hotel brand in the limited-service category, led all IHG brands with 503 properties in the Americas development pipeline. The brand continues to open an average of two hotels per week, and has grown to more than 1,506 hotels since its introduction in the early 1990s. In 2006, the brand continued to grow its presence in urban markets with the opening of two additional hotels in New York City with new locations in Brooklyn and Chelsea.
Staybridge Suites
The growth of Staybridge Suites remains strong with 115 properties (over 12,000 rooms) in the development pipeline and it is expected the brand will more than double in size over the next several years. The brand is well on its way toward this goal with the recent opening of its 100th property in Tallahassee, Fla. The brand reached this milestone faster than any other hotel brand in the upscale extended-stay category.
|
