The New Holiday Inn Express in Times Square opens as part of the world's biggest relaunch.
InterContinental Hotels Group, the world's largest hotel company by number of rooms, today announced the opening of its 1,000th relaunched Holiday Inn hotel - the Holiday Inn Express New York City Times Square. In these challenging economic times, Holiday Inn is making the most of its position as a leader in the mid-market segment.
The $1 billion relaunch of Holiday Inn is the largest in the history of the hospitality industry, with over 3,200 hotels around the world being updated – improving quality and driving consistency at Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels from Boston to Beijing.
In addition to the 3,200 hotels opened, there are a further 1,050 in the development pipeline due to open with the relaunched branding in the next three to four years. The relaunch programme, combined with new openings and continued removal of lower quality hotels, will completely rejuvenate the Holiday Inn estate over the next few years.
Andy Cosslett, IHG's CEO, said: "The opening of our 1,000th relaunched Holiday Inn hotel is the latest milestone on our three-year journey and demonstrates the momentum behind the programme. Despite the tough economic climate, we've relaunched, on average, four hotels a day for the past six months and we're committed to completing the global relaunch by the end of 2010.
Relaunched hotels are benefitting from improved guest satisfaction and RevPAR (revenue per available room) outperformance of an average of over five per cent. And the feedback we're getting from our guests and hotel owners tell us it's the right time to be doing this.
The economic environment has changed since we started the programme, but this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to show people that the Holiday Inn they came to know and love over the last 50 years is still a hotel brand that's right for them today."
The relaunch focuses on things research shows matter most to guests - a modern, contemporary hotel with efficient, friendly service and a great night's sleep. Relaunched hotels feature:
- Upgraded and decluttered lobby areas
- A Holiday Inn scent and sound
- New bedding
- Upgraded showers and bathroom amenities
- New exterior lighting and landscaping
- New signage with the redesigned logo
- All Holiday Inn employees also go through an extensive "Stay Real" training programme to ensure guests receive the level of service they expect.
In Asia Pacific, out of 126 Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels, we have relaunched nearly a quarter of them. The powerhouse Holiday Inn brand family is well-placed to tap into the long term growth opportunities for the travel industry in Asia Pacific. As evidence of its popularity, for eight consecutive years since 2001, Holiday Inn has been voted as the Best Mid-Scale Hotel Brand in Asia Pacific and the Best Mid-Scale Hotel Brand in the World at the Business Traveller Asia Pacific Awards.
26 million people a year visit Times Square and the 210-room Holiday Inn Express New York City Times Square is surrounded by New York City's biggest tourist attractions including Broadway, the Rockefeller Center and the Empire State Building. The hotel is located at 343 West 39th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues in Midtown Manhattan, with LaGuardia (LGA) and JFK International (JFK) both less than 30 minutes away.
