InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has revealed information about its new hotel brand that will belong to the midscale category. The new brand will offer nearly same functionality as the famous Holiday Inn Express brand, but it will cost approximately US$10-15 less per night. The hotelier promises that the new hotels will be clear, honest, and will help travelers save their hard-earned money.
The name of the new brand hasn’t been disclosed yet. IHG plans to launch the new brand primarily on the US market during the initial stage. First hotels will be under construction already next year with the opening scheduled for 2019. The price of construction will be around US$85-95 thousands per guest room. As the brand is new, IHG offers various perks for hotel owners such as special royalty fees and fee discounts for first license agreements.
The hotelier knows how important good sleep is, especially when away from home, so IHG is planning to invest into quality mattresses and linens. They will be not only of a high quality but also will reduce noise and have an in-room climate control. More than a half of guest rooms (65%) will have king beds and the remaining 35% - queen beds and will range in size from 220 to 275 square feet. All guest rooms will also have a built-in workplace, a closet with luggage shelves, smart TV, and a shower.
Public areas will include a dining area where guests will have their complimentary breakfast and special areas for work and socializing. Depending on the market, new hotels may have a swimming pool. IHG promises enhanced Wi-Fi, simple reservation and easy check-in and out with the help of mobile devices. Moreover, smart TVs in the rooms will have improved connectivity features so guests can stream content from their own devices.
The new hotel brand will also have a grab and go food station and a premium coffee station. Besides that, hotels will have market places where guests can purchase food, beverages, and some personal items. The prototype of the new hotel brand has at least three stores and a minimum of 95-100 guest rooms. In addition to the new brand, IHG makes some changes to the Holiday Inn Express hotels. They will soon get Express Start breakfast bar with the new combination oven. That will allow providing guests with freshly cooked eggs and meat every morning. The new bar will appear this summer in the US and Canada, and in Q1 2018 in the rest of the world.