Intercontinental Hotels Group Hotel Owners Capitalize On Mixed-brand Development Trend

IHG's industry-leading pipeline boosted by developers building its distinct brands side-by-side

(Monday, April 24, 2006) - InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) [Lon: IHG; NYSE: IHG (ADRs)] is the world's largest hotel group by number of rooms, and demand for its hotels is at an all-time high. This demand, along with rising land prices across the nation, have resulted in mixed-brand development -- a trend where hotel owners are building IHG brand hotels adjacent to one another on the same land parcel.

Developers can build IHG brand hotels side-by-side to meet market demand because IHG's brands feature well-defined offerings that respectively cater to distinct customer segments. IHG has some of the most recognized and respected brands in the world, including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo™, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites® and Candlewood Suites®.

"IHG provides a great advantage for developers who want to more fully realize their return on real estate investment," said Kirk Kinsell, SVP and chief development officer, the Americas, IHG. "A hotel development automatically raises the value of the remainder of the land since it represents built-in demand for other businesses such as restaurants and retailers. And when properties are built together, you can leverage these assets and manage more efficiently to maximize the return on these investments."

For example, a Holiday Inn can be built adjacent to a Staybridge Suites, or a Crowne Plaza can be built next to a Holiday Inn Express or Hotel Indigo to take advantage of resources (shared parking lots, restaurants) and personnel (general managers, housekeepers) without saturating the market in one customer segment.

Phil Barney, CEO of Barney Hospitality Group, is building a Staybridge Suites property next to his Holiday Inn hotel in California. He sees mixed-brand development as a growing trend.

"When you have a great property with great people and a successful infrastructure already in place, and you can build another hotel next door, the chances of being successful increase in geometric proportion," Barney said. "Because of the way the brands are positioned, we will bring in new long-term stay customers. The synergy, economies of scale and efficiencies make a lot of business sense to me. It's an incredible win-win situation for us."


With 3,600 hotels and 537,500 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories around the world, IHG is able to help hotel owners maximize side-by-side properties through such offerings as a global reservation system, hotel management expertise, the industry's most comprehensive e-Commerce engine that drives nearly $4 billion in revenue each year, and Priority Club® Rewards, the largest and fastest-growing guest loyalty program.


For Barney, the partnership with IHG is a natural fit. "After looking at major players in the marketplace, I wanted a company that had a great legacy and that had the ability to deliver if I delivered," he said. "I've finally found a partner that's doing what they're supposed to do while I'm doing what I'm supposed to do."


IHG currently has 11 dual development projects in the pipeline, including Ft. Lauderdale Airport; Killeen, Texas; Las Vegas; Lincoln, Neb.; Miami National Airport; Northwest Arkansas; Oklahoma City; Omaha Airport; Rolla, Mo.; South Bend, Ind. and Tucson, Ariz.

Contact:

Charlotte Wood, InterContinental Hotels Group, Charlotte.wood@ichotelsgroup.com, (770) 604-2429

Nelson Mumma Jr., GCI Group, nmumma@gcigroup.com, (404) 898-1601


Note to Editors:

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC of the United Kingdom [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is the world's largest hotel group by number of rooms. InterContinental Hotels Group owns, manages, leases or franchises, through various subsidiaries, over 3,600 hotels and 537,500 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories around the world. The Group owns a portfolio of well recognised and respected hotel brands including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites®, Candlewood Suites® and Hotel IndigoTM, and also manages the world's largest hotel loyalty programme, Priority Club® Rewards.

InterContinental Hotels Group offers information and online reservations for all its hotel brands at www.ichotelsgroup.com and information for the Priority Club Rewards programme at www.priorityclub.com.

For the latest news from InterContinental Hotels Group, visit our online Press Office at www.ihgplc.com/media.

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