Intercontinental 'refreshes' two brands for consistency

Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express go for a facelift

Intercontinental Hotel Group has “refreshed” two of its brands Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express. ‘Refresh’ is a global rebranding exercise that the group has undertaken to keep up with the changing market and consumer needs, on a global scale.

The rebranding programme was taken up to align the Holiday Inn hotels across the globe and also to give a fresh look to the rooms at a global investment of $1 billion. The team undertaking the exercise in India comprised both global and regional members in order to customize the final product to suit Indian taste. “We have standardized all our Holiday Inn and Express hotels in terms of design, signage, guest experience etc,” says Douglas Martell, vice president-operations, South West Asia, IHG.

With Indians increasingly turning into global travellers, international hotel chains have to provide a consistent brand offering everywhere, which means uniform standards have to be adopted in all countries, according to experts.

From the current 14, the group is expected to expand to 46 hotels in the country in the next four to five years. The UK based hospitality chain expects nearly 80 per cent of its revenues would come from the two brands – Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express. IHG also operates Intercontinental and Crowne Plaza hotels in India.

With the first Holiday Inn Express making its debut in Ahmedabad last month, the hospitality group has firmed up plans for 18 more Express hotels in a joint venture with Duet Hotels. Duet Hotels has raised a total of $200 million (around Rs 907 crore) for its expansion in India including the joint venture with IHG.

The Express brand operates at the lower end of the mid-market segment and unlike Holiday Inn, it provides limited services. There is no room service, banquet or mini-bar facility in the hotels for instance. However, according to Martell, the Express brand proposition is to offer “a great bathroom, bedding experience with complementary wi-fi and breakfast facility.”

“We have to get people to understand and differentiate between a full and limited service brand by creating marketing awareness about Holiday Inn Express brand,” he adds. In India, the hotel customized itself only to the extent of providing breakfast option. Company’s market research revealed the Indian traveller’s requirement remained same as his global counterparts.

As IHG gets ready to launch two more Express hotels in Chennai and Hyderabad by the fourth quarter next year, it is also starting its advertising campaign through social media, billboards, print media etc. The hotel company wants to tap the young business traveller in tier one and tier two cities across India.

India has the third largest pipeline for IHG global, right next to the US and China. The company is betting big on the mid-market segment which according to recent studies is going to witness the highest increase in room supply. For instance, an HVS study states that by 2016-17 there will be a 35 per cent increase in branded mid-market room supply constituting the highest growth category. The study also stated, “such a trend bodes well for the hospitality industry at large as the availability of lodging options across all price points will encourage and enable more Indians to travel within the country and thereby increase demand for the industry.” That will be some refreshing change!