IHG, SAMHI ink pact for Holiday Inn Express portfolio in India

Global hospitality major IHG today said it has partnered with hotel asset firm SAMHI to rebrand the latter's 14 hotels within India to Holiday Inn Express portfolio.
The partnership comprises of 14 hotels of SAMHI, including ten hotels that are operational in cities such as Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) said in a statement.
The other four hotels are under construction, it added.
"It is with great pride and excitement that we are announcing our partnership with SAMHI for conversion of their existing mid-market hotel portfolio in India to Holiday Inn Express," IHG South West Asia Development VP Sudeep Jain said.

This is a significant move towards establishing IHG as a leading player in the midscale hotel segment in India, while the company continues to build on its upscale and luxury offering in the country with InterContinental Hotels & Resorts and Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, he added.
"With this signing, we now have close to 60 hotels open and in the pipeline, across the Holiday Inn Brand family," Jain said.

All hotels in the portfolio will be closed while they are being refurbished and upgraded with the latest design directives to ensure the portfolio is fully representative of the Holiday Inn Express brand globally, the statement said.

"We are delighted to be partnering with IHG and bringing their world class Holiday Inn Express brand into our business portfolio," SAMHI MD & CEO Ashish Jakhanwala said.
IHG currently has 30 hotels operating across four brands in India, including InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express, with a further 33 properties in the development pipeline, the statement said.
The SAMHI signing will see another 14 hotels added to the development pipeline, it added.