Holiday Inn 2011 Annual Report Download - page 14

ON A NEIGHBOURHOOD ROLL
Our youngest brand continued to move into
new markets while also building global
RevPAR by 12.4 per cent year-on-year.
We opened in Liverpool, Glasgow and
Birmingham in the UK and, following
the $25 million renovation of an historic
building overlooking the Mississippi
River, welcomed guests to Baton Rouge,
Louisiana, in the US.
Hotel Indigo Glasgow’s Limelight bar – filled
with locally-commissioned original artwork –
won a DRAM award for best design.
COMING SOON
Thanks to 19 signings in 2011, we will
debut in Russia with Hotel Indigo
St Petersburg Tchaikovsky next year
and open the brand’s first hotel in a
resort destination, Hotel Indigo Phuket
Naithon Beach Resort, Thailand in 2014.
Properties for Tianjin and Sanya in China
joined our pipeline, along with a first
signing for the Middle East in Riyadh,
Saudi Arabia.
Our second hotel for Greater China,
the Hotel Indigo Xiamen Harbour View,
will open its doors in March 2012.
We are also set to open a first for
continental Europe – Hotel Indigo Berlin
Centre Hardenbergstraße in Germany –
in 2012.
In all, we will open 58 hotels over the
next three to five years – stretching from
York, Hamburg, Madrid and Lisbon in
Europe, to Hong Kong and Bangkok
in Asia, and Vancouver and New York
in The Americas.
TESTING NEW HALLMARKS
After seven years of trading, our very
first property – Hotel Indigo Atlanta
Midtown – benefited from fresh interior
spaces and new guest services.
The hotel remains a test bed for brand
hallmark development and, as part
of a continuous renewal programme,
we successfully piloted several new
concepts: a Drink Well service at
reception offering guests a drink on
arrival and self-serve wine, coffee
and sundries in other public spaces.
Public spaces at the original Hotel Indigo in Atlanta
Midtown have been renovated to reflect the
neighbourhood story of the iconic Fox Theatre.
FOOD AND BEVERAGE EVOLUTION
Hotel Indigo began to roll out a major
food and beverage upgrade in The
Americas.
By the end of 2012, hotels in key markets
and all new properties will serve locally-
sourced ingredients and seasonal menu
items at refreshed restaurants, each
named to reflect the culture, character
and tastes of the neighbourhood.
The move creates partnerships with
preferred local suppliers – ranging
from farmers and bakers to brewers
and coffee roasters – and reinforces
the personality of our brand.
Hotels that have already tested or
completed the programme report
increased guest revenue and scores.
LOCALS KNOW BEST WITH
CURTIS STONE
Celebrity chef Curtis Stone checked in
to Hotel Indigo in the US this year to talk
to consumers about our commitment to
local food and suppliers. The promotion
not only brought our neighbourhood
story to life, it also inspired wide press
coverage and conversation.
The ‘Locals Know Best – Dish on the Dish’
campaign asked consumers to share
their favourite local dishes and vie for a
food tasting trip for two to New York City.
We encouraged people to share stories
and photos with our more than 17,000
fans on facebook.com/HotelIndigo. The
promotion generated over 900 stories,
more than 1.5 million impressions on
Twitter alone, and reached 361 million
consumers.
12 IHG Annual Review and Summary Financial Statement 2011
We love the fact that we’re different, right down to our local take on design. We’re all about
neighbourhoods and take every opportunity to share them with our guests. Hotel Indigo
combines the individuality of a boutique hotel with the reliability of a big brand company.
Our locations and inspired service set Hotel Indigo apart. We go out of our way to make local
communities easy to discover and appealing to the upscale well-travelled guest who has an
eye for design and is looking for something different.
Refreshingly Local