IHG Announces Worldwide Holiday Inn(R) Brand Relaunch

IHG Announces Worldwide Holiday Inn(R) Brand Relaunch

October 24, 2007

    -- World's most recognised hotel brand to maintain
industry 
       leadership and engage guests with fresh new look 

    -- Relaunch programme incorporates insights from the
hotel 
       industry's largest consumer research conducted
globally

    -- First new-look hotels in Asia Pacific scheduled for
China,
       Thailand and Australia by the second quarter of
2008


    SHANGHAI, China, Oct. 24 / Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- IHG
(InterContinental Hotels Group) today announced a worldwide
relaunch of the Holiday Inn brand family, which comprises
the Holiday Inn(R) and Holiday Inn Express(R) brands. 

    (Logo: http://www.xprn.com/xprn/sa/200702131431-min.jpg
)

    All Holiday Inn hotels worldwide will be progressively
relaunched to further enhance quality and drive consistency
across the brand portfolio. The relaunch will incorporate a
new service promise, a redesigned welcome experience as
well as refreshed guestrooms with signature bedding and
bathroom products. The new brand signage will be featured
at hotels once they have successfully implemented the
relaunch programme, resulting in a refreshed and
contemporary brand image for Holiday Inn. All Holiday Inn
and Holiday Inn Express hotels currently open or under
development will target to have the relaunch programme in
place by the end of 2010, with the first Asia Pacific
new-look hotels expected in China, Thailand and Australia
by the second quarter of 2008.

   Established in 1952 in the US, Holiday Inn is one of the
world's most recognised hotel brands with over 400,000 rooms
(3,125 hotels) open globally and a development pipeline of
more than 110,000 rooms (942 hotels) around the world. The
development pipeline continues to grow rapidly, with over
16,000 rooms signed in the third quarter of 2007, a 6%
increase over the same period in 2006. 

    In Asia Pacific, IHG has an operating portfolio of 100
Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels (26,900 rooms)
and nearly 60 hotels (17,500 rooms) in the development
pipeline. Holiday Inn is the leading mid-scale hotel brand
in People's Republic of China (PRC) and Asia Pacific, and
has been consistently named best mid-market hotel brand in
Asia Pacific and the world by readers of Business Traveller
Asia Pacific magazine for seven years running (2001-2007).
The brand first entered Asia in Kyoto, Japan in 1973, and
was among the first international hotel brands to open in
PRC in 1984.

    IHG expects the relaunch programme to allow Holiday Inn
hotels to generate significantly higher revenue per
available room (RevPAR), and deliver an improved return on
investment for their owners. Owners and franchisees will
invest up to US$1 billion over a three year period in total
to carry out the brand relaunch and meet the required
service and quality levels.

    Andrew Cosslett, chief executive, IHG, "This is an
important moment in Holiday Inn's history. The brand is the
largest and one of the most successful in the hotel
industry and its relaunch will ensure that this position is
maintained. We dedicated significant resources to getting
the facts and the insights to enable us to make these
changes, in partnership with our owners. The Holiday Inn
sign is seen by hundreds of millions of people every day
around the world. The changes we are making will ensure the
Holiday Inn brand goes forward into the future with a strong
and confident new image. We want our guests to get as much
enjoyment from Holiday Inn hotels over the next 50 years as
they have over the last 50." 

    The brand relaunch programme incorporates insights from
an IHG-commissioned consumer research, which gathered input
from 18,000 travellers globally. 

    Elements of the relaunch programme include:

    Redesigned Brand Signage - Holiday Inn is making
dramatic changes to its signage, evolving the iconic script
logo, energising the signature colour green and eliminating
the current shield shape. The brand will replace more than
11,000 signs around the world to reflect this refreshed and
contemporary look. The new brand signage will also be
incorporated into design elements in each of the more than
3,100 hotel lobbies and more than 400,000 guest rooms
worldwide.

    Refreshed Guest Room - Guests will be able to enjoy a
new bedding experience with fresh, white duvets and pillows
that come in two comfort levels: soft and firm. Bathrooms
will feature a showerhead that offers superior pressure
while conserving water as well as enhanced amenities, to
deliver an invigorating and up-to-date bath experience. 

    Warm Welcome - A new signature arrival, including new
lighting, landscaping and design features will create an
energised and a sense of welcome that is universally
recognisable and unique to the brand. Guests can expect a
more interactive and efficient check-in process, while
customised music and scent selections will also engage them
in a complete sensory experience.

    New Service Promise - Since a differentiated lodging
experience cannot be delivered through imagery and product
alone, Holiday Inn is committed to providing the
best-in-class service. As part of the relaunch, the brand
will initiate a new service culture - "Stay
Real". The service culture will enhance staff
behaviour and skills to best serve guests, treating them as
real people and consistently delivering the real, genuine
service for which Holiday Inn is known.

    Notes to Editors: 

    About IHG

    InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (IHG) of the United
Kingdom [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is the world's largest
hotel group by number of rooms.  IHG owns, manages, leases
or franchises, through various subsidiaries, over 3,800
hotels and more than 564,000 guest rooms in nearly 100
countries and territories around the world. IHG owns a
portfolio of well recognised and respected hotel brands
including InterContinental(R) Hotels & Resorts, Crowne
Plaza(R) Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn(R) Hotels and
Resorts, Holiday Inn Express(R), Staybridge Suites(R),
Candlewood Suites(R) and Hotel Indigo(R), and also manages
the world's largest hotel loyalty programme, Priority
Club(R) Rewards with over 33 million members worldwide.

    The company pioneered the travel industry's first
collaborative response to environmental issues as founder
of the International Hotels and Environment Initiative
(IHEI). The IHEI formed the foundations of the Tourism
Partnership launched by the International Business Leaders
Forum in 2004, of which IHG is still a member today. The
environment and local communities remain at the heart of
IHG's global corporate responsibility focus.

    IHG offers information and online reservations for all
its hotel brands at http://www.ihg.com and information for
the Priority Club Rewards programme at
http://www.priorityclub.com .

    For the latest news from IHG, visit our online Press
Office at http://www.ihg.com/media .


    For more information, please contact:

     Birte Sebastian 			
     IHG Asia Pacific (Singapore)		
     Tel:   [phone]			
     Email: [e-mail]		

     Sharona Tao
     IHG Greater China
     Tel:   [phone]	
     Email: [e-mail]