InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), that runs brands like the Intercontinental and Holiday Inn, will be re-positioning its Intercontinental brand next year in the country. The company currently has four Intercontinental brand hotels and will be left with just one at Marine Drive in Mumbai by next year. This follows the closure of the franchisee agreement it had with The Lalit Group of hotels run by Bharat Hotels for the Intercontinental brand. The latter had decided to run its own brand hotels and hence end the franchisee with the IHG.
Moreover, IHG has entered into a joint venture with Duet India Hotels Group (DIHL), the hotel investment arm of global asset manager Duet Group, to develop 19 new Holiday Inn Express brand hotels in India. IHG will be putting in $ 30million (about R132 crore) and $160 million (about R704 crore) more will be put in by other co-investors in the setting up of the 19 Holiday Inn Express brand hotels by 2016. ?
Paul Logan, vice president ? development, IHG, said, ?The Intercontinental brand in India is an aged product now and we want to refresh the brand in the country. We are signing in new hotels for the brand and at the same time, exiting from the existing ones under franchisee. We will be exiting from Mumbai at international airport and the Goa property this year leaving us with just one Intercontinental brand hotel in the country in Mumbai by next year.? Logan added that the company would no longer franchisee the Intercontinental brand and will look at management contracts. It did not deny possibility of owning Intercontinental brand hotel, if location and situation requires. IHG has two new Intercontinental hotels in the pipeline. ?We see great potential for the Intercontinental brand in the tier-I cities,? he said. ?
Chris Moloney, COO, South West Asia, IHG, said ?India is bit different from other markets and we saw the need to re-position the Intercontinental brand in the country.