CBI member, International Hotels Group (IHG) has announced that it has expanded its franchise offer in Greater China with new signings for its brands, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn.
IHG signed 14 new franchise agreements last week at the South China Roadshow, held at the InterContinental hotel in Shenzhen. One new Crowne Plaza hotel and one new Holiday Inn & Suite will open in Chengdu, Longquan Yi.
These signings were accompanied by announcements that a further three new Holiday Inn hotels will open in Daocheng, Qinhuangdao and Suihua, and nine additional Holiday Inn Express properties will open in cities and tourism destinations including Chengdu, Shenzhen, Foshan, Yangjiang, Jiangmen, Jinjiang, Fuxian Lake, Lishui and Nanjing.
Kent Sun, chief development officer, IHG Greater China said: “As a pioneer in the hotel industry, the development of our franchise offer demonstrates our ability to move at pace, continue to innovate and react to the changing needs of the market and owners, based on our global expertise.”
The latest franchise offering is in addition to IHG’s current management model provision, which has enjoyed over three decades of operations in China. IHG began experimenting with a franchise offering in 2016, when it launched its Franchise Plus model for its Holiday Inn Express brand. The Franchise Plus model for Holiday Inn Express was tailored for the China market but based on IHG’s international franchising expertise – where it stands out as one of the largest franchisors in the hotel industry with over 80% of hotels operating under the franchise model globally. The Franchise Plus model transferred well to China, and its success is reflected in the 124 Holiday Inn Express hotels open in the region, coupled with the fact that IHG has another 166 hotels in the development pipeline.
According to IHG, the China market has reached a level of maturity and sophistication that now is the time to expand franchise model catering in-market for evolving owner demand in what is a fast-evolving industry.
IHG has big ambition in China. The brand currently operates 380 hotels, but has a further 334 hotels in the development stage under 10 brands across luxury to mainstream segments. With China anticipated to become the world’s most travelled to tourism destination by 2030, and more and more Chinese people travelling domestically, there is huge un-tapped market potential.
Please find more about IHG’s latest offerings in China here.
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