DQ (Development Quarterly) - Issue 3 by IHG Development

D E V E L O P M E N T

Q U A R T E R L Y

IHG® Europe’s Development, Design & Openings magazine

ISSUE

The Boom of Branded Boutique: Opportunities in the industry’s fastest growing segment

Travel: France, her appetite for luxury and the endless appeal of Bordeaux

Enter the Dragon: China outbound tourism and the importance of being China Ready

Advantage Pricing: IHG® launches Lowest Price Promise with Holiday Inn Express®

Next Generation public space at Holiday Inn Express® London – Park Royal

Your next growth opportunity IHG® is one of the world's leading hotel companies. Our scale, experience and dedication to quality ensure that your next growth opportunity will be supported every step of the way: from signing, through the design phase, to opening and operating a successful hotel. Whether you choose to franchise with us, or opt for an IHG management agreement, the diversity of our brand portfolio allows IHG hotels to meet guest needs whatever the occasion – ultimately adding up to better returns on your investment. To find out more about developing your hotel with IHG, visit www.ihg.com/development *Data correct as at 30 June 2015

IHG® hotels host over 168 million guest nights per annum, 724,018 rooms in over 4,900 hotels in nearly 100 countries around the world*.

ISSUE

co n te n ts Welcome to issue three

Travel: France and the luxury market

Exploring the dominant position of IHG® in the country’s luxury segment and revealing why Bordeaux should be your next city break

Interview with… Apurva Pratap

Vice President of Distribution & Commercial Marketing, Europe, IHG

The Boom of Branded Boutique

Looking at the benefits of branding in the fastest growing hotel segment

Chinese outbound tourism:

The facts and figures

Enter the Dragon

Highlighting the importance of being China Ready

Meet… Rajesh Rana

Director, Andras House

How low can you go? Lowest Price Promise

Launching IHG’s long-awaited Advantage Pricing model with Holiday Inn Express®

Openings 2015

Holiday Inn Express – the Next Generation

Unveiling the public space at Holiday Inn Express® London – Park Royal

IHG on the Road

Showcasing IHG’s presence at the industry’s hottest events

Events 45 Dates for your diary

A Day in the Life of… Gilles Goasdoué

New Hotel Openings, Europe, IHG

What is Responsible Business?

Shining a spotlight on corporate responsibility initiatives, from IHG® Shelter in a Storm to the IHG Green Engage® system

MORE HOME THAN HOTEL Staybridge Suites® is the innovative, all-suites, extended stay brand from IHG®, designed for upscale business and leisure travellers who want to enjoy the best of home and hotel. Guests enjoy the friendliness of Staybridge Suites combined with homely public areas, in-suite cooking facilities and the complimentary hot breakfast served every day. The brand is perfect for any location where there’s demand for extended stay accommodation.

ISSUE

editor’s letter…

we lco m e to iss ue three Here we are at the tail end of summer. I hope you all found time to take a vacation and enjoy a break from the day-to-day. Summer is one of my favourite times of the year. It is all about family and friends enjoying long sunny days and beautiful balmy evenings. Something a little less enjoyable in the summer is construction site visits. Sweltering places where you sluggishly drag yourself around trying to concentrate on anything but the heavy-duty jacket and fur-lined boots. It is hot work but I can’t complain about one sweaty hour on site when construction teams do this all day every day to build our fantastic hotels. Now as we enter the final months of 2015, we are all feeling fresh from holiday and energised by everything we have achieved at IHG® since the last issue of DQ. We are well on our way to attaining the goals we set ourselves for the year. Last month we unveiled a new and exciting set of refreshed Build brand standards for InterContinental®, Crowne Plaza® and Holiday Inn®. Later this year the updated Hotel Indigo® Build and Operate brand standards will be launched and work on the Staybridge Suites® standards will follow suit. Brand standards serve to strengthen our message and ensure that they remain your brands of choice. They offer great inspiration about what IHG brands mean and where they are heading in the future. Developing great brands and financially successful hotels can only be achieved when teams work together to achieve a common goal. I want to thank the hotel owners and their teams for their ongoing partnership with IHG and praise the Development, Design & Openings team who work tirelessly with the support of the Legal, Corporate Finance, Brand, Operations, Sales and Marketing teams to open the right hotels in the right places. So far this year we have opened some fantastic hotels, including two impressive Hotel Indigo hotels in York and Helsinki, a flagship Crowne Plaza in Berlin Potsdamer Platz, Holiday Inn hotels with show-stopping Open Lobbies in Frankfurt and Watford, and Holiday Inn Express® Grimsby, which is the first new-build to feature Generation Four rooms. We have signed some excellent hotels including our first property in Mongolia with Holiday Inn Ulaanbaatar, a 322-room Holiday Inn in Moscow, six hotels in Germany and three new InterContinental hotels; Estoril, Lyon and Bordeaux. The latter two properties position IHG as the leader in France’s luxury segment, something we explore further in this issue of the magazine. Some other topics we cover include the importance of being China Ready and our newly launched Lowest Price Promise. These are two features that go to show at IHG we are continuously striving for improvement and working towards our goal to become number one. That just leaves me to say welcome to the third issue of DQ. I hope you enjoy it and I look forward to seeing you at events all over our region in the coming months.

P h il ippe B ijao u i Vice P re s id e nt Deve lo p m e nt , E u rop e

TR AVEL

Fran ce’s Love Affa i r w it h I n terC on t in enta l ® H otels & R esort s

With landmark InterContinental® hotels in Lyon and Bordeaux signed over the last few months, IHG® has cemented its reputation as the dominating force in France’s luxury hotel segment. So what is driving this demand and how has the InterContinental brand capitalised on France’s unwavering love of luxe?

TR AVEL

InterContinental® Carlton Cannes “IHG now has InterContinental hotels in every main city in France” beams Willemijn Geels, IHG’s Associate Vice President of Development for Northern and Eastern Europe. “This is something to be excited about.” And she’s right. Having a leading presence in the most visited country in the world certainly is exciting.

France plays host to at least 79m foreign tourists every year*. They come from around the world: Francophile Chinese flock there in their droves aided by the Schengen Agreement; visitors from the Middle East go to escape their soaring summer temperatures; curious Europeans go to see what all the fuss is about. From the fashion houses to the vineyards, France is the number one destination for good reason and its reputation is one of romance and luxury. 05

TR AVEL

InterContinental速 Bordeaux - Le Grand Hotel

TR AVEL

InterContinental® Lyon - Hotel Dieu

Willemijn elaborates, “France remains a very attractive country for tourists and the luxury segment is doing well. People associate France with luxury goods, fashion, fine wines and so on. In a sense they carry that on to their hotel stay too, so their luxury experience doesn’t end in the shops, it continues to their choice of accommodation. The iconic InterContinental brand in France is associated with luxury and level of service and as we grow we continue to strengthen that reputation.”

That impressive estate is what helped the brand win in Bordeaux too. Due to open by the end of the year, the glorious InterContinental® Bordeaux - Le Grand Hotel will operate under a management agreement with Financière Immobilière Bordelaise. Dating back to 1776, the 130-room icon occupies a prime location on Place de la Comédie in the city that’s just been awarded Top Destination by European Best Destinations 2015. As the second project to get the thumbs up within a month, it has been a summer to celebrate at IHG.

It is that reputation that secured two of this year’s landmark signings for the brand. Signed in June, InterContinental® Lyon - Hotel Dieu is a thrilling addition to IHG’s portfolio in Europe. Due to open in Autumn 2018, it will operate under a management agreement with Crédit Agricole Assurances and will be developed by Eiffage. Part of a multipurpose development at the epicentre of a district undergoing total renovation, the project has been years in the making. IHG’s Director of Development France and North Africa, Brice Marguet explains, “It all started with a business lunch with the Lord Mayor at the MIPIM conference in Cannes. He invited ten hotel representatives to discuss the upcoming RFP to select a developer and a brand to operate the future Hotel Dieu. I attended it and promoted InterContinental as the right brand for the area. We had meetings, we had presentations, we focused on the InterContinental brand’s impressive estate in the country and after some time that’s how we got it.”

“Signing InterContinental Lyon - Hotel Dieu and InterContinental Bordeaux - Le Grand Hotel absolutely positions IHG as the leader in the luxury sector in France” Willemijn continues. “The fact we have very well-known historical properties in Paris, Cannes and Marseille spread the word for the InterContinental brand. They definitely helped us secure the latest properties.”

“

France’s love affair with luxury tourism has gone from strength to strength. The long-anticipated affluent Chinese guest has started arriving and initiatives like the successful ‘Do you speak touriste?’ campaign by the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry have gone a long way to enhance France’s position as a tourist-friendly must-visit destination. With hospitality competition fiercer than ever, IHG can be particularly proud of the InterContinental estate across a country that can claim the third largest income in the world from tourism*.

“Signing InterContinental® Lyon - Hotel Dieu and InterContinental® Bordeaux - Le Grand Hotel absolutely positions IHG® as the leader in the luxury sector in France.”

Willemijn Geels, Associate Vice President Development, Northern and Eastern Europe, IHG

* Luxury Society, February 2014 07

TR AVEL

InterContinental® Marseille - Hotel Dieu

T h e In te rContinental ® E state in Fran ce InterContinental Hotels & Resorts has won the World’s Leading Hotel Brand at the World Travel Awards for six years running. Here is how the brand’s estate in France pans out...

InterContinental® Lyon - Hotel Dieu

InterContinental® Paris - Avenue Marceau

Signed: June 2015 Due to open: 2018 Rooms & suites: 143 Located on the bank of the river Rhône, this hotel is being converted from Lyon’s former Hotel Dieu, one of the oldest hospitals in France. It forms part of a listed group of buildings that dates back to the 17th Century, close to Place Bellecour in the very heart of the city.

Opened: September 2008 Rooms & suites: 57 Ideally located a short walk from the Champs Elysées and overlooking the Eiffel Tower, this boutique-style hotel is home to exclusive Le M64 Restaurant. Once the private mansion of Lord de Breteuil, this beautifully renovated property is at the very heart of Paris.

InterContinental Bordeaux - Le Grand Hotel

Opened: September 1991 Rooms & suites: 382 This hotel’s Belle Epoque façade overlooks the stunning Bay of Cannes. Situated on the Boulevard de La Croisette, famous for the Cannes Film Festival and designer shopping, it has its own exclusive beach restaurant and pier.

Signed: July 2015 Due to open: Q4 2015 Rooms & suites: 130 Dating back to 1776, this hotel is based on Place de la Comédie in the centre of Bordeaux, a city that was recently voted European Best Destination, 2015. F&B will be overseen by the Gordon Ramsay Group and will include the fine dining restaurant Le Pressoir D’Argent.

InterContinental® Marseille - Hotel Dieu Opened: May 2013 Rooms & suites: 216 Overlooking the Vieux Port, adjacent to the oldest district in Marseille known as the Panier, this historic hotel is housed in a listed historical monument dating back to the 18th century. With a spectacular terrace, it also boasts the first ever Spa by Clarins in Marseille. 08

InterContinental® Carlton Cannes

InterContinental® Paris - Le Grand Opened: 1976 Rooms & suites: 540 Located in the 9th arrondissement, close to the Louvre Museum, shopping and theatre, this luxury Paris hotel is truly an icon. In 2014 the hotel’s famous ballroom the Salon Opera and Salon Berlioz underwent a €6million restoration over a five-month period.

TR AVEL

W hy Bo rd eaux? Classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007, Bordeaux

The sweeping Garonne river, with its quaint riverbank homes and

earned the enviable title of 2015’s Top Destination by European

the beautiful Pont de Pierre, provides countless photo opportunities.

Best Destinations earlier this year. It’s not hard to see why. A recent

So too does the Triangle-d’Or, which combines 18th-century charm

regeneration project has revived the city’s elegant dignity and

with modern bustle. The Musée d’Aquitaine is a testament to the

injected new life into areas previously untouched. Chartrons is a

city’s illustrious heritage and no visit to Bordeaux is complete

case in point. Once an area of abandoned warehouses, gentrification

without taking in the unbeatable views from the Cathédrale

has transformed it into the city’s trendiest neighbourhood, with

Saint-André’s bell tower.

contemporary design shops, clothing boutiques and delightful eateries. And food and wine are what makes this city tick. You can eat and drink yourself silly in a host of restaurants, from multiple Michelin-starred offerings to the diverse food stalls at Marché des Capucins. Bordeaux’s wine production remains world dominating, and no trip to the region is complete without a vineyard tour or two.

Bordeaux unites classical and neo-classical architecture with urban development and attracts tourists and businesses from around the world. It presents a unique investment opportunity and IHG is very proud to be opening the InterContinental Bordeaux - Le Grand Hotel later this year.

INTER VIEW

Interview with…

Apurva Pratap Apurva Pratap is Vice President of Distribution & Commercial Marketing, Europe and has been heavily involved in creating the IHG® Lowest Price Promise. Before joining IHG in 2009 Apurva held Director positions in global marketing and strategy at Starbucks Coffee Co. after crafting a successful career in the finance sector while establishing his family’s upscale resort hotel in India. We caught up with him to talk about his work-life balance, his passion for Shakespeare and childhood plans for time travel. What is your typical day like? I get up between 6:30-7:00am and my wife and I get my daughter ready for nursery. She is my first child and is two-and-a-half now, so it is precious time for us. I get into the office about 9:00am, but I’m only there about half of the time, the rest is spent travelling. A big part of my job is talking to our owner community. I go to sales and marketing subcommittee meetings, IT meetings, country owner meetings, owner board meetings. It is critical to get owner input, buy-in and endorsement because that’s what makes or breaks anything we do!

You must be very proud of what IHG has achieved with Lowest Price Promise. I am very proud. It is a project that has required many teams. It’s our sales team ensuring our distribution channels are working, our brand team creating the messaging, our marketing team making sure the right message is conveyed to the right people in the right place, it’s revenue management ensuring price integrity, it’s the hotel, it’s operations; everybody had their role to play. Something that really engages the whole company is great because the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Tell us about your most recent project, the Lowest Price Promise. It was born out of finding a way to address our guests’ key needs. They were telling us they wanted the best prices using a simple channel so over time and a lot of work, we devised our Lowest Price Promise. It’s important to emphasise that this is a promise that has real substance. It delivers the best results every time and never breaks that promise. We have rolled it out with Holiday Inn Express® first and only when we are absolutely confident that we can achieve that across the other brands, we will roll it out to them.

Lowest Price Promise has been a huge project, how do you maintain a healthy work-life balance? It is naturally balanced because I love what I do. If you really love your work you don’t get home too tired to enjoy being with your family. One thing I do, which might be good or bad practice, is go through emails when everyone is asleep. It is my one little piece of time for quiet reflection and the rest of my time is spent with people.

You are a numbers and a people man. Have you developed that balance over time? I have been fortunate to work in some fantastic organisations. When I was a consultant in McKinsey & Co. I spent a lot of time with six to eight other organisations and in general you find the thing you are most proud of is the degree to which you’ve made an impact on individuals. Yes, I take satisfaction from making an impact on a company, but it’s the impact on people that is really gratifying. Have you always had leadership in mind? I love to work in teams but I like to see myself making an impact. In school I led the debate team, the dramatics team and inter-school and collegiate competitions. Leading has always given me a great sense of pride. I think a team can achieve more than a single person and in a leadership role you get the benefit of that broader impact. So do you think you’re competitive? Absolutely! Our team won a lot of those debates in school! I always carefully choose what I take on, but when I take something on I have to do the best job possible.

“

Tell us about your love of theatre. I was very fortunate in my school to get involved in theatre at a very young age. I love the fact that you immerse yourself into someone else’s life and learn about them. Learning is something that motivates me in everything I do. I especially love Shakespeare because it is so evergreen. It was written so long ago but still so much of it is true today. What did you want to be when you were a child? I always loved to travel so I wanted to be a pilot. When I was six we went to America and the 20 hours from India felt like days. I knew that the world turned in 24 hours, so I always imagined that if we flew straight up into the atmosphere and then came straight down we could get there in 12 hours just by the earth’s turning, and then if we went against the turn we could cut that in half again. It seems I was devising time travel from an early age! What are you working on at the moment? I am working on something called Loyalty 2.0 which is about building relationships with all our IHG® Rewards Club members at different levels of loyalty. It aims to move beyond purely transactional rewards, like free nights, to build relationships that make sure we understand what matters to every customer and consistently deliver on that. Everything starts with the customer and if you get that right you can achieve anything.

I take satisfaction from making an impact on a company, but it’s the impact on people that is really gratifying.

B R ANDS

T he Boom of Branded Bout i que The boutique segment is the fastest growing in the industry and IHG® is the global leader in the field. But why exactly is boutique seeing such a surge in popularity and what can branding bring to the traditionally independent market? For the last four years the boutique segment has outperformed the overall industry in demand, supply and growth. So when earlier this year, IHG announced the acquisition of Kimpton® Hotels & Restaurants it was a significant move which, alongside Hotel Indigo®, gives IHG the largest footprint in the global boutique hotel space. No mean feat considering the competition in a segment that’s enjoying so much success. Combined, IHG’s Hotel Indigo and Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants brands boast a total of over 200 open and pipeline hotels across 22 countries. The pace of growth of Hotel Indigo alone is far outstripping the competition and with Kimpton on board, IHG has taken another leap ahead of the game. Richard Solomons, Chief Executive Officer of IHG elaborates, “The distinctive and innovative Kimpton brand will fit perfectly into the IHG brand family. The acquisition is another step in IHG’s well-established asset-light strategy of investing in high-quality growth, building on a strong track record of developing iconic global brands. We will use our scale, network of owner relationships, and powerful digital platforms to accelerate Kimpton’s growth both within the US and internationally.“

Hotel Indigo® Helsinki - Boulevard 13

B R ANDS

Why Generation Y is key Over the last decade, hotels as an investment vehicle have grown in importance. As these last few years in particular have shown, boutique and lifestyle present a highly compelling investment case. Since the inception of ‘boutique’ in the early 80s, the concept has always been considered something of a niche market, a trendy flash-in-the-pan with no legs to stand the test of time. Thirty years on and several economic busts later, boutique is booming. The often misunderstood sector has crafted an identity, courted a new breed of guest and reaped the rewards. A core development in the sector’s success has been truly understanding the boutique patron. With every year that passes, more Generation Ys and Millennials make up hotel guests. This generational shift and evolving guest habits have contributed to the growth of the industry. Those in their 20s-50s, the techies-meet-creatives are now looking for more than traditional comfort and convenience for their business and leisure travel. They want authentic local adventure without the exhaustion of a backpack. Theirs is an Instagrammable stay; something sexy and stylish to brag about online. A Facebook check-in here and a #foodporn tweet there. Boutique is beautiful, and beautiful and social media go hand in hand. Dina Soliman, Director of Brand Management, Hotel Indigo in Europe lends her opinion, “Generation Ys and Millennials are certainly more open, less risk averse and keener to get out and explore and there are boutique brands that are geared to that. However, in my view the growth behind the boutique segment is wider than the Millennial generation pull. The growth and demand for this segment is across generations and in fact goes beyond our industry. The dominance of chains seen in our high streets means that every city in Europe starts to seem the same and people are looking to move away from that – hence the demand in boutique, one-off shops and unusual items.”

Lorien Hotel & Spa, a Kimpton® Hotel 14

B R ANDS

Hotel Indigo速 York

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Hotel Indigo® York, designed by matthews mee

Size? It’s what you do with it that counts The concept of branded boutique might seem like an oxymoron. There is a romanticism in the independent and the unique and an understandable fear of a cloned and uniform experience should a boutique become a chain. From a developer’s point of view, there is a perceived risk of restrictive brand standards throttling any creativity from their hotel. And so with boutique hotels come more flexible design and tailored concepts. Personalised guest experience is far more important to the segment than negotiating a few square millimetres. This variety all adds to the uniqueness of the hotel. It all works to maintain the authenticity of the genre.

Boutique hotels pride themselves on being not merely a hotel product. They look to add value to not only the building but the neighbourhood it sits in. Hotel Indigo has built this element into the core of its brand. Dina Soliman elaborates, “Just as no two neighbourhoods are alike, no two Hotel Indigo properties are alike. Each hotel’s neighbourhood story is woven throughout the guest experience, from the local cuisine, to the art, photography and architecture incorporated into the hotel’s design. The boutique space is about creating distinctive experiences and lasting memories and it’s important that isn’t lost by going with branded boutique.” Branded boutique is an evolving market that offers a compelling investment proposition. At the heart of the segment is the idea that with the backing of a global hotel company like IHG, a hotel combines the design cache of boutique with the operational credibility of a large hotel chain. Nobody wants to sacrifice the unique appeal of the sector and by understanding and catering for a new breed of guest and identifying the make-up of the segment, branded boutique ensures that nothing is lost and, as the figures show, everything is gained.

B R ANDS

Hotel Indigo® Helsinki – Boulevard

B R ANDS

Number crunch: – Hotel Indigo®: 62 hotels with 64 in the pipeline – Kimpton® Hotels & Restaurants: 66 hotels with 15 in the pipeline – Demand growth for boutique hotels is almost double that of the total industry – Growth in room count is almost 4x the industry average – IHG has tripled the presence of Hotel Indigo outside of the US in just over three years – Hotel Indigo hotels get an average rating of 4.5 in Europe on TripAdvisor

All data as at 30 June 2015

INFO G R AP H IC

$35,000 per annum

The threshold of household income in China that makes international travel affordable

150 CITIES

61%

62%

97m

of total outbound travel will be leisure tourism*

The expected per-night increase in money spent by Chinese tourists*

ARRIVALS

Chinese cities with a population of over 1 million

53%

Annual arrivals from China to global destinations*

of disposable income currently spent on travel

70%

of outbound travel from China is to major cities

Additional volume of Chinese visitors arriving by 2023 MILAN +108%

LUCERNE +86% WARSAW +123%

FRANKFURT +100%

VENICE +127%

FLORENCE +120%

PARIS +93%

ROME +181%

LONDON +174%

MUNICH +105%

China is now recognised as the largest travelling nation and contributor to hotel revenue growth in the world. The Chinese outbound market preference is evolving towards long-haul, leisure-driven travel, primarily to cities. Urbanisation drives GDP growth and household income levels. IHG速 China Ready accreditation enables hotels to deliver a great experience for Chinese guests.

*by 2023

TR ENDS

Enter t h e Dra g o n… Th e i m p o rtance o f bei n g Ch i n a Ready In 2014 the Chinese became the largest nation of outbound travellers globally, overtaking the U.S. and Germany. Between now and 2020, the number of Chinese travellers is expected to grow to over 150 million*. We look at how Europe is preparing for this influx of new guests and what IHG® is doing to welcome this most lucrative of markets.

Between 2000-2010, the Chinese economy tripled in size. It is now the world’s second largest economy, with only the U.S. standing in its way of the top spot. More people in its total population of 1.3 billion are enjoying financial security than ever before. And it’s not just those in the major cities who are influencing this boom. Tier two and three cities are also driving growth and the middle classes have expanded massively. The number of Chinese households earning above $35,000 per annum – identified as the income level at which international travel becomes more affordable – rose by 21 million from 2003 to 2013. An additional 61 million households will pass this threshold by 2023.** With this rise in salary, the average family has disposable income that was unthinkable only a decade ago. This, coupled with more

In fact 71% of Chinese travellers are now choosing independent travel over the 29% opting for group tours.* In addition to leisure tourism, the growth of business travel also accounts for an increase in the number of Chinese travelling solo. This adds to the number of rooms Chinese guests are booking for individuals, as opposed to family, friends and partners sharing a room. As a major business hub, London is estimated to be the largest European market for Chinese room nights. This evolution in Chinese traveller comes with its own demands. Where once it was just the hotels on the tour trails that were versed in hosting Chinese guests, now more hotels need to be ready to cater for the growth of this new type of traveller. The industry as a whole has had to react and earlier this year IHG launched its own response with the China Ready programme.

relaxed travel restrictions and simplified visa processes, it’s no wonder the Chinese are flocking to Europe in their millions. The UK, France and Germany look to benefit the most. According to ‘The Future of Chinese Travel’, a joint Oxford Economics and IHG study, London looks set to double the number of Chinese visitors it receives between 2013 and 2023. That equates to over 60% of all Chinese arrivals to the UK. France is ranked at number two for top long-haul arrivals and German cities Munich, Frankfurt and Berlin feature among the top city nights in Europe with absolute growth of 200,000, 199,000 and 169,000 nights respectively. The traditional image of the Chinese tourist is one of touring en masse to the most crowded tourist hotspots. But today, that trend is changing. Drew Davy, Programme Director of IHG’s China

Offered across two tiers, China Ready is a self-accreditation programme that acts as a guarantee to Chinese guests that their stay will be everything they want it to be. “Being China Ready is a mark of distinction” Drew points out. “Hotels merited with the China Ready stamp are so much more likely to attract the Chinese market and word of mouth is everything. We are also affiliated with a Chinese government agency called the China Tourism Academy (CTA), which adds a huge amount of credibility.” Presented in an Essential and Premium tier, the programme was devised after extensive research into what Chinese tourists want from their stay. From the food & beverage (F&B) offering to the TV channel choices to accepted payment methods. But just as important as the services is the personal etiquette, something that both tiers of the programme cover.

Outbound project throws some light on why, “It’s not that those huge bus tours are stopping. They still have a place for first-time travellers on multi-country tours. But what we’re seeing now is once they have made that step, their confidence is boosted and many more people are travelling solo or in smaller groups of friends and family.”

TR ENDS

“Understanding the culture is absolutely critical to delivering a good experience for a Chinese guest” Drew says. “You could easily be in a situation where you sit a Chinese guest at table number four, which is decorated with chrysanthemums and when they go to pay, you take the credit card from them with one hand. In just those three instances you could damage the Chinese experience because number four is unlucky, cut flowers aren’t good and presenting and receiving items with one hand is disrespectful. You might think you’ve done a great job, but you’ve undermined several aspects of their culture, so it’s deeply important to understand those nuances.”

While all this might sound obvious, the number of hotels getting it wrong remains high. Although the Chinese arrivals have been on the cards for a while, the hotel industry has been slow to respond, but IHG is in a powerful position to offer a solution. As IHG’s Kenneth Macpherson, Chief Executive Officer of Greater China told us, “As the first international hotel company to enter the market in mainland China, we have an unparallelled 30 years of in-depth knowledge and experience with the Chinese consumer. This puts us in a unique position to create a China Ready programme that enables our hotels around the world to deliver a great guest experience to our Chinese guests.” Drew continues, “We’ve got the Welcome Chinese website which has an affiliation with the CTA – nobody else has got that. We’ve got cultural training – nobody else has got that. We’ve just got better all-round execution and overall a better offer on the table.”

TR ENDS

The two tiers on offer both present a healthy return on investment to owners*. The Essential tier ensures hotels have the key infrastructure to support the guest experience. This includes Chinese TV channels, China Union payment methods, Chinese-speaking staff at the front desk (or via 24/7 phone support) and condensed cross-cultural training. The Premium tier offers that much more, with all restaurant and in-room menus translated into Chinese, a full Chinese F&B offering and extensive cultural training, something Drew feels is key for both tiers, “We felt it was an important element to offer the cultural training in both tiers as opposed to just one. It isn’t just, ‘Here’s the teas, here’s the food’. Understanding relationships, respect and all the other cultural elements is make or break for a good guest experience.” Being China Ready is imperative, and IHG’s programme is putting hotels well on the way to reaching this lucrative market. Drew sums it up, “One fifth of the population of the world is Chinese and it’s growing. The choice is to become China Ready and draw in that market right now, or wait for them to come and then play catch up.”

Number crunch: The ten most important things to Chinese guests* 1. Free WiFi 2. China UnionPay / Alipay accepted 3. In-house Mandarin speaking staff available 24/7 or phone support 24/7 4. Translated travel / tourism guides 5. Hotel website in Mandarin 6. In-room food service options 7. Chinese TV programmes 8. Chinese breakfast 9. Translated welcome material 10. Chinese newspapers / magazines

Well, when you put it like that... * ‘Is Your Hotel China Ready?’, IHG, 2015 ** ‘The Future of Chinese Travel’, Oxford Economics report for IHG, 2015 25

INTER VIEW

“

Holiday Inn® is the class leader in its sector so coupled with the IHG® mechanisms, we decided it was the brand to go for.

Meet…

Rajesh Rana Rajesh Rana is Director at Andras House, leading hotel developer and operator in Northern Ireland. Founded by his father, Lord Diljit Rana, in 1981 the company specialised in office and restaurant development before opening their first hotel in 1987 with the Holiday Inn® brand. Based in Belfast, they have a total of six hotels in their portfolio. Their latest project is a Days Hotel conversion to Holiday Inn® Belfast City Centre. We caught up with him at the Owner’s Association forum at the IHG® headquarters in Denham, UK.

When did you first work with IHG? After our very first Holiday Inn, we did a Holiday Inn Express® in 1996, which I believe was one of the first franchise Holiday Inn Express hotels in the UK. We refurbished that in 2010 and it’s doing very well. At the moment we’re repurposing the Days Hotel to be a Holiday Inn, which we’re very excited about. We’re spending £2.5m really upgrading it. It’s like a new hotel. Why did you decide to go with Holiday Inn for that location? Holiday Inn is the class leader in its sector so coupled with the IHG mechanisms, we decided it was the brand to go for. We are used to working with Holidex and the people are easy to work with. We’ve worked with IHG for years and contribution is a key thing. We’re already talking to the global sales team about key contracts that we could bring to Holiday Inn Belfast City Centre and they’re keen to get on top of it. What does IHG bring to the table? I think IHG probably has the balance right in terms of flexibility. Some hotel companies are too flexible and they have some poorly performing assets that they need to get rid of but don’t do anything about. Some are very prescriptive but I would probably say IHG gets the balance right. The Owners Association forum is a great platform that other brands don’t really have and now they’ve got the Key Performance Indicators, it’s easier to pinpoint elements that you need to focus on. What do you think are upcoming trends in the industry? Offering guests the best price through the Advantage Pricing model is such a no brainer. It seems obvious that this has to happen and technology is driving it in that direction, but nothing has been done about it until now. I think it is genuinely pioneering because it wasn’t something the owners were pushing for but when you realise that your own hotel is being undersold by someone else, it makes you sit up in shock. We’re very pleased about it.

What is the market like in Belfast at the moment? The market in Belfast has grown quite a lot. Back office, IT and oil rigs are helping to build the economy, but there’s also tourism and business travel. Waterfront Hall is a great big concert hall which they’re now extending to what will be a world-leading conference centre. The Holiday Inn Belfast City Centre fits right into that market because delegates like to stay in branded hotels. And they don’t get much more recognisable than Holiday Inn. How did you get to where you are today? I have a degree in Physics, a degree in Architecture which takes about six years and now I make hotels! I suppose I’m quite a methodical person, so I like to know where I want to get to, what are the steps I have to do to get there. I wouldn’t claim to be an expert. I’m learning and that’s the key! If you’re not learning, you’re not doing it right. What is the Andras House development strategy? Because all of our hotels are in Belfast, our strategy is to capture all of the main brands in one area. Some company portfolios are made up entirely of Holiday Inn Express but they’re all across Europe. Because we’re not geographically dispersed we feel that we have to be brand dispersed instead. So we have IHG, Accor and Wyndham brands and that suits us very well. It’s a defensive strategy – if we didn’t do it, someone else would. And where do you see Andras House going in the future? I think as a company we have really invested in a lot of the products. The Holiday Inn Belfast City Centre is fully refurbished, the Holiday Inn Express® Belfast City – Queen’s Quarter is fully refurbished, our other assets are either new or fully refurbished. I see us starting to focus more on the operational side of things. Obviously we are an operating company, but now that we have got the assets where we want them, we need to work on the human assets and the skillset. That’s probably the next challenge.

TR ENDS

Lower than a sausage dog having a lie down.

“

TR ENDS

The initiative is important and the aim is clear: Lowest Price Promise guarantees that loyalty club members will get a lower price than anywhere else when booking directly with IHG®.

Launching the Lowest Price Promise – a pledge to guests Earlier this year IHG® launched Advantage Pricing, a discounted rate offered to IHG® Rewards Club members if they book direct. Sounds simple enough, but this Lowest Price Promise is a result of substantial research into online travel agencies, loyalty clubs and most of all improving the guest experience.

It’s been almost 20 years since Microsoft launched online travel agency Expedia. After a slow start, what followed was an explosion in online travel agencies (OTAs) which has been nothing short of an industry revolution. As access to the internet grew, so too did people’s confidence in internet security, leading to more online bookings. But the business model really expanded when hospitality called for a muchneeded boost in the wake of 9/11. Coupled with increasingly costconscious customers following 2008’s economic crisis OTAs have, in a relatively short period of time, grown beyond all predictions. Last year alone, they took a combined total of $278 billion in bookings*. Now IHG has launched its very own way to connect with today’s new breed of savvy guest. Advantage Pricing piloted in May with Holiday Inn Express® in the UK & Ireland. Currently direct channels have price parity with OTAs, but by offering rooms through the closed user group of IHG Rewards Club, IHG is able to offer the best value. The initiative is important and the aim is clear: Lowest Price Promise guarantees that loyalty club members will get a lower price than anywhere else when booking directly with IHG. Vice President of Distribution & Commercial Marketing in Europe, Apurva Pratap elaborates, “Lowest Price Promise was born out of finding a way to make things simple for our guests and addressing their key needs. Everything starts with the customer and customers have been telling us they find it increasingly difficult to determine where to get the best price for our hotels. The distribution landscape has got much more complicated.” Research commissioned by Holiday Inn Express backs this up. The average British person spends approximately eight days a year searching for the best deals. Out of the 2,000 people surveyed, 75% were ‘frustrated’ when searching for the lowest price for holidays, hotels, mobile phones and bills. A massive 69% felt there were too many price comparison sites, which left them feeling muddled and unsure whether they had got the best deal or not. It’s clear that trust is a major issue between the customer and booking channel. Apurva continues, “What we want to make sure of is when we offer Lowest Price Promise it is a promise with real substance which is true every single time, so there can never be an occasion where that promise is broken.”

Direct booking channels include the IHG website, the Central Reservations Office and the mobile application which is a route to purchase that is only going to increase. Last year, market research company Euromonitor estimated that by 2017 over 30% of online travel bookings will be made on mobile devices. If this trend continues, IHG can be confident that its app will deliver as it was recently voted as the best iOS app in the world by Apptentive. As IHG’s largest estate, the Holiday Inn Express brand was an obvious choice for piloting the scheme. It is also the brand that customers most associate with simplicity, so aligning the booking process with that ‘Simple. Smart. Spot On.’ messaging became the priority. But what of the plans to roll it out across IHG’s brand family? “We are working through how we can create that same simplicity and are able to ensure that without question, there will never be an instance where you can find a lower price through some other means” confirms Apurva. “When we are confident that we are able to achieve that across all the brands, we will do so.” It is a clever solution that has been a long time coming. Through direct channels cost-of-sale is reduced, brand reputation and guest experience are more closely managed and guests benefit from loyalty club features as well as the lowest prices. But how will OTAs respond to this initiative? With deep pockets, they are well resourced to respond. “Certainly they are attempting to respond with loyalty programmes” Apurva comments, “but one of the things that the hotel companies have over OTAs is they actually manage the hotel experience. You might spend seven minutes and 40 seconds on a booking website but you spend 48 hours at the hotel, so what’s actually delivered by the hotel stay is a huge part of the overall experience. We value OTAs. They have a role to play and we would like to keep supporting that, but at the same time we want to make sure that as the brand owner, we ensure guests have the best possible experience in terms of price and stay.” Advantage Pricing is a game changer. It answers the customer call for clarity and value while increasing loyalty members, preserving brand integrity and ultimately improving the owner proposition. And in the end, everybody wins.

* Euromonitor, January 2014 29

O P ENING S

2015

2015 OPENINGS We create Great Hotels Guests Love The IHGÂŽ ambition to be #1 for owners, guests and colleagues is, in its simplest form, about winning. So far in 2015*, the European Development, Design & Openings team has opened 13 great hotels and signed many exciting new deals. From the first meeting to discuss a new project the team works to enable your vision â&#x20AC;&#x201C; advising on brand selection, design and build, staffing and technology and supporting the team right up to the successful opening of the hotel. This helps ensure that you are connected to the value that IHG brings from the very beginning.

13 11 09 08 04

O P ENING S

2015

2015 Openings 1. Holiday Inn® Baku, Azerbaijan

Opened 19 March 223 rooms New construction

2. Hotel Indigo® Helsinki - Boulevard, Finland Opened 4 March 120 rooms Conversion

3. Holiday Inn Express® Toulon - Sainte-Musse, France Opened 9 January

81 rooms New construction

4. Crowne Plaza® Berlin - Potsdamer Platz, Germany Opened 28 April 256 rooms Rebrand

5. Holiday Inn® Frankfurt - Alte Oper, Germany Opened 1 March

249 rooms New construction

6. Holiday Inn® Dresden - City South, Germany Opened 20 May 91 rooms Rebrand

7. Holiday Inn Express® Istanbul Airport, Turkey Opened 24 March 110 rooms Conversion

8. Crowne Plaza® London - Battersea, UK Opened 12 January 78 rooms Rebrand

9. Holiday Inn® London - Watford Junction, UK Opened 20 February 93 rooms Conversion

10. Holiday Inn Express® Aberdeen Airport, UK Opened 7 May

193 rooms New construction

11. Holiday Inn Express® London - ExCel, UK Opened 16 June 01

204 rooms New construction

12. Holiday Inn Express® Grimsby, UK Opened 30 June

80 rooms New construction

13. Staybridge Suites® London - Vauxhall, UK Opened 23 January

93 rooms New construction

*Data as at 30 June 2015 31

O P ENING S

Holiday Inn Express ® Aberdeen Airport, UK

Holiday Inn ® London - Watford Junction, UK

2015

O P ENING S

2015

Holiday Inn Express ® Toulon - Sainte-Musse, France

Holiday Inn ® Dresden - City South, Germany

O P ENING S

2015

Crowne Plaza ® Berlin - Potsdamer Platz, Germany

Holiday Inn ® Baku, Azerbaijan

O P ENING S

2015

Holiday Inn Express ® Istanbul Airport, Turkey

Staybridge Suites ® London - Vauxhall, UK

O P ENING S

Holiday Inn Express ® Grimsby, UK

Crowne Plaza ® London - Battersea, UK

2015

O P ENING S

2015

Holiday Inn ® Frankfurt - Alte Oper, Germany

Hotel Indigo ® Helsinki - Boulevard, Finland

B R ANDS

Holiday Inn Express速 London - Park Royal

B R ANDS

Introducing the Next Generation of public space at Holiday Inn Express ® London - Park Royal In the previous issue of DQ magazine, we looked at the Next Generation of Holiday Inn Express®, what it means for the brand, the owners and the guests. Since then the very first new-look public space has been unveiled at Holiday Inn Express London - Park Royal. We went along to check out the new features.

The five-storey building is well located to pilot the new-look public space. It has speedy links to central London, Wembley Conference Centre for major exhibitions, Wembley Stadium and Arena for sporting events and concerts, and it’s minutes away from Westfield London, one of Europe’s biggest shopping centres. As a modern build with 108 bedrooms and three purpose built meeting rooms, Holiday Inn Express London - Park Royal is in many ways a prototypical example of the Holiday Inn Express brand. Karan Khanna, Vice

Holiday Inn Express forms part of the largest hotel brand family in

President, Head of Design & Engineering in Europe agrees, “It’s

the world and launching the Next Generation of the brand is a huge

not the biggest or the smallest Holiday Inn Express and it has

step for IHG®. When prototypes were revealed at the International

minimal food and beverage (F&B) as per the previous standard. It

Hotel Investment Forum in Berlin earlier this year, they were

is well located for the target guest and its close proximity to IHG’s

extremely well received. Now guests can finally experience the real

headquarters in Denham made the project easier to manage. Also,

thing at the Holiday Inn Express London - Park Royal, which was

the fact that it’s close to Holiday Inn® London - West, which has a

unveiled in July.

great Open Lobby, is a benefit. It gives people a strong example of how the two brands are different and yet carry a similar philosophy.” That philosophy has been informed by considerable consumer insight, taking into account the evolving consumer behaviour; from the rise of the laptop-and-latte guest to the remote-working business traveller. Karan elaborates, “Guests were telling us they were looking for an F&B that suited their needs and schedule, especially in the UK. When you add that to owner insight about efficient use of public space, we felt that a holistic review of the Next Generation was required. So it’s not just a new room design or public space design, it touches every single thing from layout and furniture to service, technology, merchandising and so on.”

B R ANDS

Leaning towards a more aspirational guest with design-conscious furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E), Holiday Inn Express Next Generation is a project that has been painstakingly value and time engineered. Karan confirms, “Once the funding and consultants are on board it is around a 4-6 week build. Through the value engineering that we’ve done, the rooms cost pretty much the same as generation three rooms. We’ve made smart choices about where we’ve spent the money, the FF&E and so on. Certain things are more expensive than before, but we’ve taken money out of other parts of the room to compensate. On top of that, there should be greater revenue generated from the public areas. Hopefully the new design provides a greater opportunity to charge a premium rate, which should mean that this is a higher return on investment product than the previous generation”. 40

B R ANDS

And if research conducted at two properties is anything to go by, it’s worth it. Quantitative research collated feedback from more than 30 guests at Holiday Inn Express® London – Greenwich and a comparable generation three hotel, Holiday Inn Express® Harlow. The insight was clear: guests love it. Five out of ten guests gave the generation three model 5/5 and the other five guests gave it 4/5. Already impressive results, but generation four topped that with almost eight out of ten guests giving it 5/5 and the rest rating it 4/5. “It’s safe to say we are pleased with the results” admits Karan. “By piloting the public space at Holiday Inn Express London - Park Royal, which was already a successful hotel, we were able to check the full enhanced scope versus what the base model should be like. It is a great product that’s been the result of a lot of hard work.”

Holiday Inn Express London - Park Royal is a fantastic example of where the brand is heading. Reception desks have been replaced by space-saving pods, improved working areas and free WiFi encourages people into revenue-generating space and more flexible F&B reflects guest needs. To launch in such a key London location is a massive coup for the brand and an exciting addition to IHG’s estate.

EVENTS

IHG速 on the Road Since the last issue, members of the Development, Design & Openings team have played host to and participated in some significant industry conferences across the patch. From the IHG Germany Investor Day hosted in the new Holiday Inn速 Frankfurt - Alte Oper to the International Hotel Investment Forum in Berlin where we unveiled the Next Generation of Holiday Inn Express速. These events provide an important platform to showcase the services that IHG offers owners and operators in addition to thanking them for their ongoing support. It also aligns our thinking and strengthens our journey together to achieve Great Hotels Guests Love.

International Hotel Investment Forum 2015 2-4 March, InterContinental速 Berlin

EVENTS

IHG速 Germany Investor Day

7 May, Holiday Inn速 Frankfurt - Alte Oper

To register for the UK’s leading hotel conference, please visit

www.theahc.co.uk

IHG® are proud sponsors of the Annual Hotel Conference 2015 We look forward to welcoming you at our stand

The Annual Hotel Conference 2015 14th & 15th October 2015, Hilton Manchester Deansgate

Connect & Communicate Running for the 12th year and attracting 800 delegates, The AHC is the leading event for the UK hotel industry. Join independent hoteliers, owners, operators and managers as well as investors, developers, designers, architects, consultants, tourism leaders and regional tourist board representatives for a day and a half of unrivalled practical knowledge designed to add real value to your business operations.

See Apurva Pratap, IHG’s Vice President of Distribution & Commercial Marketing for Europe at the opening plenary session, 3:15pm on 14th October

• The Programme – themes including Branding, Disrupters, OTAs, Technology and Finance to name only a few. • AHC Social – an ambient zone with food and drinks served all day. • AHC Innovate – a zone that brings technology and integrated guest services together. • AHC Connect – a zone that ties in with the new dedicated social media platform of AHC Connect. Delegates and sponsors can take a break, grab a bite to eat, meet up with peers and catch up with emails throughout the 2 days.

EVENTS

Events… Dates for your diary IHG® will be hosting a series of roadshows and briefings across the region over the next few months, presenting owners and operators with key messages and the strategy for growth going forward. IHG will also have a presence at major conferences in the calendar during this busy season. We look forward to seeing you soon.

Upcoming Events London, 7-8 July

rence: e f n o C ed Servic ment t r a p A ndon o L , t i Summ

✓

8 October

IHG Poland Investor Lunch, Warsaw 14-15 October

IHG France ch, vestor Lun

30 September

Paris

3-4 November

Conference: Deloitte 27th European Hotel Investment Conference, London

nce: e r e f n o C otel Annual H nce, Confere ter Manches 23 November

IHG UK&I Breakfast Briefing, London

5-7 October

: Conference Expo Real, Munich 26-28 October

Conference: RHIC, Moscow 24-25 November

Conference: Hotel & Tourism Trends Poland & Central Europe, Warsaw

INTER VIEW

“

When I go on site I am the IHG® ambassador which is all about creating a buzz.

A Day in the Life of…

Gilles Goasdoué Gilles Goasdoué is the Director of Hotel Openings Performance & Support, Europe. Born in Digne les Bains, France, he moved to the UK 28 years ago and worked briefly as a waiter before moving into an auditing role at InterContinental® London Park Lane. Gilles’ contribution to IHG® has been exceptional. Before joining the Development, Design & Openings (DD&O) department he led the UK&I franchising team, establishing a highly valued and recognised team of professionals and many of the foundations of what became Hotel Performance Support (HPS). Since joining DD&O in 2009 Gilles has developed the New Hotel Openings (NHOP) team to become a group of highly talented individuals with a passion for delivering Great Hotels Guests Love. Gilles will shortly hand the leadership baton over to a new Head of Hotel Openings while he continues to support the NHOP field team, acting as a rapid response team member to support hotels during peak periods. As part of his day job, Gilles has travelled to nearly 50 countries around the world. Here he tells us a little more about his day-to-day life and career with IHG.

I normally get up extremely early in the morning and arrive in the office about 7:00am. I like to make the most of the day. After I’ve caught up on the night’s emails, the questions start flooding in from either the Hotel Openings team in the field or new hotels that we are looking after. My days in the office are quite rare at the moment because we are opening so many projects in Europe. I have been travelling for the last 15-20 years, so you get used to it. I might be in the head office in Denham for one or two weeks and then back on the road for another eight weeks. One of my roles at IHG was installing Holidex all around the world, from Sydney to Chicago to Thailand, which was fantastic. I don’t have the restrictions of a family, so am pretty mobile. Although it can be difficult to maintain a social life. I can’t just join a club and play badminton every Tuesday night because I won’t be there half the time. It is challenging, but it is a way of life. I wouldn’t change it. I love my job. I have what I call the hospitality virus. When you work in hospitality, you catch it and then you have it forever! I have never really wanted to be anything else. As a child I used to spend a lot of time in the kitchen with my mother who was a talented cook. I was always fascinated by hospitality. Whenever I went out to eat with my family, I was always interested in the waiting staff and service behind the experience. I suppose the people element of the job has always interested me.

Pretty much my entire working life has been with IHG, from working as a young boy at the InterContinental London Park Lane as an accountant to being General Manager at a Holiday Inn Express® near Northampton aged 25, to Global Technology in the corporate office to my role now in Hotel Openings. My job is very varied, which keeps it fresh. I always say it’s a bit like being a General Practitioner. We do a bit of everything and we get the specialists in when we need them. My job sector is very much a people business. We deal with varied personalities which makes the job very interesting. We deal with a lot of people here at a corporate level and then with the people at the hotels from the GM to frontline staff. I love this part of the job because it is interesting to hear their different perspectives. When I go on site I am the IHG ambassador which is all about creating a buzz and ensuring everyone understands the benefits of joining IHG, from our system size to our brands to the amount of business they will drive. I tend to go to bed around 10:30pm since I get up so early but I don’t really have a routine because I don’t know where I’ll be. Luckily I can function on very few hours of sleep and mostly catch up on sleep on planes. Tips for sleeping on planes? It sounds boring, but change your watch to your destination time, don’t eat anything and drink a lot of water. At home I switch off my mind by baking and messing around in the kitchen, which I suppose is where my interest in hospitality really stemmed from as a child all those years ago.

INFO G R AP H IC

20,000

$10m

Contribution to communities through monetary donations and in-kind support, including through IHG® Shelter in a Storm*

The number of local people we'll provide skills and jobs for via the IHG® Academy*

IHG® Academy programmes in more than 60 countries as of May 2015

18 12% Reduction in water* per occupied room in water-stressed areas

796

The number of natural disasters IHG® Shelter in a Storm responded to in 2014

12%

100%

$92m

The percentage our hotels enrolled in the IHG Green Engage® online sustainability system

The costs that IHG managed hotels avoided by participating in the IHG Green Engage® system in 2014

Reduction in carbon footprint* per available room

Being a responsible business is part of IHG’s DNA and is at the heart of everything we do – it is part of our culture and underpins our entire strategy. It means making a positive impact on the world around us, while also building our business and provides us with the opportunity to protect the environment, create job opportunities, and improve community resilience. As a result our brand reputation gets a boost, our people are empowered and we operate more efficiently, thereby creating value for all our shareholders and stakeholders in the long term. In 2013 IHG set targets to measure our impact on the environment and community and we’re well on the way to achieving these targets. *Target by 2017 from 2012 baseline

WHO WE ARE Hogarth & Ogilvy manages multi-language design and production services across print, digital and broadcast. We are a team of production-oriented designers, producers and project managers who concentrate on fast-turn, high-volume and tactical creative assignments.

DIGITAL

& EXHIBITION

TRANSCREATION

& CONCEPTS

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INFOGRAPHICS

& Bringing ideas to life hogarth-ogilvy.com CONTACTS â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Project Director jackie.winter@hogarth-ogilvy.com | Project Manager tracey.gibbins@hogarth-ogilvy.com

CONTACTS Robert Shepherd Chief Development Officer, Europe Tel: +44 1895 512 173 robert.shepherd@ihg.com Philippe Bijaoui Vice President Development, Europe Tel: +44 1895 512 976 philippe.bijaoui@ihg.com Karan Khanna Vice President, Head of Design & Engineering, Europe Tel: +44 1895 512 791 karan.khanna@ihg.com Paul Phillips Vice President Financial Planning & Investment Analysis, Europe Tel: +44 1895 512679 paul.phillips@ihg.com Gilles GoasdouĂŠ Director of Hotel Openings Performance & Support, Europe Tel: +44 1895 512 058 gilles.goasdoue@ihg.com InterContinental Hotels Group plc Broadwater Park, Denham, Buckinghamshire, UB9 5HR, United Kingdom Tel: +44 1895 512 000

We would love to hear from you! Please direct any thoughts, suggestions or advertising enquiries to europedevelopment@ihg.com