IHG has signed two Holiday Inn Express & Suites properties in IndiaInterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has expanded its collection of Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels in India, with the opening of one property and the signing of three more.
The latest addition to the brand's operating portfolio is the Holiday Inn Chennai OMR IT Expressway, a 202-room hotel located close to the southern city's main IT hub and 20 minutes from Chennai International Airport.
And the company has also boosted its Indian pipeline with the signing of deals with existing owners for three more properties: Holiday Inn Express & Suites Gurgaon Sector 90, Holiday Inn Express Kolkata Airport, and another Holiday Inn Express & Suites property in the Delhi area. All three budget hotels are set to open in the next two to three years.
"Signing these properties with existing owners is indicative of IHG’s strength in building strategic partnerships and the growing recognition of the Holiday Inn Express brand in India," said Sudeep Jain, IHG's vice president of development for Southwest Asia. "All three properties will draw synergies from IHG hotels located nearby and will reinforce our position in Southwest Asia.
"While IHG already has a strong and growing presence in India, we are looking at developing our portfolio further in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan," he added.
IHG says it is on track to achieving its target of having 150 hotels either open or in the pipeline in the region within the next 10-15 years. This growth will be driven by the opening of Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express properties across the country, plus Crowne Plaza and InterContinental hotels in key gateway cities.
At present, IHG has 29 hotels operating in Southwest Asia across these four brands, along with 36 hotels in the pipeline.
