IHG heads south for NZ expansion
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InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has reveals plans for a significant expansion of its portfolio in New Zealand, with two new South Island hotels including the country’s first ever Holiday Inn Express.
Through a new partnership with USAR, the company will open its first Holiday Inn hotel in Queenstown later this year following the conversion of the former Goldridge Resort. And then in 2018, a new-build Holiday Inn Express hotel will debut in Christchurch city centre, marking the brand’s entry into New Zealand.
“There is high demand for hotels in key destinations across New Zealand – including both Queenstown and Christchurch – as the result of a thriving tourism economy,” stated Karin Sheppard, IHG’s chief operating officer for Australasia & Japan. “Tourism is a growing… industry for New Zealand with hotel room nights on a steady increase over the last two years, both from domestic travellers and international travellers.
“We are therefore delighted to announce the signing of these two new hotels as a further extension of our midscale brand expansion in the region,” she added.
The rebrand of the Goldridge Resort to the Holiday Inn Queenstown will officially take place in December 2016, following a major refurbishment of the property’s rooms and public areas. A 50-room extension is also planned for the near future, adding to the hotel’s existing 75 rooms. The hotel, which overlooks an inlet of Lake Wakatipu, will become IHG’s second hotel in Queenstown following the existing Crowne Plaza.
The new Holiday Inn Express Christchurch hotel, set to open late 2018, will be located just 100 metres from the city’s new convention centre. It too will become the second IHG hotel in the city, following a new Crowne Plaza which is currently under construction and due to open mid-2017.
IHG currently operates five hotels in New Zealand under three of its brands: InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn. The opening of the Holiday Inn Express Christchurch will therefore mark the launch of its fourth brand in the country.
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