IHG seeks new jewels for the Crowne
InterContinental Hotels Group plans to revitalise its Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts upscale brand.
Nearly 400 hotels around the world carry the Crowne Plaza brand, with 178 of those in North America.
IHG itself owns very few of the hotels so the onus to upgrade properties will be on the hotel owners.
The company said it intends to focus Crowne Plaza on young, aspiring travellers who it calls “strivers.”
IHG says those travellers often use Skype and Facebook, buy clothes from stores such as Brooks Brothers and Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic and drive pricey cars such as BMWs.
“For these business travellers, travel isn’t the goal. Success is the goal,” said Kevin Kowalski, IHG’s senior vice president of brand management.
In the first phase of IHG’s “repositioning” of Crowne Plaza, hotel owners choosing not to upgrade will likely lose the brand. IHG pursued a similar policy when upgrading its Holiday Inn branded hotels.
“We, as a company, are prepared to lose the hotels that cannot or will not take this journey with us,” IHG CEO Richard Solomons said.
Ian Jarrett
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Digital Travel Reporter of the Mirror totally seduced by HotelPlanner AI Travel Agent
Strike action set to cause travel chaos at Brussels airports
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025