InterContinental opens 15 hotels
Known as the world’s most global hotel company, InterContinental Hotels Group announced it opened 15 hotels in the past two months across the Americas. That represented an addition of more than 2,000 rooms; with the addition of its sixth brand Candlewood Suites, IHG has grown its management portfolio by more than 40% in the Americas. IHG now owns, manages, leases or franchises (through various affiliates) more than 3,400 hotels and 530,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries across the world. The company’s new hotels include Seven Holiday Inn Express properties, the first Crowne Plaza hotel to open in Allentown, Penn., and Holiday Inn’s first 21st century prototype hotel in Duluth, Ga. Cendant Corporation’s new loyalty program, TripRewards®, operates much like frequent travel miles. Cendant says the new program — which has nine chains, 6,000 hotels, 49 pint-earning partners and more than 140 point-rewarding options — is the world’s largest loyalty program (based on participating hotels). Cendant says the “open earn” structure of the program allows members faster access to point earning by staying in Cendant-franchised hotels, renting Avis and Budget cars, purchasing tax services from Jackson Hewitt, and buying various everyday products and services from partners. No blackout dates apply, and TripRewards members can redeem their points for either hotel stays or various partner rewards. Points can be redeemed for rewards 24 hours a day. The program specifically targets leisure travelers who do not always travel frequently and might have trouble gaining enough points in other programs to get their rewards, according to Cendant. Report by David Wilkening
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