IHG is heading south. This was already true in France, where the latest developments by the British group took place on the shores of the Mediterranean. The same is true at continental level with the announcement of 10 forthcoming openings on the Iberian PeninsulaSome as early as this year, others by 2025.
The most striking of all these projects is the arrival, scheduled for 2025, of the brand Six Senses in Lisbon. This is further proof of the ongoing urbanisation of these luxury resorts, with other hotels due to open soon in Rome and New York. For this first in Portugal, Six Senses will be setting up in the heart of the Portuguese capital, near the Avenida da Liberdade, within the walls of the 18th-century Palacio de Pedrosas.
The Holiday Inn Express brand will be launching its budget offer in Evora and a second establishment in Porto, near the Boa Vista district, another brand in the IHG group, Staybridge Suites prepares to enter the Portuguese market. With its residential-style offering adapted to business travellers, Staybridge Suites will begin by offering an initial establishment of 119 contemporary suites in Porto, before turning to long stays for leisure by setting up by 2025 in the seaside resort of Carcavelos, close to Estoril and Cascais and a short distance from Lisbon.
Still by the sea, but this time in Spain, this brand will be setting up in 2024 in the heart of Malaga, in the city's tallest tower. Housed within the Urban Sky project, the Staybridge Suites Malaga will have 105 suites, all with fully-equipped kitchens. As part of the developments announced, Spain will see the opening this year of a Holiday Inn on the outskirts of Barcelona, in Sant Cugat. 2023 promises to be an active year for its budget version, Holiday Inn Express, with hotels expected to open in Seville, near Bilbao, and also, in June 2023, at Madrid Barajas airport with a 156-key hotel convenient for business travellers.
These 10 projects follow on from other recently announced developments. Following a partnership with JJW Hotels & ResortsIHG is preparing for the arrival of its Voco brand in the Algarve this year. Also in this region of southern Portugal, two golf resorts will become part of its new Vignette Collection luxury brand, the Penina Resort & Golf and Dona Filipa Hotel.
A new loyalty programme in the pipelineThe IHG Group has used the past few months to rethink its IHG Rewards loyalty programme. While further changes are expected to be announced in the coming months, one of them has already been presented and concerns a new way of earning levels and bonus points to enable members to collect points more quickly. This will involve improving the levels at which bonus points are obtained in Elite levels. In this context, a fifth level, called Gold Elite, has been created and is accessible from 20 nights, while offering a points bonus of 40 %. On the other hand, the highest status, previously known as Spire Elite, has become Diamond Elite. Still offering a bonus points structure of 100 %, this name change is explained by IHG's desire to give greater recognition to the highest level of its programme, accessible from 70 nights. This change, which will go online in March, will be retroactive, as stays by IHG Rewards members starting on 1 January 2022 will be taken into account. " These changes are just the beginning: we are preparing for relaunch a truly transformed programme later this year "said Keith Barr, CEO of IHG Hotels & Resorts. |
