InterContinental deal to turn 11 city-centre Marriott Hotels into Holiday Inns – 1 Mar 2007

Eleven Courtyard by Marriott properties will be converted into Holidays Inns following a deal with the InterContinental Hotels Group.

From May 2007, the properties, which operate under a franchise agreement with Kew Green Hotels, will be rebranded with improvements planned for public areas and rooms over the next 18 months.

KGH manages 17 hotels in the UK. The 11 that are being converted are all in city centre locations including Coventry, Leeds, Bradford, Northampton and Reading.

Managing director Paul Johnson said the hotels are more suited to the Holiday Inn brand, the largest fullservice hotel brand in the UK.

Additional staff will be recruited for some of the hotels, no redundancies are planned and all staff will undergo training on the Holiday Inn brand and customer service standards.

IHG chief executive Andrew Cosslett said: “The conversion of these hotels to Holiday Inns marks another significant development for IHG and recognises the strength of the Holiday Inn brand. We continue to see growth in key strategic markets around the world as the demand for quality hotel accommodation rises.”

Last week IHG, which owns eight international hotel brands, announced a 16% increase in operating profit in 2006 from £173 million to £201 million.

KGH will continue to work with Marriott, which is planning to open a new Courtyard hotel at Gatwick in 2008.

The 218-room property will be built within easy reach of the South Terminal and will have a health and leisure club, a business centre, room service and on-site parking.

Marriott has also announced plans to open 50 hotels in Europe over the next five years.