IHG to franchise Holiday Inn Express in China
BEIJING – InterContinental Hotels Group will begin franchising its Holiday Inn Express hotels in China for the first time as it seeks to accelerate its already rapid growth in the country.
IHG, the world’s largest hotel operator by number of rooms, is now in final negotiations with potential partners who would manage some of its future Holiday Inn Express outlets.
“From the outset, we designed our Holiday Inn Express support platform in China with franchising in mind,” said Kieron Ritchard, IHG Asia Pacific’s vice president of strategy for Greater China.
IHG currently has six Holiday Inn Express hotels in China and holds 20 additional management contracts for the brand.
The company said IHG would continue to offer management services for Holiday Inn Express investors in China who preferred to have their hotels managed by IHG.
IHG has a portfolio of 125 hotels in Greater China, with 65 in operation and an additional 60 in development.
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