Holiday Inn Express

Costa Mesa, CA – The new Holiday Inn sign introduced in 2007 is making its way around the world. Today, Holiday Inn Express and Suites Hotel Costa Mesa announced this green and blue beacon of hospitality now will light the way for visitors to Costa Mesa.

The new sign is the seal of approval that this hotel exemplifies the standards of the $1 billion Holiday Inn brand family relaunch program established to create a more contemporary brand image, increase quality and drive consistency. Holiday Inn Express and Suites Hotel Costa Mesa is the first in Costa Mesa and among the first hotels in the world to receive the sign.

“We have set an aggressive pace to relaunch our complete estate of nearly 3,200 hotels, 413,406 guest rooms and 12,000 signs by the end of 2010,” said John Merkin, Senior Vice President of Holiday Inn Brands in Americas. “And with the addition of Holiday Inn Express and Suites Hotel Costa Mesa we are off and running on our journey to make every Holiday Inn hotel as great as our best one.”

Elements of the relaunch for Holiday Inn Express include:

Redesigned Brand Signage
An evolution of the iconic script logo, energizing the signature color green and eliminating the current shield shape for a more refreshed and contemporary look.

Warm Welcome
A new signature arrival – including new lighting, landscaping and design features – that creates an energized and branded sense of welcome that is universally recognizable. Customized music and scent selections also engage guests in a complete sensory experience, and a decluttered front desk promotes a more efficient and interactive check-in process.

New Service Promise
A best-in-class service culture – “Stay Real” – to further ensure the team develops the behaviors and skills to best serve guests so they feel like individuals and not numbers. Genuine people delivering real service. Leading the charge will be a newly created position at each hotel – the Guest Experience Champion.

“We look forward to offering our guests an enhanced stay experience with exceptional levels of customer service,” said Shetal Patel, the hotel General Manager. “We are especially pleased to be among the first wave of properties to showcase these new Holiday Inn brand family hallmarks.”

As part of the relaunch, Holiday Inn Express and Suites Hotel Costa Mesa worked in partnership with the local Goodwill Industries International to repurpose the hotel’s previous bedding and bath fixtures. In the process, the hotel diverted nearly 300 lbs of material from landfills and the repurposed materials benefitted approximately 100 families in need in the Costa Mesa area.

The 62-room hotel is within walking distance to Orange County Fairgrounds, Triangle Square and offers such business conveniences as a complimentary hot breakfast bar, complimentary WIFI throughout the hotel, refrigerators and microwaves in every room and complimentary business center. Other amenities include complimentary passes to 24 Hour fitness. The hotel completed a full scale renovation in February of 2009.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites Hotel Costa Mesa, owned and operated by

Pacific Coast Hospitality, is located at 2070 Newport Blvd, Costa Mesa, CA 92627. Telephone: 949-631-6000 Facsimile: 949-258-5018.

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is one of the world's largest hotel groups by number of rooms. IHG owns, manages, leases or franchises, through various subsidiaries, almost 4,000 hotels and more than 590,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories around the world. The Group owns a portfolio of well recognized and respected hotel brands including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites®, Candlewood Suites® and Hotel Indigo®, and also manages the world's largest hotel loyalty program, Priority Club® Rewards with over 37 million members worldwide.

IHG pioneered the travel industry’s first collaborative response to environmental issues as founder of the International Hotels and Environment Initiative (IHEI). The environment and local communities remain at the heart of IHG’s global corporate responsibility focus. We’re the first major hotel group to have measured our environmental and carbon footprints, and we’re in the process of setting reduction targets.

With more than 1,600 hotels in its development pipeline, IHG needs to find around 150,000 people over the next few years to meet its global expansion plans.

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the group's holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.

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Natasha Gullett
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