MIAMI | Furthering its reach into Central America, IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group), (LSE:IHG) (NYSE:IHG) (ADRs), the world's largest hotel group by number of rooms, announced plans to develop two new Holiday Inn hotels in Central America, the first two of seven agreed-upon properties that will be built in the region through a development agreement with the Hotel Division of San Salvador-based Grupo AGRISAL.

The first two properties to be developed include a six-story full-service Holiday Inn in San Jose, Costa Rica and a 13-story Holiday Inn Express in San Salvador, El Salvador. These will be IHG’s second and third properties with Grupo AGRISAL’s Hotel Division, which also owns the Holiday Inn San Salvador.

“We are proud to be broadening our presence in Central America, especially with Grupo AGRISAL, in which we have a solid relationship that began in 2006,” says Alvaro Diago, Area President, IHG Latin America. “We are excited to announce these two new hotels and look forward to the next five that follow.”

The Holiday Inn Escazú San Jose in Costa Rica will be located in the exclusive district of Escazú in San José. The 163-room Holiday Inn will be part of the Riverwalk Business & Plaza Shopping Mall development which includes a variety of stores and boutiques as well as an office building. The property will be in close proximity to the city’s CIMA Hospital and Medical Center, a convenient location for the medical tourism sector, and thirty minutes from San José’s International Airport. It is scheduled to open in the third quarter 2010.

The Holiday Inn Express Zona Rosa San Salvador in El Salvador will be located in the trendiest district of San Salvador known as Zona Rosa, surrounded by restaurants, bars, shops and offices. The 151-room Holiday Inn Express will be part of a new commercial development consisting of two office towers and a shopping mall. It is slated to open in the second semester 2011.

The agreement with the Hotel Division of Grupo AGRISAL is for the development of a total of seven IHG-branded hotels in Central America within a five year period under a license agreement with a company in the InterContinental Hotels Group.

“We are thrilled to be entering into these two new franchise agreements with IHG,” says Eduardo Quiñónez, Executive Director, the Hotel Division of Grupo AGRISAL. “We value and trust IHG, as it is one of the largest and most global hotel companies in the world, and we look forward to developing other properties with them.”

The new signings come on the heels of several recent Holiday Inn signings for IHG, including agreements with five different developers for a Holiday Inn hotel and four Holiday Inn Express properties in Brazil, as well as the extension of the franchise agreement with Santiago, Chile-based Talbot, S.A., for seven existing Holiday Inn Express hotels in Chile and Argentina and one Holiday Inn located at Santiago’s International Airport, Chile.

The hotels will all feature the new Holiday Inn signs, which will mark the seal of approval that they exemplify the standards of the $1 billion Holiday Inn brand relaunch program. First announced in 2007, the program was established to create a more contemporary brand image as part of the drive to increase quality and consistency across the global portfolio. The program focuses on arrival and welcome services, guestroom, and guest bath comfort. The global estate of more than 3,200 Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express properties is expected to be relaunched by the end of 2010.

Elements of the relaunch 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.

Refreshed Guest Room (Holiday Inn only)

New bedding that redefines the look and feel of each guest room with fresh, white triple-sheeting and pillows that come in two comfort levels: “soft” and “firm.” An enhanced bathroom that features an improved showerhead offering superior pressure, as well as a signature shower curtain with curved rod and new amenities to deliver a consistent bath experience that feels fresh and contemporary.

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 to promote 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.

IHG currently has five properties operating in Costa Rica including the Real InterContinental Hotel & Club Tower Costa Rica, Crowne Plaza Corobici San Jose, Holiday Inn San Jose – Aurola, Holiday Inn Express San Jose - Airport, and the newly opened Hotel Indigo San Jose Forum Costa Rica; with two additional properties in El Salvador which are the Real InterContinental San Salvador and the Holiday Inn San Salvador.

IHG has more than 180 hotels in Mexico, Central and South America and the Caribbean, and has been serving Latin America for over 60 years. IHG is the world’s largest hotel group by number of rooms, and has hotels situated in nearly every key market throughout Latin America.

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is the world's largest hotel group by number of rooms. IHG owns, manages, leases or franchises, through various subsidiaries, more than 4,200 hotels and over 620,000 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, Hotel Indigo®, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Club Vacations™, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites® and Candlewood Suites®, and also manages the world's largest hotel loyalty program, Priority Club® Rewards, with 43 million members worldwide.

Israel Kreps
305-663-3543
IHG