Stepping Inn-to the future

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IHG CEO Andrew Cosslett.

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Pillow menu.

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Shower curtain.

InterContintental Hotels Group (IHG) has embarked on a "mammoth journey" to relaunch its Holiday Inn brand family.

The overhaul, which will cost owners US $1 billion - and see an investment from IHG of $60 million - will see each hotel given a new look and feel, with touches ranging from different bedding and shower options to a signature ‘scent and sound' package.

Launching the new look brand in England last month, IHG Europe, Middle East and Africa president Kirk Kinsell said it was "a pivotal point in a mammoth journey for the world's largest hotel brand".

"The size of this task cannot be underestimated; nor the skills and expertise of everyone involved," he said.

"Stepping into one of the new reception areas, seeing, hearing and smelling the new brand is a powerful experience; one which heralds the beginning of a new era for the world's most iconic hotel brand."

Key changes to the brand include

• New look logo, including a new typeface and colour scheme. The logo will be used in design elements throughout the properties, such as in the lobby and guest rooms.

• New ‘arrival experience', where the lobby and reception have been re-designed to include plant boxes and outdoor seating, a de-cluttered reception area, and signature scents and sounds.

• Guest rooms will feature new elements, including a pillow menu actually on the bed, and a bathroom with a ‘signature shower curtain' allowing more light and space into the room.

• Service cultures will be altered to enhance interaction between guests and staff; rather than formulaic or rote responses staff will be encouraged to treat guests as real people.

IHG chief marketing officer Tom Seddon said the cost to each property would vary depending on the size and current condition of the hotel.

"Every hotel has a personalised property report," he explained.

"We have gone to every hotel and created a special list for each individual property. The answer of what is required for each hotel varies so much, so we have gone to the trouble of going to each one and telling them.

Obviously the signage has to change, and the hallmarks [look and feel] have to change, and depending on where you are starting from, it will be different requirements for each hotel. We have put together an action plan, and timed those plans for each property.

In addition to the physical aspects of the relaunch, each hotel would also undergo a staff training programme to ensure service standards were applied across the board, he added.

"Every hotel has to go through a very specific service training module, which has to happen around the same time as changing the hallmarks and signage," Seddon said.

"That is also going very well so far, they are starting to do that now.

IHG chief executive Andrew Cosslettt said the company had invested $60 million in the relaunched brand, along with several million on the research and development behind the changes.

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