ATLANTA and OKLAHOMA CITY, Dec. 6,
2017 /PRNewswire/ -- IHG® (InterContinental
Hotels Group) celebrates today the first groundbreaking of its new
midscale brand, avid™ hotels, in Oklahoma
City. The groundbreaking comes only two months after the
brand was launched, well ahead of initial projected timing. Since
launching avid hotels, developer interest and demand
continues to be strong, with more than 100 franchise applications
received, including 34 which have already been converted to signed
deals for avid hotels locations across the U.S.
Additionally, avid hotels is now franchise ready in
Canada, further demonstrating the
brand's rapid start and growth potential.
Projected to open by the end of Q3 2018, the avid
hotel Oklahoma City–Quail Springs will be a four-story,
new-build hotel with 87 guest rooms, and will be owned and operated
by Oklahoma-based Champion Hotels,
the largest privately-held hotel operator in the U.S.
Elie Maalouf, Chief Executive
Officer, The Americas, IHG, said: "avid hotels extends IHG's
leadership in the mainstream hotel market. The brand's appeal to
owners and developers clearly demonstrates IHG is trusted to
identify and deliver a new midscale hotel brand that is right for
guests and owners. avid hotels is scaling rapidly, and is scheduled
to open its first hotel by the end of summer 2018 – months ahead of
original projections."
Champ Patel, Chief Executive Officer, Champion Hotels,
added: "As a franchisee with many IHG hotels and a member of
the avid hotels Owner Advisory Board, we have witnessed first-hand
the speed and expertise IHG has demonstrated in developing this
brand that will be efficient to build, operate and maintain while
delivering a much-needed and differentiated experience for
travelers in the midscale segment. The future looks bright as we
work to open this new hotel next year."
The Oklahoma City-Quail Springs property, located at the
intersection of 138th Street and Joel McDonald Drive, will serve a
thriving area of suburban Oklahoma
City. Nearby businesses include Gulfport Energy Corporation,
Hertz Corporation and Mercy Heart Hospital, a wide variety of
restaurants within walking distance, a large shopping mall across
the street and various family-friendly amusement activities located
within two miles of the property
The hotel will offer all of the brand's signature hallmarks:
- Setting the brand apart, the modern exterior hotel design will
include an open and airy retail-like entry, a canopy, and will use
the stairwell as an eye catching red architectural
feature.
- On the inside, guests will find vibrant, open public and work
areas and inviting communal spaces that allow guests to relax,
work, connect or eat.
- Guest rooms will include sound reducing features for a superior
night's sleep; a dedicated workspace and ample open and easy-to-use
storage. The guest bathroom experience will re-energize guests with
a fresh and bright design.
- The hotel will offer a focused, high-quality, complimentary
breakfast and marketplace options made for guests on the go.
- The entire hotel will be equipped with
IHG® Connect Wi-Fi featuring the fastest speed in
the industry and the ability for loyalty members to be
automatically connected for all future visits. It will also deploy
IHG's new state-of-the-art, cloud-based next generation reservation
system.
All avid™ hotels properties will leverage the
strength and scale of the IHG parent brand to further drive
confidence and assurance of this new brand and will be part of
IHG® Rewards Club, IHG's industry leading loyalty
program. The brand, which will feature all new-build
construction, is designed for travelers who want a hotel stay that
finally meets their expectations for the type of hospitality they
value most – the basics done exceptionally well, at a price point
expected to be about $10-$15 less than IHG's industry-leading Holiday Inn
Express brand.
Maalouf continued, "We designed
avid hotels to reach an important set of business and
leisure travelers in an underserved $20
billion segment of the U.S. midscale market. Owners are
enthusiastic and Champion Hotels, with its distinguished reputation
as a best-in-class hotel operator, is an ideal first developer for
this new hotel brand."
Officially launched for franchising in September 2017, the brand was developed in
collaboration with IHG's avid hotels Owner
Advisory Board. The royalty fee for the brand will be five percent,
with the first 100 signed license agreements will be eligible for a
two percent fee discount in year one and one percent fee discount
in year two (2/1 royalty fee reduction).
Notes to Editors:
About avid™ hotels
The newest brand from IHG,
avid hotels was designed for travelers who want a hotel stay that
finally meets their expectations for the type of hospitality they
value most – the basics done exceptionally well – at a fair price.
To ensure avid hotels meets the needs of today's midscale traveler,
a set of fundamental values define all touch points of the brand:
taking a new approach to designing everyday travel; appreciating
the value of guests' every hard-earned dollar and being direct,
honest and clear. All avid hotels will be new-build construction
and feature modern, comfortable design, guest rooms designed for
sound-sleep, a focused, high-quality breakfast consisting of
name-brand options and will leverage the latest technology to
enable a seamless experience for guests. The avid hotels brand
launched in 2017 and expects to open its first property by the end
of Q3 2018. To learn more about the avid hotels brand,
visit avidhotels.com and find us on social
media: facebook.com/avidhotels, twitter.com/avidhotel
and instagram.com/avidhotels/.
About IHG
IHG®
(InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)]
is a global organisation with a broad portfolio of hotel brands,
including InterContinental® Hotels &
Resorts, Kimpton® Hotels &
Restaurants, Hotel Indigo®,
EVEN® Hotels, HUALUXE®
Hotels and Resorts, Crowne Plaza® Hotels
& Resorts, Holiday Inn®,
Holiday Inn Express®, Holiday Inn Club
Vacations®, Holiday Inn
Resort®, avid™ hotels,
Staybridge Suites® and Candlewood
Suites®.
IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns nearly 5,300 hotels
and more than 785,000 guest rooms in almost 100 countries, with
more than 1,500 hotels in its development pipeline. IHG also
manages IHG® Rewards Club, our global
loyalty programme, which has more than 100 million enrolled
members.
InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group's
holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales. More than 350,000 people work across
IHG's hotels and corporate offices globally.
Visit www.ihg.com for hotel information and
reservations and www.ihgrewardsclub.com for more on
IHG Rewards Club. For our latest news, visit:
www.ihgplc.com/media and follow us on social media
at: www.twitter.com/ihg,
www.facebook.com/ihg and
www.youtube.com/ihgplc.
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SOURCE IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group)