IHG is hoping to build Holiday Inn’s international footprint considerably. (Photo: InterContinental)
The TOPHOTELPROJECTS construction database reveals where Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts is planning to open 85 new hotels in the coming years.
IHG’s 4-star Holiday Inn brand is on course to expand rapidly over the next decade, with a string of promising development opportunities already lined up.
We find out where the brand’s new hotels will launch and consider which properties in particular are worth keeping a close eye on.
Consistent growth in the pipeline for Holiday Inn
According to the TOPHOTELCONSTRUCTION online database, 85 hotel projects are currently in Holiday Inn Hotels & Resort’s pipeline:
Holiday Inn’s site portfolio is about to get a whole lot bigger. For 2020, no fewer than 21 hotel projects are planned, yielding a further 4,465 rooms in total; another 22 properties are slated to open in 2021 too, adding 4,311 more rooms to the brand’s footprint.
Furthermore, 12 openings are scheduled for 2022, bringing 3,350 additional keys. 2023 and beyond are also looking busy, as 30 separating projects accommodating an impressive 10,999 rooms are already in the pipeline.
IHG brand eyes rapid expansion in Asia Pacific
Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts will see more growth in Asia Pacific than in any other region – here, 41 hotels with 9,605 rooms are planned in the coming years. Europe follows in second place, with 22 openings and 5,502 rooms, while the Middle East completes the top 3 with 13 launches and 6,733 additional keys.
North America, South America and Africa look comparatively quiet, however, with just six, two and one openings on the cards respectively.
Key countries and cities for the prominent hotel brand
With 12 projects and 1,511 rooms, India is by far the fastest growing national market for Holiday Inn.
Australia comes next with nine openings and 1,591 keys, while Saudi Arabia will see eight openings, albeit with a staggering 5,170 rooms between them – make no mistake, the brand’s forthcoming properties in Saudi Arabia will generally be much larger than in other countries. The UK and the US complete Holiday Inn’s top 5 national growth markets, with seven openings for the former and six for the latter.
Elsewhere, Dubai, Saint Petersburg and Medina are the brand’s top 3 cities for expansion, with four, two, and two hotels being brought forward respectively.
Holiday Inn progresses pilgrim-oriented mega-hotel
Phase two of Holiday Inn Makkah Abraaj Al Tayseer in Saudi Arabia is the brand’s largest project. The 3,512-room property will be spread across five towers and welcome pilgrims travelling to the holy city of Makkah. One of the towers will operate year-round, while the remaining towers will run mainly during Ramadan and the annual Haj pilgrimage.
Another project that is already turning heads in the hospitality industry is the 370-room Holiday Inn Warsaw Mokotów hotel, which will open in the Mokotów district by mid-2020. It will house one of the largest conference rooms in the Polish capital, helping the property attract large numbers of both domestic and international business travellers.
In Riga, meanwhile, the new 280-room Holiday Inn Riga is slated to open in the iconic ‘Preses Nams’ building in the heart of the city by Q3 2022. Its innovative, open-air lobby will feature a hotel reception, a restaurant, a bar, a relaxation area and a business centre, so guests can enjoy a snack, relax, have fun or work in one single integrated space. There will also be a conference and banqueting hall for up to 400 people, six meeting rooms and a gym.
Lastly, Holiday Inn Johor Bahru City Centre, a 318-room Malaysian project due for completion in late 2020, will offer convenient access to international travellers, while visitors from neighbouring Singapore will appreciate the excellent pedestrian connectivity to the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex (CIQ). As part of the Komtar JBCC mixed-use development, it will only be a stone’s throw away from two of Johor Bahru’s most popular malls, offering an enormous variety of shopping, dining and entertainment facilities.
Holiday Inn offers today’s business and leisure travellers dependability, friendly service and modern, attractive facilities at excellent value.
