IHG Hotels & Resorts is bringing a first of its kind voco brand hotel to Belgium with a site that will focus on innovation.

voco Brussels City North marks the entry into a new market, with the marque currently IHG’s fastest growing upscale brand.

Innovation hub

The Belgian capital site is a partnership with Living Tomorrow, an internationally operating research organisation that specialises in bringing innovative projects to fruition – specifically those around living and working in the future.

Due to open in autumn 2023, the 92-key voco Brussels City North property will be operated by Prem Group. The state-of-the-art hotel will feature a restaurant and conference centre and will adjoin the Innovation Centre, which is already open on the site, to create a hub for hospitality innovation and a truly stimulating environment.

Located to the north of the city, the hotel will feature a striking 50-metre tower with huge glass windows providing panoramic views of the Brussels skyline. The site itself will be Europe’s largest experimental lab for creating ideas and a vision for the future.

Branded property strength

Willemijn Geels, VP development Europe, IHG Hotels & Resorts, said: “I’m delighted to announce that we are partnering with Living Tomorrow to bring voco hotels to Belgium. We know that Brussels is a strong market for branded properties, and we are confident that the voco hotels’ brand will fit well with the goal of creating a truly innovative hub on this unique site.”

Yin Oei, CEO, Living Tomorrow, said: “Living Tomorrow is focused on driving the future and we’re excited to partner with IHG to develop this exciting hotel – the first voco in Belgium. The values of voco hotels fit well with our desire to innovate and push boundaries and we know that the strength of the IHG systems will provide a stable platform from which to innovate.”

Growing voco

Now present in more than 15 countries, there have been 40 voco openings and 34 more properties entering the pipeline since the brand launched in 2018. In Europe alone, there are currently 15 open hotels with a further 14 hotels in the pipeline. This includes the 85-key voco Frankfurt Airport West, due for delivery in Q1 2025 in Germany; voco Resort Szklarska Poreba, bringing 100 rooms to Poland in 2024; and the 75-room voco Beaune, arriving in France in Q4 2023.

IHG is on track with its aim to deliver 200 hotels within 10 years of launch, with the brand said to be well placed to capture increasing conversion opportunities as independent owners seek out the brand.

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