InterContinental Hotels Group has announced the continued expansion of its Hotel Indigo brand in top-tier markets across the United States, with nine signings in the first seven months of 2014. The hotels will be located from the East Coast to the West Coast in cities known for having unique neighborhoods with an interesting story to tell that fit with the Hotel Indigo boutique offering: Seattle; Baltimore; Austin and El Paso, Texas; Orange Beach and Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Gainesville, Fla., and two hotels in Atlanta, where the brand was founded.
These signings are in addition to recent agreements signed in late 2013 for hotels in New York City, Miami and Philadelphia. The Hotel Indigo global pipeline now stands at 56 hotels, with 28 of those hotels in the Americas, following the latest addition to the portfolio, the Hotel Indigo Cleveland-Beachwood hotel, which opened in July.
The hotels signed this year are expected to open in 2015 and 2016 and are a mixture of new builds and conversions. Because there is no prototypical design for the Hotel Indigo brand, the concept works well for conversions, adaptive re-use projects, mixed-use developments and new-build hotels. This flexibility is attractive to owners and developers, particularly those who want to diversify their hotel portfolio or enter the hotel industry for the first time.
“We were first to market with a branded boutique hotel brand when we launched Hotel Indigo here in the U.S. ten years ago. Our flexible approach to development has greatly contributed to the successful growth of the brand, and we now have 58 hotels open around the world,” said Kirk Kinsell, president, the Americas, IHG. “Because we don’t have a standard design, many owners look at the Hotel Indigo brand as a creative option for their real estate assets. In fact, these new signings include the conversions of an office building in Atlanta and the historic Blue Horizon boxing venue in Philadelphia, as well as a dual-branded development with IHG’s Holiday Inn Express brand in Austin, Texas.”
Every Hotel Indigo hotel is uniquely designed to reflect the culture, character and history of the surrounding neighborhood. No two hotels are the same. Each hotel’s neighborhood story is woven throughout the guest experience, from the locally sourced food and drinks served in the restaurant and bar, to the art, photography and architecture incorporated into the hotel’s design.
“The Hotel Indigo growth strategy is focused on opening hotels in neighborhoods that have an undiscovered story to tell,” said Mary Winslow, director, Americas Brand Management, Hotel Indigo. “From the underground cultural clubs of 19th-century Baltimore to the modern mosaic of characters and culture in Miami, our hotels will connect guests to these vibrant and unique neighborhoods in a way that no other boutique hotel brand does.”
The Hotel Indigo brand provides a local experience for guests who want to experience something unique and different when they travel. Guestrooms at Hotel Indigo hotels feature plush bedding, hard-surface flooring with area rugs, and spa-inspired bathrooms. Guests and locals enjoy a great neighborhood bar with seasonal and locally sourced food in a stylish environment, and relationships with local vendors like coffee roasters and breweries bring a taste of the neighborhood into the hotel for guests.
The new hotels will feature the brand’s Neighborhood Guide, a touchscreen display that connects guests to each other, the local neighborhood and to Hotel Indigo locations around the world. Hotel team members, many of whom are locals themselves, will share their favorite hidden gems with guests looking to explore and discover the neighborhood.
The Hotel Indigo brand is also experiencing strong global growth, with recent openings in three major European cities, Hotel Indigo St. Petersburg Tchaikovskogo, Hotel Indigo Madrid Gran Via and Hotel Indigo Rome St. George, and additional openings in Paris and Bangkok expected by the end of 2014.
