InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has announced the signing of Holiday Inn Express Stuttgart – Hauptbahnhof in Germany. The new build hotel will operate under a franchise agreement with existing owner partner Foremost Hospitality HIEX GmbH and will open in 2016.
Foremost Hospitality signed a multiple development agreement (MDA) with IHG in 2007 to develop 20 hotels. The signing of this hotel marks the 14th hotel in the agreement. Nine hotels are already open.
The 140-room hotel will feature a bar and reception area on the ground floor and a breakfast room and a conference room on the first floor. The hotel will also be providing ample car parking spaces for guests.
Multiple development agreements (MDAs) are proving to be a key factor in IHG’s accelerating growth in Germany with seven such MDAs now in place in the country.
Stuttgart is the sixth-largest city in Germany and is the capital of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany. It is home to the headquarters of a number of high profile companies including Daimler, Porsche and Bosch, making it a magnet for business travellers. Moreover, Stuttgart’s surrounding valleys, vineyards and parks are a major attraction for leisure travellers. The hotel is located within walking distance of Stuttgart’s main train station and the city’s music hall which hosts numerous concerts and exhibitions. The German festival “Cannstatter Wasen” as well as the ATP Tennis Tournament guarantees a steady flow of tourists.
Martin Bowen, Associate Vice President of Development, Germany, IHG said: “Holiday Inn Express Stuttgart – Hauptbahnhof will join Holiday Inn Stuttgart and Holiday Inn Express Stuttgart Airport to become our third hotel in this key city. The MDA with Foremost is accelerating our growth together in this priority market.”
IHG’s momentum in Germany is further evidenced by the recent signing of Holiday Inn Express Aachen, a newly constructed property that will operate under a franchise agreement with Success Hotel Management GmbH. This 165-room hotel, also being developed under an MDA, will be the first IHG hotel in Aachen. The hotel will be located within a complex of buildings called “Blue Gate” next to Aachen rail station and just a 10 minute walk from the city centre.
Launched in 1991, the Holiday Inn Express brand opens hotels at a rate of two per week on average across the world and is part of the Holiday Inn portfolio of brands, which is the largest global hotel brand, with the largest global pipeline. There are currently 221 Holiday Inn Express hotels open in Europe and 39 in the development pipeline. (Figures as at 30th June 2014)
