IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group), one of the world’s leading hotel companies, has signed a management agreement with Granit Polus Group for a compelling property to be re-branded to Crowne Plaza Budapest in 2021.
Established as one of the world’s largest upscale and fastest growing hotel brands, Crowne Plaza has presence in over 60 countries, with locations in busy cities, airport and resort locations; everywhere modern travellers want to stay.
The newly signed property will be joining a variety of IHG’s well established brands, InterContinental, Holiday Inn and recently signed Holiday Inn Express, to further expand the company’s presence in Hungary. Being a brand designed for people who are more digital, more mobile and more connected than ever before, Crowne Plaza Budapest offers modern business travellers the perfect blend of business-ready services and celebratory cocktails to finish a tiresome day.
The 230-room hotel offers a range of facilities, from 13 meeting rooms to a café and lounge club. Known for being one of Europe’s most popular destinations, Crowne Plaza Budapest is located close to the downtown business district, whilst in walking distance to the international railway station linking Budapest to major European cities. The hotel is also conveniently adjacent to one of Budapest’s largest shopping centres for those looking for some downtime.
Mario Maxeiner, Managing Director, Northern Europe, Russia, CIS & Georgia, commented: “The power of our enterprise really shines through when we see great signings such as Crowne Plaza Budapest. It shows that even in the current environment, there remains great appetite from our owners to join the IHG family as the strength, resilience and attractiveness of our brands is highly prominent. The reputation of IHG’s brand portfolio has resulted in several great growth opportunities, with high-quality conversions to our leading brands like Crowne Plaza. This property is the first of the brand to enter the Hungarian market and we’re confident that Crowne Plaza is going to fit perfectly amongst our other brands and help us grow our presence in this country.”
Miklós Gyertyánfy, Asset Management Director, Gránit Pólus Group, commented: “It is our greatest pleasure to crown the 20th birthday of Westend City Centre with such an announcement as we believe that now is the right time to rebrand this hotel. It is also a great honour to welcome Crowne Plaza to Hungary the first time ever, and to find such experienced partner with impeccable international reputation as the Intercontinental Hotels Group. Given the central location of West End City Centre, we are confident that Crowne Plaza Budapest will become a vibrant hotspot for business travellers and tourists once the Covid-19 pandemic is resolved. In the spirit of this project Gránit Pólus Group will dedicate more than 10 million Euros to renovate the hotel with its 230 rooms in the following two years.”
IHG has experienced an uplift in conversion activity in 2020, with owners of quality hotels looking to IHG and the benefits of its scale and strong branded systems. Conversions have accounted for 27% of signings so far this year, up from 20% in 2019.
IHG currently has 2 hotels[1] operating in Budapest under the brands InterContinental Hotels & Resorts® and Holiday Inn®, with Holiday Inn Express Budapest – City Centre due to open in 2022.
[1] All numbers as at 30th September 2020.
