15 December 2008
Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ Goes Live
Holiday Inn’s first timeshare resort is now available to guests for rental and timeshare ownership
ATLANTA (Dec. 15, 2008) – IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON: IHG, NYSE: IHG (ADRs)] today announces the official unveiling of Holiday Inn Club Vacations with the opening of its first location at Orange Lake Resort in Orlando, Fla. The new timeshare brand was announced in September 2008 as a strategic alliance between IHG, the world’s largest hotel company, and Orange Lake Resorts, a leader within the timeshare industry with more than 25 years of proven success.
“The strength and recognition of the Holiday Inn brand combined with Orange Lake’s expertise in timeshare management positions us well for the future, even during these challenging economic times,” said Christian Hempell, vice president, Holiday Inn Club Vacations. “Guests know and trust Holiday Inn, and we’re excited to offer them the opportunity to experience the brand in a new way through timeshare ownership.”
A 1,400-acre golf, water park and sports resort, Holiday Inn Club Vacations at Orange Lake Resort includes 2,412 villas and is located next to Walt Disney World® Resort in Orlando, the number one leisure destination for U.S. travelers. The resort offers a host of amenities including:
• 4 championship golf courses
• 7 swimming pools including a 12-acre outdoor entertainment complex
• 80 acre lake for water sports
• Five restaurants
• Retail and pro shops
Starting today, travelers who are seeking a richer vacation experience can rent vacation villas online at www.hiclubvacations.com, a dedicated website where consumers can book a spacious one-, two- or three-bedroom villa just like they would any Holiday Inn hotel room. Through IHG’s guest loyalty program, Priority Club Rewards, guests renting villas will earn PCR points during their stays at Holiday Inn Club Vacations, which they can redeem for free nights at IHG properties or exchange for merchandise and special experiences.
Orange Lake Resorts will develop and sell timeshare intervals of Holiday Inn Club Vacations under a license agreement from IHG. Starting today, owners who purchase intervals at Holiday Inn Club Vacations will automatically become members of the newly formed Holiday Inn Club™ exchange program. This program allows members to exchange their weeks at the Orlando resort for hotel nights at IHG’s more than 4,100 hotels worldwide. In addition, Holiday Inn Club members will also have access to Resort Condominium International’s (RCI) network of more than 4,000 resorts.
“We’re inviting our club members to open their eyes to a whole new way of vacationing,” said Don Harrill, president and CEO of Orange Lake Resorts. “Club membership allows our owners to be at the right places at the right times—with flexibility unmatched in the timeshare industry.”
In early 2009, existing Orange Lake resorts in Ascutney, Vt.; Lake Geneva, Wis.; and Panama City, Fla. will become part of the Holiday Inn Club Vacations portfolio. Orange Lake and IHG plan to expand the brand into other North American destination locations, adding more vacation experiences, features and benefits for their members. Orange Lake will also build a flagship Holiday Inn Resort hotel at the Orlando resort and will develop up to 2,500 more timeshare villas at this location.
Holiday Inn® and Orange Lake share the same founder, Kemmons Wilson, and this common heritage brought the two companies together to offer the ultimate vacation experience.
“Holiday Inn has earned the reputation of offering services and amenities that have revolutionized the hotel industry,” said Spence Wilson, Orange Lake Resort’s Chairman of the Board and son of Kemmons Wilson. “This is an exciting time for our members and for both companies; I’m ecstatic that my father’s vision came together so seamlessly.”
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Readers of Leading Business Travel Magazines Name Priority Club® Rewards #1 Hotel Loyalty Program
15 December 2008
Readers of Leading Business Travel Magazines Name Priority Club® Rewards #1 Hotel Loyalty Program
Priority Club Rewards Recognized for Variety of Redemption Options, No Points Expiration
ATLANTA (Dec. 12, 2008) – Celebrating its 25th anniversary, Priority Club® Rewards, the hotel loyalty program from IHG [LON: IHG, NYSE: IHG (ADRs)], continues to take top honors among the world’s hotel rewards programs. For the fourth year in a row, Global Traveler magazine has named Priority Club Rewards the “Best Hotel Rewards Program in the World” in the annual Tested Awards, just as readers of Business Traveler magazine, equally enthused by the program’s wide variety of redemption options, vote Priority Club Rewards the “Best Hotel Loyalty Program” for the second consecutive year. Nearly 31,500 Global Traveler readers and 1,900 Business Traveler readers, selected at random, recognized Priority Club Rewards for its flexibility, ease-of-use and varied exclusive offerings such as Personal Shopper and "Any Hotel, Anywhere Reward," a pre-paid lodging card that can be used to pay for accommodations at more than 500,000 hotels worldwide – even at competitor hotels.
In June of 2008, Business Traveler asked a randomly selected cross section of its subscribers, who on average spend 65 nights per year in hotels and take 28 roundtrip airline-flights, to participate in its Best in Business Travel Awards. Global Traveler magazine conducted a similar survey from February through August, asking a series of open-ended questions to determine which program best serves the need of business travelers. A record-breaking 31,457 GT readers chose Priority Club Rewards as their program of choice.
“We never relied on the fact that Priority Club Rewards was the first hotel loyalty program and have strived over the last 25 years to deliver an innovative program that rewards our members’ loyalty through a variety of channels, whether it be Rewards Nights, once-in-a-lifetime experiences, auctions and even charitable giving,” said Don Berg, vice president, Loyalty Programs, IHG. “We appreciate this recognition from the readers of Business Traveler and Global Traveler and will continue to provide leisure and seasoned business travelers with the flexible features and a customer-centric program we can all be proud of.”
Enrollment in Priority Club Rewards is free, and members benefit from flexible features such as no points expiration, no blackout dates on reward nights, and more redemption options than any other hotel loyalty program, including more than 500,000 lodging establishments worldwide – even our rivals’ - through the industry-leading Any Hotel, Anywhere reward.
About Business Traveler
Based in New York, Business Traveler is a leading authority on business and corporate travel. As part of the Business Traveler publishing brand with ten editions worldwide, Business Traveler services the North American market and offers unparalleled resources for the traveling executive. In addition to the magazines monthly features, visitor guides, lifestyle reports and weekend guides, each issue also includes special reports ranging from business etiquette tips to preventing identity theft and the growing trend of mixing business with vacations. Business Traveler is printed 10 times yearly and has a circulation of 150,000. Visit btusonline.com.
About Global Traveler
A business travel publication that takes into account the sophisticated lifestyle interests of today's executive travelers, Global Traveler is the publication of choice among seasoned business travelers. Global Traveler is the only ABC-audited American magazine for the international business traveler, with ABC paid circulation of 100,000+. The magazine is also the only ABC audited magazine and independently measured by MediaMark Research (MRI). No other monthly magazine in its category boasts a higher audited circulation or page count. Ninety percent of its readership has average household income in excess of $100,000; 96 percent attended or graduated from college; and 98 percent of its readers are either top management or professionals. Visit globaltravelerusa.com.
About Priority Club Rewards
With 40 million members globally, IHG’s Priority Club Rewards is the first, largest and fastest-growing guest loyalty program in the hotel industry. Winner of the 19th Annual Freddie Awards hotel loyalty Program of the Year for the second consecutive year and named Best Hotel Rewards Program in the World four years running by Global Traveler magazine, Priority Club Rewards offers more sought-after benefits and the greatest ease of use of any hotel loyalty program. In addition to flexible features like No Points Expiration and No Blackout Dates, Priority Club Rewards members have more options for point redemption than any other hotel loyalty program, including redemption at more than 500,000 lodging establishments worldwide – even at rivals’ hotels – through the industry-leading Any Hotel, Anywhere Reward. Members can redeem points not only for hotel nights, but also for airline miles on more than 40 partner airlines, for auto rentals, for gift certificates and for hundreds of products available in the Rewards Catalog. And Priority Club Rewards is the only hotel loyalty program to offer members a Personal Shopper program that allows members to exchange points for items not found in the Rewards Catalog.
Enrollment in Priority Club Rewards is free. Guests can enroll by logging onto priorityclub.com, by calling 1-888-211-9874 or by inquiring at the front desk of any of IHG’s more than 4,100 hotels worldwide.
Readers of Leading Business Travel Magazines Name Priority Club® Rewards #1 Hotel Loyalty Program
Priority Club Rewards Recognized for Variety of Redemption Options, No Points Expiration
ATLANTA (Dec. 12, 2008) – Celebrating its 25th anniversary, Priority Club® Rewards, the hotel loyalty program from IHG [LON: IHG, NYSE: IHG (ADRs)], continues to take top honors among the world’s hotel rewards programs. For the fourth year in a row, Global Traveler magazine has named Priority Club Rewards the “Best Hotel Rewards Program in the World” in the annual Tested Awards, just as readers of Business Traveler magazine, equally enthused by the program’s wide variety of redemption options, vote Priority Club Rewards the “Best Hotel Loyalty Program” for the second consecutive year. Nearly 31,500 Global Traveler readers and 1,900 Business Traveler readers, selected at random, recognized Priority Club Rewards for its flexibility, ease-of-use and varied exclusive offerings such as Personal Shopper and "Any Hotel, Anywhere Reward," a pre-paid lodging card that can be used to pay for accommodations at more than 500,000 hotels worldwide – even at competitor hotels.
In June of 2008, Business Traveler asked a randomly selected cross section of its subscribers, who on average spend 65 nights per year in hotels and take 28 roundtrip airline-flights, to participate in its Best in Business Travel Awards. Global Traveler magazine conducted a similar survey from February through August, asking a series of open-ended questions to determine which program best serves the need of business travelers. A record-breaking 31,457 GT readers chose Priority Club Rewards as their program of choice.
“We never relied on the fact that Priority Club Rewards was the first hotel loyalty program and have strived over the last 25 years to deliver an innovative program that rewards our members’ loyalty through a variety of channels, whether it be Rewards Nights, once-in-a-lifetime experiences, auctions and even charitable giving,” said Don Berg, vice president, Loyalty Programs, IHG. “We appreciate this recognition from the readers of Business Traveler and Global Traveler and will continue to provide leisure and seasoned business travelers with the flexible features and a customer-centric program we can all be proud of.”
Enrollment in Priority Club Rewards is free, and members benefit from flexible features such as no points expiration, no blackout dates on reward nights, and more redemption options than any other hotel loyalty program, including more than 500,000 lodging establishments worldwide – even our rivals’ - through the industry-leading Any Hotel, Anywhere reward.
About Business Traveler
Based in New York, Business Traveler is a leading authority on business and corporate travel. As part of the Business Traveler publishing brand with ten editions worldwide, Business Traveler services the North American market and offers unparalleled resources for the traveling executive. In addition to the magazines monthly features, visitor guides, lifestyle reports and weekend guides, each issue also includes special reports ranging from business etiquette tips to preventing identity theft and the growing trend of mixing business with vacations. Business Traveler is printed 10 times yearly and has a circulation of 150,000. Visit btusonline.com.
About Global Traveler
A business travel publication that takes into account the sophisticated lifestyle interests of today's executive travelers, Global Traveler is the publication of choice among seasoned business travelers. Global Traveler is the only ABC-audited American magazine for the international business traveler, with ABC paid circulation of 100,000+. The magazine is also the only ABC audited magazine and independently measured by MediaMark Research (MRI). No other monthly magazine in its category boasts a higher audited circulation or page count. Ninety percent of its readership has average household income in excess of $100,000; 96 percent attended or graduated from college; and 98 percent of its readers are either top management or professionals. Visit globaltravelerusa.com.
About Priority Club Rewards
With 40 million members globally, IHG’s Priority Club Rewards is the first, largest and fastest-growing guest loyalty program in the hotel industry. Winner of the 19th Annual Freddie Awards hotel loyalty Program of the Year for the second consecutive year and named Best Hotel Rewards Program in the World four years running by Global Traveler magazine, Priority Club Rewards offers more sought-after benefits and the greatest ease of use of any hotel loyalty program. In addition to flexible features like No Points Expiration and No Blackout Dates, Priority Club Rewards members have more options for point redemption than any other hotel loyalty program, including redemption at more than 500,000 lodging establishments worldwide – even at rivals’ hotels – through the industry-leading Any Hotel, Anywhere Reward. Members can redeem points not only for hotel nights, but also for airline miles on more than 40 partner airlines, for auto rentals, for gift certificates and for hundreds of products available in the Rewards Catalog. And Priority Club Rewards is the only hotel loyalty program to offer members a Personal Shopper program that allows members to exchange points for items not found in the Rewards Catalog.
Enrollment in Priority Club Rewards is free. Guests can enroll by logging onto priorityclub.com, by calling 1-888-211-9874 or by inquiring at the front desk of any of IHG’s more than 4,100 hotels worldwide.
IHG Announces Jim Abrahamson as New President, Americas Region
16 December 2008
IHG Announces Jim Abrahamson as New President, Americas Region
December 16, 2008: InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (“IHG”) [LON: IHG; NYSE: IHG (ADRs)] announces the appointment of Jim Abrahamson as President of its Americas region, effective 5 January 2009.
Jim takes over from Richard Solomons, Interim President of the Americas and Finance Director for the group. Richard has been running the region since July of this year, when Steve Porter sadly had to step down due to ill health, subsequently passing away. Jim will report to Andrew Cosslett, Chief Executive, and join the Group Executive Committee. Richard will continue to work closely with Jim to ensure a smooth transition, returning as planned to his full-time role as Group Finance Director, effective from 5 January 2009.
Jim joins IHG from Global Hyatt Corporation, where he served as Head of Development, The Americas. In this role he was responsible for the development of all Hyatt brands in the region and the Franchise Owner Relations Group supporting its full service and select service franchise hotels. Jim also played a key part in Global Hyatt’s entry into new markets and segments, leading on the acquisitions of AmeriSuites and Summerfield Suites and developing new concepts Hyatt Place and Hyatt Summerfield Suites. Jim oversaw all aspects of operations, franchising and development for these two new brands. More recently, Jim had been tasked with the strategic planning for the international roll out of Hyatt Place.
Jim has 30 years of management experience in hotel operations, branding, development and franchisee relations. Previous to Global Hyatt he was President and Chief Operating Officer, Baymont Inns and Woodfield Suites and Senior Vice President, Hilton Hotels Corporation, where he served in a variety of senior management roles during his 12 years with the company. While at Hilton, he led the development and launch of Hilton Garden Inn. Earlier in his career Jim held a number of general management positions for Embassy Suites and Holiday Inn.
Andrew Cosslett, Chief Executive, said: “Jim is very highly regarded throughout the hotel industry. He has a proven track record of developing and managing leading brands and an intimate knowledge of working within a franchise organization. We are delighted that someone with his unique blend of operational, franchise and development leadership experience is joining our team. I would like to thank Richard Solomons who stepped into the role on a temporary basis under difficult circumstances and has done an outstanding job over the past six months.”
Tom Corcoran, Chairman of the IAHI (The Owners Association of IHG), said: “We are now entering a new era with IHG. We will never forget our good friend Steve Porter but we now look to the future and are delighted that we will be working with Jim Abrahamson. He is a highly respected executive with a deep understanding of the hotel business; he has what it takes to manage and develop brands and knows how to work with a large franchisee community. He is a great addition to the IHG team.”
Jim is married with one son. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota.
IHG Announces Jim Abrahamson as New President, Americas Region
December 16, 2008: InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (“IHG”) [LON: IHG; NYSE: IHG (ADRs)] announces the appointment of Jim Abrahamson as President of its Americas region, effective 5 January 2009.
Jim takes over from Richard Solomons, Interim President of the Americas and Finance Director for the group. Richard has been running the region since July of this year, when Steve Porter sadly had to step down due to ill health, subsequently passing away. Jim will report to Andrew Cosslett, Chief Executive, and join the Group Executive Committee. Richard will continue to work closely with Jim to ensure a smooth transition, returning as planned to his full-time role as Group Finance Director, effective from 5 January 2009.
Jim joins IHG from Global Hyatt Corporation, where he served as Head of Development, The Americas. In this role he was responsible for the development of all Hyatt brands in the region and the Franchise Owner Relations Group supporting its full service and select service franchise hotels. Jim also played a key part in Global Hyatt’s entry into new markets and segments, leading on the acquisitions of AmeriSuites and Summerfield Suites and developing new concepts Hyatt Place and Hyatt Summerfield Suites. Jim oversaw all aspects of operations, franchising and development for these two new brands. More recently, Jim had been tasked with the strategic planning for the international roll out of Hyatt Place.
Jim has 30 years of management experience in hotel operations, branding, development and franchisee relations. Previous to Global Hyatt he was President and Chief Operating Officer, Baymont Inns and Woodfield Suites and Senior Vice President, Hilton Hotels Corporation, where he served in a variety of senior management roles during his 12 years with the company. While at Hilton, he led the development and launch of Hilton Garden Inn. Earlier in his career Jim held a number of general management positions for Embassy Suites and Holiday Inn.
Andrew Cosslett, Chief Executive, said: “Jim is very highly regarded throughout the hotel industry. He has a proven track record of developing and managing leading brands and an intimate knowledge of working within a franchise organization. We are delighted that someone with his unique blend of operational, franchise and development leadership experience is joining our team. I would like to thank Richard Solomons who stepped into the role on a temporary basis under difficult circumstances and has done an outstanding job over the past six months.”
Tom Corcoran, Chairman of the IAHI (The Owners Association of IHG), said: “We are now entering a new era with IHG. We will never forget our good friend Steve Porter but we now look to the future and are delighted that we will be working with Jim Abrahamson. He is a highly respected executive with a deep understanding of the hotel business; he has what it takes to manage and develop brands and knows how to work with a large franchisee community. He is a great addition to the IHG team.”
Jim is married with one son. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota.
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