Holiday Inn Express expands India presence with multiple hotel openings across cities

IHG in partnership with SAMHI rebranded 10 hotels to global standards within a short span of four months

New Delhi, India 27 February 2019: InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG®), one of the world’s leading hotel companies, today announced the opening of seven more Holiday Inn Express hotels from the IHG-SAMHI partnership. The hotels are spread across some of the key cities in India, including, Pune, Hyderabad, Nashik, Ahmedabad and Bengaluru.

IHG and SAMHI entered a partnership in 2017 to rebrand 14 hotels (approximately 2000 rooms, operating and under construction) in India to Holiday Inn Express hotels. All hotels in the portfolio were closed while they were being refurbished and upgraded with the latest design directives, to ensure the portfolio is fully representative of the Holiday Inn Express brand globally. With the latest announcement,10 Holiday Inn Express hotels from the IHG – SAMHI partnership are now open across the country.

True to its promise to enable guests to succeed in their travel goals, the new Holiday Inn Express hotels are located strategically providing easy accessibility to local shopping centres, tourist attractions and business hubs. Promising unparalleled comfort and convenience to the guests, all newly opened hotels offer well designed, contemporary rooms with a range of in-room amenities, a great service culture and feature the brand’s signature ‘Great Room’, a dynamic space to socialize as well as relax and unwind. For seamless connectivity, guests can enjoy fast and uninterrupted internet access, and quality breakfast included in the rate or a Grab & Go option to save time on a hectic day. The hotels are also equipped with 24-hour on-site self-laundry facilities, and gymnasiums.

Commenting on the announcement, Vivek Bhalla, Regional Vice President, SWA, IHG said, “We are very excited to announce the opening of 7 more Holiday Inn Express hotels in India. The brand has gained tremendous momentum in the country and we have also made significant progress towards our commitment to strengthen our midscale portfolio in India. We are confident that all newly opened Holiday Inn Express hotels in partnership with SAMHI, will successfully cater to the needs of the modern business and leisure travellers, across cities”.

Ashish Jakhanwala, Founder, MD & CEO, added, “We began this journey with IHG in 2017 when we signed an agreement for 14 Holiday Inn Express hotels in India. With the opening of 10 Holiday Inn Express hotels from the portfolio, across seven key markets, we are excited and ‘more than ready’ to empower our guests to achieve their travel goals. Holiday Inn Express is a powerful offering that combines great design and a strong service culture, and therefore, we are confident that the newly opened hotels are well positioned to cater to the business as well as leisure travellers visiting these cities.”

The latest 7 Holiday Inn Express hotels are:

Holiday Inn Express Bengaluru Yeshwantpur – the hotel is strategically located near the World Trade Centre and major tourist attractions in the city. The118 room hotel is a 40-minute drive from the airport and a 5-minute drive from the Yeshwantpur Junction railway station.

Strengthening the brand portfolio in Hyderabad, IHG has opened two more Holiday Inn Express hotels in the city. The 148 room Holiday Inn Express Hyderabad HITEC City is located at a 5 km radius from major technology parks, local shopping centres and tourist landmarks. The 168 room Holiday Inn Express Hyderabad Banjara Hills is a 7-minute walk from City Centre Mall and within 2 kms of city’s tourist attractions like Jalavihar Waterpark, Hussain Sagar Lake and Ravindra Bharathi Auditorium.

Marking IHG’s debut in Nashik, Holiday Inn Express Nashik Indira Nagar is close to many city attractions such as Ratangad Fort, Ram Lakshman Tirtha, Veda Mandir Temple and Sita Gufaa. The 101-room hotel is also a short 20-minute drive from Nashik Road Railway Station.

The 132-room hotel, Holiday Inn Express Ahmedabad Prahlad Nagar hotel is just 10 kms from Ahmedabad Junction and 17 kms from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. Conveniently situated between Venus Atlantis Corporate Park and SG Road, the new hotel provides easy access to the nearby business and industrial hubs, including the capital city Gandhinagar and other popular tourist attractions in Ahmedabad.

Expanding the portfolio in Pune, IHG has opened 2 Holiday Inn Express hotels in the city – Holiday Inn Express Pune Pimpri and Holiday Inn Express Pune Hinjewadi. With more than 240 rooms combined, both properties are located in close proximity to major technology hubs and local shopping centres. Holiday Inn Express Pune Pimpri is 1-km away from Pimpri Railway

Station and 15-kms from Pune Junction. Centrally located Holiday Inn Express Pune Hinjewadi offers easy connectivity to the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.

There are currently 2,726 Holiday Inn Express hotels open across the world with another 784 in the pipeline.