New Delhi (2010-07-05)

INTERCONTINENTAL Hotels Group (IHG) will double its presence in Greater China to 277 hotels over the next five years, with Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn being the brands with the most properties.

Twenty-two InterContinental hotels, 55 Crowne Plaza, 41 Holiday Inn, 26 Holiday Inn Express and two Hotel Indigo, altogether offering 47,848 rooms, are in IHG's China pipeline. There will be 91 hotels each under the Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn brands by 2015.

IHG CEO, Andy Cosslett, said: “Our strong partnerships with hotel developers in Greater China enable us to develop high quality hotels in key locations. This year we are opening over 30 hotels in Greater China. Our upscale hotels in Greater China have an average room count of 350, significantly larger than our other markets, with the vast majority being managed by IHG. This gives us a highly profitable and significant business in China, with annual gross hotel revenues in excess of US$1 billion.”

Greater China is IHG's second largest operating region after the US.