At IHG's annual U.S. convention for hotel owners yesterday, Holiday Inn brand chief Kevin Kowalski told the audience of roughly 2,000 hotel franchisees that despite the recession, most Holiday Inn hotels have either completed their upgrades or have at least committed to making the changes. But the owners of 300 hotels, or 12% of the chain's 3,300 locations, haven't yet moved ahead even though Holiday Inn has given them a deadline of Feb. 1.
To earn the new, streamlined "Holiday Inn" sign, owners have to agree to buy new bedding, pillows and towels; renovate the lobby; pipe in hip, modern music from an approved playlist, install green uplighting on the exterior and make other improvements. The $1 billion, global makeover is aimed at reviving the iconic Holiday Inn brand and luring more business travelers.
"We have 300 hotels to worry about at this point," Kowalski told the audience, though he didn't name specific hotel locations. "If you're in the minority 12% that haven't committed yet, step up and do it. If you have a quality problem, fix it...We're not changing timing.
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