Hospitality Career E-Mag: InterContinental Hotels to open 100 hotels in Russia by 2020

InterContinental Hotels Group has revealed plans to open 100 hotels in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States by 2020.

Angela Brav, chief executive officer for the company in Europe, is on a trade mission to Russia with the prime minister David Cameron to boost trade ties between the two countries.

It has 16 hotels across Russia and the CIS including 11 hotels in Russia, and first entered the country in 1998 when it opened the Holiday Inn Vinogradovo in Moscow.

Thirteen years on, it plans to expand into regional centres and new fast-growing cities with well-established business communities and tourist attractions such as Samara, Ekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, Novosibirsk and others.The company said it would also continue to grow in Moscow and St Petersburg and will work with local investors to introduce managed and franchised hotels across the country.

Angela Brav, chief executive for InterContinental in Europe, said: “We see a huge opportunity to grow our hotel brands, such as Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn, in Russia. We want to help bring people from around Russia and the rest of the world to experience the country’s rich cultural heritage and natural wonders, from Red Square and the Kremlin in Moscow to the stunning Lake Baikal in Siberia.

“In Moscow alone, there are just over 9,000 international standard rooms, which is equivalent to around 10% of the hotel rooms in London so there is still a terrific opportunity for international hotel operators with a presence here. We’re working with Crocus Group to build Europe’s biggest Holiday Inn here in Moscow, with 1,000 rooms, due to open in 2014.”

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