IHG announced on Tuesday a franchise multiple development agreement with Regional Hotel Chain, a portfolio company of VIY Management, to develop 15 new Holiday Inn Express hotels in Russia by 2019.
The deal with VIY Management, London, will mark the Holiday Inn Express brand’s debut in Russia. IHG, Denham, England, said that the 15 new Holiday Inn Express hotels will add approximately 2,250 rooms, when signed, to IHG’s current Russia development pipeline of over 1,700 rooms at 5 hotels. IHG said the hotels will meet Russia’s supply gap for midscale hotels.
“Russia is a priority market for IHG in Europe. It is underdeveloped in terms of branded hotel rooms, one of the most prosperous economies in Europe and is a growing market for business travel both internationally and between its many large cities. As Russia grows in economic importance, the introduction of the Holiday Inn Express brand will not only be important to meet local midscale demand in-country, where we know there is a significant supply gap, but also as part of a future strategy to capture inbound demand as a brand of choice,” said Robert Shepherd, IHG’s chief development officer, Europe.
The locations for the first two of these hotels are Chelyabinsk and Voronezh. Holiday Inn Express Voronezh – Kirova is due to open in the second half of 2014 and
Holiday Inn Express Chelyabinsk – Central Station, is scheduled to open in summer 2015.
“This is a breakthrough for IHG in Russia. It marks the debut of the Holiday Inn Express brand there and, when the hotels open we will have doubled the size of our system as it stands in Russia today, making a significant step towards our ambition to be market leaders,” said Angela Brav, CEO, Europe, IHG.