IHG on Monday unveiled new designs for its Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts brand across Europe.
IHG is partnering with owners on three Crowne Plaza hotels to roll-out the new designs from later this year: Crowne Plaza London – Heathrow; Crowne Plaza Paris – République; and Crowne Plaza Hamburg – City Alster.
These designs are part of a global Crowne Plaza program benefiting from a US$200 million investment in the Americas over three years, where the new hotel concepts have already been trialled.
In Europe, IHG has collaborated with design studio Conran and Partners,to challenge the preconceptions of a standard business hotel and create more flexible working environments.
“We’ve partnered closely with our owners throughout this project and every element of the new design has been shaped with return on investment in mind,” said Mike Greenup, IHG’s vice president of brand management for Europe.
Central to the hotel is the ‘Plaza WorkSpace,’ a collection of working areas modeled on a public square, where guests and local businesses can switch between work and downtime. Co-working spaces with huddle spots and built-in touch screens will sit alongside food and drink options, with the aim of increasing dwell times, F&B revenue and generating non-guest spend.
The guest room has also been re-defined with the new ‘WorkLife Room,’ an environment designed with three distinct zones to support work, downtime and a better night’s sleep. Rooms will feature materials that reduce noise disturbance, while lighting settings will enhance the sleep experience.
Informal meeting areas have also been transformed. ‘The Forum’ is a bookable event and co-working space with a ‘Spanish Steps’-style layout for presentations and guest speakers. ‘The Studio’ is an on-demand bookable space that can be used for collaborative workshops by day and private dining by night.