IHG Hotel Group

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG®) is expanding its foot print in the Russia and CIS market. The hotel group has announced the signing of three more hotels in the region: Holiday Inn Express® Naberezhnye- Chelny, Holiday Inn Express® Samara and Staybridge Suites® Baku.

Holiday Inn Express Naberezhnye – Chelny is the third hotel to be signed as part of the multiple development franchise agreement. The agreement was signed in March 2013 with Regional Hotel Chain (RHC) to develop 15 new hotels in Russia by 2019. The 145-room new-build property is due to open in the second quarter of 2015.

Similarly, the new 115-room Staybridge Suites hotel will be the first branded extended-stay hotel in Baku, Azerbaijan. Staybridge Suites will be operating under a franchise agreement with Asnaf Alkon Group. Subsequently, Holiday Inn Express Samara will operate under a franchise agreement with Rosa Mira Group. The 145-room hotel is to be newly constructed following a conversion from an office building and is due to open towards end of 2015.

Robert Shepherd, IHG chief development officer, Europe said: “We continue to see considerable headroom for growth here, particularly in the mid-scale and upper-mid scale segments.”

IHG is committed to growth in Russia and the CIS with plans to have 100 hotels open or in the pipeline by 2020. This expansion will be primarily driven by IHG’s Holiday Inn® and Holiday Inn Express® brands in primary and secondary cities across the region.