IHG Launches New Franchise Model in China

InterContinental Hotels Group has launched a new franchise model for its Holiday Inn Express brand in China.

The new model, called Franchise Plus, has been specifically tailored for the Chinese market and provides owners with all of the benefits of operating a franchise model, but with additional benefits and features from IHG’s managed model.

IHG’s first Franchise Plus agreement was signed earlier this week with Shanghai Yaqi Business Hotel Co., Ltd., for a 260-room Holiday Inn Express hotel in the Hongqiao area of Shanghai.

“The launch of Franchise Plus for our Holiday Inn Express brand is an important milestone for our business and for the accommodation landscape in China,” said Kenneth Macpherson, Chief Executive Officer of IHG in Greater China. “With IHG’s world-leading expertise in franchising and our more than three decades of operational excellence and knowledge of the Chinese market, we are confident that the new model will be an engine of growth for IHG and our business partners in the coming years.”

There are more than 2,400 Holiday Inn Express hotels globally and over 620 in the pipeline. Since its arrival in Greater China in 2004, Holiday Inn Express has established a presence in more than 30 provinces and cities across the region with 66 hotels now open and another 67 in the pipeline. 

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