$11 Million Holiday Inn Express and Suites Opens in Largo, Florida

The new hotel marks the 100th Holiday Inn Express to open this year

ATLANTA, CA – July 7, 2009 – (RealEstateRama) — IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON: IHG, NYSE: IHG (ADRs)], the world’s largest hotel group by number of rooms, announced today that the Holiday Inn Express® and Suites Largo-Clearwater opened on June 4, as the 100th Holiday Inn Express to open this year under the new sign.  The hotel brings 95 guest rooms and 35 job opportunities to downtown Largo, Fla.

“We’re excited to reach this milestone of opening the 100th Holiday Inn Express hotel this year as we move forward with the biggest relaunch in hospitality history,” said John Merkin, senior vice president, Brand Management, Holiday Inn Brands, The Americas.  “With more than 1,000 new Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels in our development pipeline, the Holiday Inn Express portfolio continues to expand in key markets like Largo, providing our guests with an enhanced stay experience at a great value.  We welcome this hotel into the Holiday Inn family with the brand new sign and everything it represents.”

Located at 210 Seminole Blvd. in downtown Largo, the five-story hotel offers amenities including an outdoor pool, a complimentary 24-hour fitness center, and 1,200 square feet of meeting space for business functions or special events.  The hotel also welcomes pets and has been built according to Florida’s Green Lodging Certification requirements.

The new sign outside the property marks the seal of approval that this hotel exemplifies the standards of the $1 billion Holiday Inn brand relaunch program.  First announced in 2007, the relaunch program was established to create a more contemporary brand image as part of the drive to increase quality and drive consistency across the global portfolio.  The program focuses on arrival and welcome, guestroom and guest bath comfort.  The global estate of more than 3,200 Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express properties is expected to be relaunched by the end of 2010.
Elements of the relaunch for Holiday Inn Express include:

Redesigned Brand Signage
An evolution of the iconic script logo, energizing the signature color green and eliminating the current shield shape for a more refreshed and contemporary look.

Warm Welcome
A new signature arrival – including new lighting, landscaping and design features – that creates an energized and branded sense of welcome that is universally recognizable.  Customized music and scent selections also engage guests in a complete sensory experience, and a decluttered front desk to promote a more efficient and interactive check-in process.

New Service Promise
A best-in-class service culture – “Stay Real” – to further ensure the team develops the behaviors and skills to best serve guests so they feel like individuals and not numbers.  Genuine people delivering real service. Leading the charge will be a newly created position at each hotel – the Guest Experience Champion.

“We’re pleased to add another hotel to our portfolio of Holiday Inn Express properties and honored that we are the 100th Holiday Inn Express to open under the new sign this year,” said BayStar Hotel Group’s CEO George Glover.  “We’ve brought 95 rooms to the market, enough to accommodate groups attending events at the Largo Cultural Center on the weekends, while also serving the medical and business community during the weekday.”

The Holiday Inn Express brand delivers a comfortable and smart environment with preferred guest upgrades to ensure a productive stay while traveling for business or leisure.  The brand’s newly enhanced complimentary Express Start® breakfast bar features a rotation of egg and meat selections, biscuits, yogurt, fruit and the brand’s proprietary cinnamon roll and Smart Roast® coffee.  The SimplySmart^TM shower incorporates a proprietary Stay Smart^TM Kohler showerhead, signature shower curtain with curved rod, upgraded 100 percent cotton terry towels and a custom line of cinnamon-scented bath products.  Guests will also enjoy the SimplySmart bedding collection, including new crisp fresh bedding which features an attractive decorative throw, a medium-weight duvet blanket and soft 200 thread-count sheets.

Standard Holiday Inn Express hotel guest rooms feature comfortable queen or king-sized beds, a sitting area with a lounge chair and an in-room coffee machine featuring complimentary Smart Roast 100% Arabica coffee.  Business travelers will find large desks, ergonomic chairs, free high-speed wireless internet access, and free local and toll free phone calls.

Holiday Inn Express hotels participate in IHG’s guest loyalty program, Priority Club® Rewards. The industry’s first and largest guest loyalty program has 43 million members.  Priority Club Rewards membership is free and guests can enroll by logging on www.priorityclub.com, calling 1-888-211-9874 or by inquiring at the front desk of this hotel or any of IHG’s more than 4,200 hotels worldwide.

The Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Largo-Central Park is owned and operated by BayStar Hotel Group, under a license agreement with a company in the InterContinental Hotels Group.

About Holiday Inn Express
Holiday Inn Express hotels are modern hotels for value-oriented travelers.  Fresh, clean and uncomplicated, Holiday Inn Express hotels offer competitive rates for both business and leisure travelers.  Guests Stay Smart® at Holiday Inn Express hotels where they enjoy a free hot Express Start® Breakfast Bar, free high-speed internet access and free local phone calls (US and Canada only).  There are currently more than 1,900 Holiday Inn Express hotel locations around the globe.  For more information about Holiday Inn Express hotels or to book reservations, call 1-800-HOLIDAY or visit www.hiexpress.com.

Media Contacts:
Lindsay Cameron, Holiday Inn Express, +1(770) 604-8686, lindsay.cameron (at) ihg (dot) com

Sarah-Ann Soffer, Holiday Inn Express, +1(770) 604-2707, sarahann.soffer (at) ihg (dot) com

Notes to Editors:

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is the world’s largest hotel group by number of rooms. IHG owns, manages, leases or franchises, through various subsidiaries, over 4,200 hotels and more than 620,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories around the world. The Group owns a portfolio of well recognized and respected hotel brands including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites® and Candlewood Suites®, and also manages the world’s largest hotel loyalty program, Priority Club® Rewards with 43 million members worldwide.

IHG has nearly 1,700 hotels in its development pipeline, which will create around 140,000 jobs worldwide over the next few years.

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group’s holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.

IHG offers information and online reservations for all its hotel brands at www.ihg.com and information for the Priority Club Rewards program at www.priorityclub.com. For the latest news from IHG, visit our online Press Office at www.ihg.com/media