From Meetings Today

InterContinental Hotels Group is extending its footprint throughout Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean, with 40 new hotels that will add nearly 6,000 rooms in the region over the next several years.

The growth is buoyed by strong relationships with existing owners, as well as new entities entering the hotel-ownership arena.

In 2016 alone, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) announced the arrival of the Candlewood Suites brand in Mexico and the continued growth of the Staybridge Suites brand alongside the opening of a Holiday Inn Resort in Mazatlan in the same country.

Other highlights of the company’s ongoing growth in key markets include the signing of two new-build Holiday Inn Express hotels in Peru and the launch of the first Holiday Inn Express hotel in Paraguay, which joins IHGs Crowne Plaza in the country’s capital city of Asuncion. IHG is also set to debut the highly anticipated InterContinental Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, which expands the presence of the InterContinental brand within the Caribbean.

In 2015, IHG acquired the world’s largest independent boutique hotel operator, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants. Debuting in November, the Kimpton Seafire Resort + Spa in Grand Cayman will have the distinction of being IHGs first Kimpton brand opening in the Caribbean. The 266-room resort is Grand Caymans first new resort development in more than a decade and will feature 20,000 square feet of meeting space and several dining options.

Additionally, the opening of a Crowne Plaza in Colombia early next year will mark the company’s 14th property in the country and IHGs second hotel brand to gain a footing in the booming metropolis of Barranquilla. The Crowne Plaza brand is also strengthening its Mexico presence with two newly signed properties in the key cities of Chihuahua and San Miguel Allende. In June, IHG announced that it is investing $200 million in the Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts brand in the Americas region.

By the end of 2017, IHG will also open additional hotels across Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Chile and the Bahamas, as well as in rapidly emerging markets such as Ecuador.

We are very pleased that both our long-standing as well as new ownership groups continue to see the value of IHG-branded hotels. Our brands continue to serve the growing number of both business and leisure travelers in the region,” said Jorge Apaez, COO, Mexico, Latin America and Caribbean. “As the international hotel company with the longest track record of success in the region, we look to further growing our number of hotels and provide the unparalleled experience that exceeds the expectations of today’s travelers.”

IHGs growth in Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean is a microcosm of IHGs overall growth throughout the globe. Earlier this year, the company marked a great milestone with the opening of its 5,000th hotel.

With its roots in Latin America, the first InterContinental hotel opened in Belem, Brazil, in 1946. Currently, IHG has six brands throughout 21 countries in Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean, totaling 221 hotels and nearly 38,000 rooms.

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IMAGE: Kimpton GC. www.sb-architects.com