tl;dr – We should know more about the brand in the coming months.
IHG plans to launch a new premium brand in the coming months, with the expectation that the brand will focus on the EMEAA region. As Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia is a lot of geography, here’s hoping the brand embodies a solid mix of exotic and accessible urban hotels to make all types of travelers happy.
There isn’t a lot available about the name or specifics regarding the types of properties the brand will comprise, but from the sound of things it’s sure sounding like a soft-brand.
From a recent IHG earnings call:
“To meet growing guest and owner demand, IHG will launch a new collection brand within the large, fast-growing premium segment in the coming months, positioned in upscale to upper upscale. The new brand will initially focus on our EMEAA region, where there is a significant proportion of high-quality hotels with their own unique identity, and where a collection brand will expand our offer for guests and allow more owners to benefit from our enterprise platform. The brand will complement our versatile premium conversion brand, voco, which has already reached 225 open and pipeline hotels across more than 30 countries since its launch in 2018. It will also look to replicate the success of Vignette Collection, launched in 2021, which is positioned higher in the Luxury & Lifestyle category and already tracking ahead of its goal to reach 100 hotels in a decade, currently with 27 open and a further 41 pipeline Properties.”
