Skift Take

The hotel group is pushing forward on its goal of quickly adding new brands across the hospitality spectrum. The only question is: What will it add next?

InterContinental Hotels Group plans to add a new all-suites brand, Atwell Suites, in a further step to expand its brand portfolio, it announced Wednesday.

The brand will join IHG’s other all-suite brands — including Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites — but will fall between traditional extended stay and select service hotels. Guests are encouraged to stay up to six days, and the hotel will offer complimentary breakfast and dinner options, as well as a bar in the lobby and a limited kitchenette in the suites.

Primarily, the brand, which is IHG’s 17th, is aimed at business travelers who also want a “memorable experience,” meaning the hotel will build in spaces and programs to encourage social interaction between the guests, as well as an emphasis on room design.

“Our newest offer gives owners and guests something different to what’s out there today — a stylish suite with the flex for guests to work, socialize, or explore over a four-to-six-night stay,” said Keith Barr, CEO of IHG.

“As we focus on accelerating our growth, the brand will further extend our leading position in the mainstream space,” he added.

The hotel group said the brand would be franchise-ready by the end of the year, with new hotels beginning construction in 2020 and opening in 2021.

Barr has said several times that brand acquisition and brand creation is important to IHG going forward. In February, at an investment summit in Los Angeles, he said his aspiration was to have “a full robust brand portfolio from the upper end of luxury into mainstream,” adding that the hotel group still had gaps to fill.

Earlier this year, IHG acquired Six Senses, its second wellness brand, and last year bought stake in Regent Hotels, quickly building up its footprint in the luxury space.

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Tags: ihg

Photo credit: A look inside one of the suites at IHG's upper-midscale brand, Atwell Suites. IHG

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