Indigo, the lifestyle-oriented brand of IHG (InterContinental Hotel Group), has identified Hongkong as its second Asian location, following Shanghai.
Hotel Indigo Hongkong QRE in Wanchai will open in 2012 with 150 rooms and will feature “a design storyline driven by the area,” Keith Barr, IHG managing director, Greater China, told Business Traveller. “The sense of place will be so strong, a customer would know he couldn’t be staying anywhere else (but Hongkong).” The hotel is along Queen's Road East (hence QRE in the name) in a neighbourhood that is undergoing vigorous revitalisation.
Despite the positioning as a “branded boutique chain”, no two Indigos are the same. But all properties would leverage on the global marketing strength of IHG and its most recognisable product tiers, InterContinental and Holiday Inn, Barr explained. “There are customers who like the boutique hotel experience but cannot find the consistency in the cities they visit. Indigo will provide that.”
With the Indigo user described as "someone wanting something different and distinct from the traditional five-star or four-star experience", Barr did not expect InterContinental or Holiday Inn to migrate in large numbers to the new product, although some trial stays could not be discounted. Indigo's price point, he added, would be between the InterContinental and the Crowne Plaza, another of IHG's products, known for its strong meetings bent.
Indigo Shanghai on the Bund, located at the historic Pier 16, is poised to open next year before Expo 2010 Shanghai China kicks off on May 1. At press time, there were 28 Indigos (27 in the US and one at London's Paddington Station) operating. Future Indigos in Asia-Pacific will likely open up in Tokyo, Singapore, Sydney and Melbourne.
For more details on the chain, visit www.ihg.com
Margie T Logarta Indigo, the lifestyle-oriented brand of IHG (InterContinental Hotel Group), has identified Hongkong as its second Asian location, following Shanghai.
Hotel Indigo Hongkong QRE in Wanchai will open in 2012 with 150 rooms and will feature “a design storyline driven by the area,” Keith Barr, IHG managing director, Greater China, told Business Traveller. “The sense of place will be so strong, a customer would know he couldn’t be staying anywhere else (but Hongkong).” The hotel is along Queen's Road East (hence QRE in the name) in a neighbourhood that is undergoing vigorous revitalisation.
Despite the positioning as a “branded boutique chain”, no two Indigos are the same. But all properties would leverage on the global marketing strength of IHG and its most recognisable product tiers, InterContinental and Holiday Inn, Barr explained. “There are customers who like the boutique hotel experience but cannot find the consistency in the cities they visit. Indigo will provide that.”
With the Indigo user described as "someone wanting something different and distinct from the traditional five-star or four-star experience", Barr did not expect InterContinental or Holiday Inn to migrate in large numbers to the new product, although some trial stays could not be discounted. Indigo's price point, he added, would be between the InterContinental and the Crowne Plaza, another of IHG's products, known for its strong meetings bent.
Indigo Shanghai on the Bund, located at the historic Pier 16, is poised to open next year before Expo 2010 Shanghai China kicks off on May 1. At press time, there were 28 Indigos (27 in the US and one at London's Paddington Station) operating. Future Indigos in Asia-Pacific will likely open up in Tokyo, Singapore, Sydney and Melbourne.
For more details on the chain, visit www.ihg.com
Margie T Logarta 
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