Intercontinental Hotels Group has announced plans to open three hotels in Russia and Azerbaijan.
Holiday Inn Express Naberezhnye Chelny and Holiday Inn Express Samara are both due to open in 2015, while Staybridge Suites Baku will be the first branded extended-stay hotel in the Azerbaijan city.
A 145-room new-build, Holiday Inn Express Naberezhnye Chelny will be the first internationally branded hotel in the local area. It is scheduled to open in the second quarter of 2015.
Holiday Inn Express Samara will also have 145 rooms and is to be converted into a hotel from an office building. It is due to open in late 2015.
The 115-room Staybridge Suites hotel will also be a new-build.
IHG plans to have 100 hotels open or in the pipeline in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) by 2020.
Robert Shepherd, IHG's chief development officer, Europe, said: "These three signings demonstrate IHG delivering its growth ambition across Russia and the CIS. We continue to see considerable headroom for growth here, particularly in the mid-scale and upper-mid scale segments.
"The Holiday Inn Express brand is gaining great momentum across Europe and despite being a new hotel brand in Russia, we're delighted it is being so positively received in this region."
Last week, IHG revealed it plans to open five new hotels across Germany (see news, October 14).
Graham Smith
