InterContinental Hotels Group, the world’s largest hotel group by number of rooms, will operate the new Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Suites Santo Domingo, slated for opening at the end of 2007. The new hotel site is the corner of Abraham Lincoln Avenue and Rafael Augusto Sanchez Street in the bustling new commercial and residential district of Santo Domingo, yet lacking of a major hotel. This would be a 7-story, 145-room hotel. IHG already manages the InterContinental V Centenario on the Malecon in Santo Domingo.
Holiday Inn Express, launched in the US in 1991, is one of the fastest growing hotel brands in the budget segment with over 1,631 hotels worldwide as of June 2006, and opening on average two hotels a week. The brand appeals to business and active leisure travelers. The hotels are limited service and breakfast is included in the rate.
The Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Santo Domingo will have a business center, outdoor swimming pool, spa, fitness center, and four meeting rooms.
“We are excited to expand the Holiday Inn Express brand in one of the most vibrant cities in the Caribbean, further demonstrating IHG’s commitment to expanding its brands in key cities within Latin America,” says Alvaro Diago, area president of InterContinental Hotels Group Latin America. “Additionally, this is our second hotel with Inverplata S.A., who also owns the venerable InterContinental V Centenario Santo Domingo, and we are thrilled to continue furthering our relationship with them.”
“We are very proud to be developing one of IHG’s fastest growing brands in our magnificent city of Santo Domingo; a city that has the richest products, culture and history in the entire Caribbean,” says Pierre Nahas of Inverplata S.A. “We believe this new venture will not only benefit us and IHG, but it will also benefit the tourism industry as well as the economic interests of the region.”