EVEN™ Hotels Announces Second New York City Property Signing

ATLANTA, May 30, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON: IHG; NYSE: IHG (ADRs)] today announces the signing of the second EVEN™ Hotels property in New York City, with an ownership group led by Frank Chan and Lance Steinberg. The IHG managed hotel will be located at 321 West 35^th Street in midtown Manhattan. The hotel will be a new build property scheduled to open mid-year in 2015. The 77,000 square foot hotel will feature 150 guestrooms and 25 guestroom floors, flexible public workspaces, dining and social areas, and a state of the art, three-zone gym.

Launched in 2012, following two years of extensive guest research, the EVEN Hotels brand is the industry's first mainstream lifestyle hotel brand focused on the wellness space. EVEN Hotels uniquely provides solutions for all aspects of travelers' holistic wellness needs with an emphasis on four components: Keep Active, Rest Easy, Eat Well, and Accomplish More – globally, no other hotel brand does this under one roof and at a mainstream price point.

This is the second hotel development for business partners Chan and Steinberg, who are also owners of the previously announced EVEN hotel located at 219 East 44^th Street, the first property signed for the brand. Over the 20 year life-span of their partnership, Chan and Steinberg have created a 500,000 square foot portfolio of owned and managed multi-tenant commercial space.

"The signing of a second property for EVEN Hotels in New York City further emphasizes our leadership in launching new brands and commitment to their development in the right markets, with the right owners. The IHG family of hotel brands are preferred by guests, and continue to grow and evolve in competitive markets, because of our relentless pursuit of insights into today's travelers," said Kirk Kinsell, president, the Americas, IHG.

"EVEN Hotels is an exciting new brand with a very unique offering, and we recognized the enormous opportunity to be among the first to develop this hotel," said Lance Steinberg, co-owner of the E 44^th and W 35^th Street EVEN hotels. "The wellness industry continues to grow, and the need for a hotel brand like this one has never been greater. IHG's innovative approach to brand creation and the strength of their portfolio made them the ideal choice for our first venture into the hotel real estate business. This hotel, as well as the one on E 44^th Street, will be unlike anything currently available in New York City, and will provide a new choice for wellness-minded travelers."

Kinsell added, "The enthusiasm we have seen from owners, including Frank Chan and Lance Steinberg, is a testament to the strength of the brand concept and confidence in IHG. As we launch the EVEN Hotels brand, it is important that we continue to partner with wellness-minded owners who truly understand the guest experience the brand will deliver."

New York City is one of the largest tourism destinations in the world, with more than 52 million visitors in 2012, up more than one million from the year prior. New York City provides strong market exposure to wellness-minded guests traveling for both business and leisure who are looking for a travel partner to help maintain the balance they desire.

The announcement of the W 35^th Street property signing, coupled with the previously announced E 44^th Street hotel signing, expands the presence of EVEN Hotels in New York City and allows the brand to serve an ever-growing number of wellness-minded travelers. The E 44^th Street property will be located in the Turtle Bay area of the city. This established neighborhood on the east side of Midtown Manhattan features upscale residences and proximity to some of the city's largest office buildings, including the United Nations Headquarters, Chrysler Building and General Electric Building, and is in walking distance to Grand Central Terminal.

The W 35^th Street hotel site is located at the core of New York City's cultural, entertainment and shopping districts, and in the heart of the Garment District. Nearby attractions include Madison Square Garden, Macy's Herald Square, the 34^th Street Retail Corridor, the Empire State Building and Times Square. The neighborhood surrounding the W 35^th Street EVEN hotel site is one of the most well-known in Manhattan, and caters to a large number of tourists and business travelers who fit the wellness-minded traveler demographic.

The brand is expected to be a key pillar in IHG's portfolio of preferred brands and in the long term, a key driver in market share growth in the U.S. EVEN Hotels aims to sign 100 EVEN Hotels in the U.S. in the next five years under managed and franchised agreements in key markets including New York, the Washington D.C. area and San Francisco.

For more information, visit http://evenhotels.com/. Find EVEN Hotels on Twitter https://twitter.com/EvenHotels or Facebook http://www.facebook.com/EvenHotels.

Notes to Editors:

IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global organization with nine hotel brands including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites®, Candlewood Suites®, EVEN™ Hotels and HUALUXE™ Hotels & Resorts. IHG also manages Priority Club® Rewards, the world's first and largest hotel loyalty program with over 73 million members worldwide. The program will be renamed and relaunched as IHG® Rewards Club in July 2013, offering enhanced benefits for members.

IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns over 4,600 hotels and more than 674,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories. With more than 1,000 hotels in its development pipeline, IHG expects to recruit around 90,000 people into additional roles across its estate over the next few years.

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group's holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.

Visit www.ihg.com for hotel information and reservations and www.priorityclub.com for more on Priority Club Rewards. For our latest news, visit www.ihg.com/media, www.twitter.com/ihg, www.facebook.com/ihg or www.youtube.com/ihgplc.

SOURCE InterContinental Hotels Group