EVEN™ Hotels Expands Pipeline With Announcement Of Brooklyn, NY Property Acquisition

ATLANTA, Dec. 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) [LON: IHG; NYSE: IHG (ADRs)] today announced that it has acquired a new asset in Brooklyn, N.Y., that the Company will develop as a new hotel under its EVEN™ Hotels brand, expanding the wellness hotel brand's portfolio in the Greater New York City area and accelerating its growth in strong urban markets. This new property will be the fifth hotel added to the EVEN Hotels brand's development pipeline, and the announcement comes as EVEN Hotels prepares to open its first two properties in spring 2014.

"As the third largest central business district in New York City and a strong commercial and residential development market that continues to gain momentum, Brooklyn was a natural and very purposeful location for EVEN Hotels," said Kirk Kinsell, president, the Americas, IHG. "Since introducing the EVEN Hotels brand, we have been committed to actively growing our portfolio in key urban and suburban markets that have a large base of wellness-minded individuals and travelers. We have been inspired by the wellness revolution taking place in Brooklyn and are looking forward to having a strong presence in the community."

The downtown Brooklyn EVEN Hotels property will be located at the intersection of Nevins and Schermerhorn Streets, only four blocks from the Barclays Center and in the heart of the booming Boerum Hill neighborhood.  At launch, the brand named the New York metropolitan area as a key development market for EVEN Hotels, and has since announced two midtown Manhattan EVEN Hotels, which will be located on West 35^th Street and East 44^th Street. The Manhattan properties will open in mid-2015, while a location in Norwalk, Conn., is set to debut in spring 2014, and will be one of the first two EVEN Hotels properties to open. The other premiere property, situated outside of Washington, D.C., is located in Rockville, Md. The Brooklyn EVEN Hotels property announcement continues IHG's development momentum in the thriving Brooklyn market, following the grand opening of the Hotel Indigo Brooklyn in September and the October announcement of the Holiday Inn Brooklyn Nevins Station, which will open in early 2015.

Since the rezoning of Downtown Brooklyn in 2004, the area has undergone transformations which have resulted in $9 billion of private investment and $300 million in public improvements currently underway.[i]  These figures prove a strong commitment by both the public and private sectors to continued growth within the community, and validate the strength of the market for business and leisure tourism.     

Construction has already begun at the site of the new Brooklyn EVEN hotel, which will feature all signature aspects of the brand specially designed to serve the wellness-minded traveler. Elements include adaptable public workspaces; an open-style Market and Bar; an EVEN Hotels Athletic Studio; flex space for small group fitness classes; guest rooms featuring the EVEN Hotels In-Room Training Zone; as well as design and technology elements to help guests maintain the balance they desire. The 83,000 square foot Brooklyn hotel will feature 204 guest rooms and 13 guestroom floors, and is expected to open mid-2015 in conjunction with the midtown Manhattan EVEN Hotels properties.

The EVEN Hotels brand concept was born from more than 24 months of consumer insights research and offers a holistic approach to enabling wellness in travel. The brand offers a fresh perspective on wellness travel and provides guests a variety of options to help them Eat Well, Rest Easy, Keep Active and Accomplish More, all supported by in-hotel and mobile technologies, and a unique team member education and certification program.

The research found that 17 million wellness-minded U.S. travelers "fall off the wagon" when they travel and that leading a healthy, balanced lifestyle is increasingly more important to Americans.[ii]  This however, is a challenge, especially for those on the road with workers who spend more than 20 days on the road each month more than twice as likely to rate their health as "poor" or "fair."[iii]

With these findings and their implications about the direction of wellness travel in mind, the EVEN Hotels brand partnered with a number of health and wellness leaders, lifestyle experts and travelers, to launch wellwellwell.com, an online destination and resource for wellness-minded travelers, fueled by EVEN Hotels, which provides localized and insightful content designed to help travelers maintain their routine while away from home. The site hosts city-specific guides that feature articles, tips and localized information on the best places to eat, rest, exercise and explore while home and away in cities across the country.

"EVEN Hotels was created to inspire the wellness-minded traveler – estimated to be 40 percent of the mainstream traveling public – and to help them maintain their balance wherever they are, and the launch of wellwellwell.com, allows us to reach the broader public and provide them with insightful content and helpful resources on wellness and travel no matter where they live or travel," said Adam Glickman, head of EVEN Hotels. "The site is yet another part of the holistic approach to wellness EVEN Hotels provides. As we launch the brand and grow our footprint in the U.S., wellwellwell.com gives us the opportunity to develop a relationship with the wider traveling public."

EVEN Hotels carefully selected partners including health and wellness leaders and lifestyle experts, food and beverage influencers and publishers of health and wellness content to curate the best tips and articles for traveling well. Content partners include leadership representatives from companies including Gaiam, Rodale publishing, EO Products, the Athletic Minded Traveler, as well as Dr. Drew Ramsey, author of 50 Shades of Kale, and Tammy Stokes, founder of West Coast Workout, among others. In addition to these content partners, wellwellwell.com will curate user-generated content and publish tips and city view recommendations from travel-minded, health-conscious and active site visitors.

The EVEN Hotels brand was created based on an understanding of the consumer shift toward wellness – especially as it relates to travel. Developed to meet the needs of the wellness-minded traveler at a mainstream price, EVEN Hotels offers wellness-savvy staff, a best-in-class fitness experience, healthier food choices and natural, relaxing spaces to help travelers maintain their balance. For more information, and to see EVEN Hotels come to life digitally, visit the brand's newly launched web and mobile web sites at EVENHotels.com.

About EVEN™ Hotels
EVEN™ Hotels, a new brand from IHG, meets the large and growing demand for a hotel brand to help wellness-minded travelers keep their balance on the road at a mainstream price point. An industry first, EVEN Hotels invites wellness on every journey by providing solutions for all aspects of travelers' wellness needs. With an emphasis on four components, Eating Well, Resting Easy, Keeping Active and Accomplishing More, the brand serves as a travel partner, helping guests feel better about their experience and themselves based on the choices they are able to make. Globally, no other brand does this under one roof, at a mainstream price point.

The brand launched in 2012 and is expected to be a key pillar in the IHG portfolio of preferred brands and in the long term, a key driver in market share growth in the U.S. EVEN Hotels expects to open its first properties in early 2014 and continue strategic development efforts in key markets including the Tri-state area, the Washington, D.C. area, San Francisco, Chicago, Denver, Portland, Seattle and Los Angeles.

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 a broad portfolio of 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 manages IHG® Rewards Club, the world's first and largest hotel loyalty program with over 76 million members worldwide. The program was relaunched in July 2013, offering enhanced benefits for members including free internet for Elites across all hotels, globally.

IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns over 4,600 hotels and 679,000 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.ihgrewardsclub.com for more on IHG Rewards Club. For our latest news, visit: www.ihg.com/media, www.twitter.com/ihg, www.facebook.com/ihg or www.youtube.com/ihgplc.

[i] Downtown Brooklyn Partnership (DBP)

[ii] Natural Marketing Institutes (NMI) 2010 Health and Wellness Trends Database®

[iii] Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health; Business travel and self-rated health, obesity and cardiovascular disease risk factors; 2011

SOURCE InterContinental Hotels Group