IHG® announces plans to bring together IHG® Rewards Club and Kimpton Karma Rewards

ATLANTA, Oct. 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- IHG^® (InterContinental Hotels Group), one of the world's leading hotel companies, today announced plans to bring together its two distinctive loyalty programs – IHG^® Rewards Club and Kimpton Karma Rewards. In early 2018, Kimpton Karma Rewards, the loyalty program of Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, will become a part of IHG Rewards Club and offer all members one program with a single reward point system.

Members from both IHG Rewards Club and Kimpton Karma will benefit from the breadth of hotel options and redemption possibilities this combined program will offer, in addition to the following:

• More Choices in More Places – Kimpton Karma members will be automatically enrolled in IHG Rewards Club, gaining access to an expansive portfolio of nearly 5,300 hotels, including 11 additional IHG brands in almost 100 countries.
  
  In turn, IHG Rewards Club members will now be able to earn reward points and redeem Reward Nights at more than 60 Kimpton boutique hotels across urban locations, up-and-coming cities and resort destinations.
  
  
• More Ways to Earn Faster – Kimpton Karma members will enjoy the ability to accelerate higher tier status and earn more benefits with incentives and promotions that are personalized for them. Members can also earn points through IHG partners for everyday activities like renting a car, ordering flowers, shopping, dining and more.
  
  
• More Benefits and Perks – Kimpton Karma members will enjoy the many benefits that have made IHG Rewards Club an industry best program, including discounted rates when booking direct, value-priced Reward Nights with no blackout dates, no cancellation penalties, online reward redemption and the opportunity to redeem with hundreds of partners, including airline miles. Members also have access to digital innovations such as the industry's first mobile app, as well as mobile check-out and stay preferences. The IHG Rewards Club Concierge shopping experience also offers members the ability to redeem points for everything from event tickets and experiences, to exchanging points for an endless variety of items.
  
  
• Continued Personalization – The personalized perks and recognition that have been a hallmark of Kimpton Karma will continue as part of the Kimpton experience, in addition to exclusive Kimpton offers, invitations to private events and more.

Susanna Freer Epstein, Senior Vice President, Customer Loyalty Marketing, IHG, said: "Both IHG and Kimpton have built two strong loyalty programs that have attracted a tremendously loyal base of members who are passionate about our brands. By joining them together, Karma Rewards members will now have access to the global scale of nearly 5,300 hotels, as well as all of the great benefits available through IHG Rewards Club, like access to our many partners and exclusive rates. We will also extend our personal offers and customized benefits to welcome Kimpton guests into our family. At the same time, our existing IHG Rewards Club members will also be able to earn and redeem points for stays at Kimpton hotels, further exposing them to new brands and new places."

Kathleen Reidenbach, Chief Commercial Officer, Kimpton, said: "Becoming part of IHG Rewards Club allows us to answer some common requests from our Kimpton Karma Rewards members, such as no blackout dates, online redemption, and perhaps the pinnacle of it all, a whole world of international opportunities that the IHG Rewards Club program offers. With the increased portfolio of hotels – 80 times more hotels than what we've been able to offer – our members can now travel all around the world earning and redeeming points, including new international Kimpton destinations. What's equally exciting is that members will continue to enjoy the highly personalized experience that Kimpton delivers, while gaining access to the rich benefits of IHG Rewards Club. It's really a win-win."

IHG Rewards Club is the world's first hotel loyalty program, with more than 100 million enrolled members worldwide. IHG Rewards Club members may begin earning rewards and redeeming them at Kimpton properties and will have their IHG Rewards Club current status recognized and receive all applicable in-hotel benefits, starting in early 2018.

All Kimpton Karma earned reward nights will be honored. Karma member tier levels will map to IHG Rewards Club membership levels, and activity accrued toward an earned night will be converted into IHG Rewards Club points. Karma InnerCircle will continue to exist at Kimpton hotels and will be grandfathered into the program in 2018.

You can learn more about how IHG Rewards Club and Kimpton Karma are coming together here.

Notes to Editors:

ABOUT IHG^®

IHG^® (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global organisation with a broad portfolio of hotel brands, including InterContinental^® Hotels & Resorts, Kimpton^® Hotels & Restaurants, Hotel Indigo^®, EVEN^® Hotels, HUALUXE^® Hotels and Resorts, Crowne Plaza^® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn^®, Holiday Inn Express^®, Holiday Inn Club Vacations^®, Holiday Inn Resort^®, avid™ hotels, Staybridge Suites^® and Candlewood Suites^®.

IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns nearly 5,300 hotels and more than 785,000 guest rooms in almost 100 countries, with more than 1,500 hotels in its development pipeline. IHG also manages IHG^® Rewards Club, our global loyalty programme, which has more than 100 million enrolled members.  

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group's holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales. More than 350,000 people work across IHG's hotels and corporate offices globally.

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.ihgplc.com/media and follow us on social media at: www.twitter.com/ihg, www.facebook.com/ihg and www.youtube.com/ihgplc.

ABOUT KIMPTON HOTELS & RESTAURANTS

San Francisco-based Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants is the acknowledged industry pioneer that introduced the boutique hotel concept to the United States in 1981. Anchored in one-of-a-kind experiences, Kimpton operates more than 60 hotels and 70 restaurants, bars and lounges across urban locations, resort destinations and up and coming markets in the United States, Europe and the Caribbean. Time and again, Kimpton has demonstrated its commitment to creating spaces and experiences that are centered on its guests. From inspiring design that evokes curiosity to forward-thinking flavors that feed the soul, every detail is thoughtfully curated and artfully delivered.  The Kimpton experience is always meaningful, unscripted and ridiculously personal.

Kimpton is highly regarded for its workplace culture and has been consistently recognized on the FORTUNE magazine "100 Best Companies to Work For" list. Empowered employees bring to life the heartfelt guest experience that has come to define Kimpton.

In January 2015, Kimpton became part of the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) family of hotel brands. For more information, visit www.KimptonHotels.com.   

SOURCE IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group)