InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts Named North America's Leading Hotel Brand By The World Travel Awards

ATLANTA, Oct. 28, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, the global luxury brand of parent company InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), has been named as "North America's Leading Hotel Brand" for the first time by the World Travel Awards (WTA). The WTA is one of the most prestigious award programs in the travel industry, and it celebrates organizations within the tourism sector that are pushing the boundaries of industry excellence. The InterContinental brand earned this recognition for its adherence to superior standards of quality and service at its hotels in the United States and Canada.

Simon Scoot, vice president, Global Brand Leader, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, IHG commented:  "We are proud that our InterContinental hotel brand is known as a leader in the North American hospitality industry. This award recognizes the dedication of our colleagues, who bring the brand to life every day and provide enriching and meaningful experiences for our guests."

The World Travel Awards also named the InterContinental Chicago Magnificent Mile as North America's Leading Business Hotel and the United States' Leading Business Hotel. The property received these awards for its unparalleled services, upstanding facilities and consistency of quality.

With 178 hotels worldwide, including 23 in the U.S. and Canada, and twice the size of its luxury brand competitors, the InterContinental brand is dedicated to providing superior service that is instinctively in-tune with the needs of its guests. The brand's hotel employees and world-class concierge teams also offer their own special insight about the destination with guests to make them feel like they are "In the Know" and part of a global club.

The InterContinental brand continues to expand its portfolio in top-tier international cities and resort destinations while also improving the InterContinental hotels currently in its portfolio. In the Americas region, the brand recently announced the signing of a new 900-room InterContinental Hotels & Resorts property in downtown Los Angeles in collaboration with Korean Air and extended its strategic agreement with Mexico-based hotel management and ownership company Grupo Presidente, which currently owns nine Presidente InterContinental hotels in Mexico. Two of the brand's historic hotels, the InterContinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco and InterContinental New York Barclay, will also undergo multimillion dollar renovations. Key openings include the InterContinental Cartagena in Q1 2015, and St. Paul and Santo Domingo in Q2 2015.

About World Travel Awards
Hailed as 'the Oscars of the travel industry,' World Travel Awards celebrates its 21st anniversary this year and is acknowledged across the globe as the ultimate travel accolade. The brand aims to celebrate those organizations that are pushing the boundaries of industry excellence.

WTA's global media partner network includes International New York Times, TV5Monde, CNBC Arabiya, Newsweek, Outlook Traveller, Travel & Leisure, Khaleej Times, Trade Arabia, TTN, Trav Talk India, Publituris, ASTA Network, Breaking Travel News, eTurboNews, Travel Daily News International and Focus on Travel News.

This global media partner network has a monthly readership of 1.7 million and a TV audience reach of 90 million viewers.

To download WTA logos visit: www.worldtravelawards.com/logo

About InterContinental^® Hotels & Resorts
InterContinental Hotels & Resorts has nearly 180 hotels located in more than 60 countries with local insight that comes from over 65 years of experience. As a brand, we believe that superior, understated service and outstanding facilities are important, but what makes us truly different is the genuine interest we show in our guests. Our desire is to help guests make the most of their time. We connect our well-traveled guests to what's special about a destination, by sharing our knowledge, so they enjoy authentic experiences that will enrich their lives and broaden their outlook. For more information, visit http://www.ihg.com/intercontinental, https://twitter.com/InterConHotels or http://www.facebook.com/intercontinental.

Notes to Editors:
IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) (LON: IHG, NYSE: IHG (ADRs)) is a global organisation with a broad portfolio of nine hotel brands, including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites®, Candlewood Suites®, EVEN™ Hotels and HUALUXE® Hotels and Resorts.

IHG manages IHG® Rewards Club, the world's first and largest hotel loyalty programme with over 82 million members worldwide. The programme was relaunched in July 2013, offering enhanced benefits for members including free internet across all hotels, globally.

IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns over 4,700 hotels and 697,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries, with almost 1,200 hotels in its development pipeline.

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.

SOURCE IHG Hotels & Resorts