IHG Hotels & Resorts has announced a new conversion soft brand, Vignette Collection, which will debut with hotels in Australia and Thailand, according to the United Kingdom-based hotel firm.
The brand will have both urban and resort properties.
At the hotel firm’s conference call for its half-year earnings on Aug. 10, CEO Keith Barr said the addition would be a “luxury, lifestyle brand, a conversion flag … it will be at a different price point to Voco.”
With the Vignette announcement, IHG is extending its luxury and lifestyle portfolio, which Barr said in a news release now has six brands with almost 450 properties.
“Our new Vignette Collection gives IHG a compelling way to welcome world-class independent hotels into our brand family, combining each property’s distinctive identity with the power of our global scale," Barr said.
Barr added the company has thoughtfully grown its brand portfolio through its recent acquisitions of luxury and lifestyle brands over the last several years, including Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, Regent and Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas.
“We’ve been strategic with the enhancements we’ve made to our luxury and lifestyle portfolio in recent years, which at more than 400 hotels and 100,000 rooms is the second-largest in the industry," he said. "We’ve built on the heritage and global success of our InterContinental brand, with the rapid international expansion of Kimpton and Hotel Indigo, and acquisitions of Six Senses and Regent. We expect to attract more than 100 Vignette Collection hotels in 10 years, and the brand will be key to delivering our ambition of industry-leading net rooms growth.”
During IHG's recent earnings call, Barr added “the segment now accounts for 13% of the pipeline.”
All told, IHG now has 17 brands, with Vignette being its first collection brand.
The first two properties announced for the Vignette brand are the Hotel X in Brisbane, Australia, and the Pattaya Aquatique in Pattaya, Thailand, owned by Thai firm Asset World Corporation.
IHG's European rival Accor in recent years also has placed more emphasis on the luxury and lifestyle hotel segment and created a new luxury and lifestyle division, Ennismore, to look after its relevant brands. Accor, however, does not have a soft brand.
Willemijn Geels, IHG's vice president of development, Europe, spoke to Hotel News Now on Aug. 16, and said that she has seen more demand for hotel conversions.
“It is undeniable. It is due to where we are on the real-estate cycle and in pricing, where it becomes more attractive to do [conversions] and in that way add value,” she said.
Kenneth Macpherson, IHG’s CEO in Europe, Middle East, Asia and Africa, said both guests and hotel owners have expressed interest in a collection brand within the IHG portfolio.
“The launch of Vignette Collection today is a real testament to the dedication and focus of our teams to bring this brand to market. It marks another important moment in IHG’s story and the continued evolution of our portfolio, which has grown from 11 to 17 incredible brands in a little over four years and firmly secures us as the second largest player in the luxury and lifestyle space,” he said.
He said he is working hard to bring the brand up to scale, “especially across the [Europe, Middle East, Asia and Africa] region, where we see a huge opportunity with around half of the hotels unbranded."