ATLANTA, Aug. 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- IHG®
(InterContinental Hotels Group), one of the world's leading hotel
companies, has introduced IHG® Business Edge, a
comprehensive program designed to enhance the corporate travel
experience for small and midsize enterprises (SMEs).
Prior to launch, 1,500 companies have already signed up as
members, eager to benefit from a program designed to streamline the
negotiation process, reward loyalty, and consolidate data, content
and booking into one easily accessible customer portal.
IHG Business Edge has been in development for the past year, and
was built based on the insights of 2,100 global SME customers, and
then piloted with 300 companies across 17 countries. Through this
process, the companies made it clear they wanted to benefit from
some of the competitive advantages traditionally enjoyed by large
enterprise customers, and were looking for a partner that
understood small business and could provide them with meaningful
resources and content that they couldn't get on their own.
Derek DeCross, SVP, Global
Sales, IHG, said: "We knew that there was an unmet need
for a travel buying program specifically designed for SMEs – a
group of customers who can often be underserved by the industry. We
worked together with SMEs to design the program and they told us
that a discount program alone is not compelling enough to drive
their loyalty and engagement. They didn't want lengthy negotiations
- but rather a rich discount they could count on, reliable
reporting and insight into the latest information, as well as
access to a diverse corporate network of other "similar"
organizations."
Companies with less than 250 employees and up to $50 million in revenue, and that spend at least
$5,000 with IHG annually, are welcome
to join the IHG Business Edge community. This will give them
discounted rates at participating hotels across IHG's portfolio of
more than 5,400 properties across 15 brands, including
InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday
Inn® Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza®
Hotels & Resorts and Kimpton® Hotels &
Restaurants. Participating travellers also enjoy the benefits of
IHG® Rewards Club Gold Elite status after completing
their first stay.
Through the customer portal, the corporate administrator can
monitor essential travel data including hotel spend, room nights,
average daily rate, savings and IHG Rewards Club participation over
the previous 12 months. With future enhancements, the portal will
also serve as the gateway to the IHG Business Edge community where
administrators can access a content center with business tools,
articles for continuing education and a forum to connect with
fellow SME travel administrators.
To qualify as an IHG Business Edge member, travel administrators
can apply at businessedge.ihg.com.
About IHG®
IHG®
(InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a
global organisation with a broad portfolio of hotel brands,
including Regent Hotels & Resorts®,
InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts,
Kimpton® Hotels & Restaurants, Hotel
Indigo®, EVEN® Hotels, HUALUXE®
Hotels and Resorts, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts,
voco™ Hotels, 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 more than 5,400 hotels
and 810,000 guest rooms in almost 100 countries, with nearly 1,800
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 375,000 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.
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SOURCE IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group)