InterContinental Hotels Group has just revealed the name for its new upscale brand as well as its first signing – and guess what? The hotel is in Australia.
Ladies and gentleman, meet voco, a brand name inspired by the meaning ‘to invite’ or to ‘come together’ in Latin.
Luck would have it that the very first voco branded hotel will be in Surfers Paradise, Queensland.
The 388-room Watermark Hotel & Spa is expected to open under the voco flag in October this year.
The roll-out of voco will move across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa, with plans to take it to the Americas and Greater China over time.
The new brand is expected to drive “significant incremental growth” for IHG. In fact, they expect to open more than 200 voco hotels over the next 10 years.
IHG’s Chief Executive Officer, Keith Barr said during voco rebrandings they will be working with owners of “attractive properties, who appreciate the power and expertise that a global business can bring to the table.”
Keith Barr
“Guests will be able to enjoy the appeal of a more individual hotel, alongside the reassurance of a name above the door that they trust. The versatility of the brand, means a voco hotel can retain and celebrate all of the elements that make that existing hotel successful.”
IHG’s Chief Executive Officer, Keith Barr
The news comes after IHG announced plans last month to expand its luxury and upscale estate in the UK through a conditional agreement with Covivio to rebrand and operate 12 high-quality open hotels and one pipeline hotel into its portfolio across the UK.
This deal will establish an important presence for voco in the UK with a number of these properties converting to the new brand in the coming months.
IHG believes the upscale market is worth $40 billion and is expected to grow by a further $20 billion by 2025.
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