Crowne Plaza Establishes the Place To Meet in Queenstown, New Zealand
Crowne Plaza Queenstown to be launched in September 2005
New Zealand - 31 March 2005 - InterContinental Hotels Group and The Carter Group today announced that Parkroyal
Queenstown will be launched as the Crowne Plaza Queenstown in September, following completion of the first stage of a
multi-million dollar refurbishment. The hotel is to be the third Crowne Plaza in New Zealand, joining Crowne Plaza
Christchurch and Crowne Plaza Auckland, and the 36th Crowne Plaza in the Asia Pacific region.
Queenstown, the adventure capital of New Zealand, is a key market for InterContinental Hotels Group's expansion in New
Zealand. According to latest forecasts from Tourism Research Council of New Zealand, international visitor arrivals into
New Zealand are expected to increase to 3.1 million in 2010, with Queenstown to receive an increasing share of the
total. Crowne Plaza Queenstown will benefit from an increased demand for quality accommodation, and in turn add to the
quality of Queenstown's overall visitor experience.
As one of the fastest growing hotel brands in Asia Pacific, Crowne Plaza is synonymous with the highest levels of
service to travellers offering guests the opportunity to meet and relax in comfort in the centre of Queenstown's leisure
and commercial offerings. Crowne Plaza Queenstown is testimony to the Group's strategy to establish its premium hotel
brand in popular destinations preferred by conference and meeting planners. A review of latest trends and research, as
well as recognition of the growing interest in Queenstown as a meetings venue, has led Carter Group and InterContinental
Hotels Group to decide the former Parkroyal Queenstown will be re-launched as the Crowne Plaza Queenstown.
On the edge of Lake Wakatipu, Crowne Plaza Queenstown will feature extended, upgraded meeting facilities to satisfy the
exacting demands of the meetings market. The new facilities will underscore Crowne Plaza's global positioning as The
Place To Meet, offering the unique Meeting Success products and services catering specifically to meeting planners,
delegates and facilitators. Meetings at Crowne Plaza Queenstown will be made easier with a dedicated Crowne Meetings
Director, a Two Hour Response to all meeting enquiries, practical facilitator tools for meetings and innovative
approaches to meetings, including food and beverage options such as Lunching In, Meet and Eat and Snack Attack.
"We are committed to extending our presence in New Zealand and the timing of the launch of Crowne Plaza Queenstown is
perfect in light of New Zealand's tremendous growth as an international traveller destination. The hotel's premium
upgraded accommodation and unique offerings will appeal to both leisure travellers and meeting/conference delegates,
thus reaffirming that Crowne Plaza Queenstown will be The Place to Meet. Additionally, the 24 million members of our
loyalty programme, Priority Club Rewards, will now be able to stay at another Crowne Plaza hotel - in Queenstown," said
Phil Lee, Chief Operating Officer for Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific, InterContinental Hotels Group.
The Carter Group Principal, Philip Carter added: "Crowne Plaza Queenstown's prime location and stunning views of the
lake and surrounding mountains, coupled with the refurbished facilities and Crowne Plaza meetings approach will increase
the hotel's share of corporate meetings business. We're confident the strong brand and international appeal of Crowne
Plaza will add significant value to the hotel."
InterContinental Hotels Group and The Carter Group established a joint venture in June 2004 to purchase Parkroyal
Queenstown for NZ$20 million. The refurbishment programme will be jointly funded by the partners and undertaken in
phases, with the first commencing in early April.
The soon-to-be-launched Crowne Plaza Queenstown features 139 guest rooms, meeting and function facilities and a
restaurant and bar. It is situated right in the city centre and is ten minutes from Queenstown Airport, twenty minutes
from the region's ski fields, and close to Queenstown's myriad of adventure activities.
InterContinental Hotels Group manages two other hotels owned by The Carter Group in New Zealand, namely Holiday Inn On
Avon Christchurch and Holiday Inn City Centre Christchurch.
ENDS
For further information contact:
Bill Sheppard
Vice-President Operations/ New Zealand South Pacific
InterContinental Hotels Group
Ph: 021 722 881
Note to Editors:
InterContinental Hotels Group PLC of the United Kingdom [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is the world's most global hotel
company and the largest by number of rooms. InterContinental Hotels Group owns, manages, leases or franchises, through
various subsidiaries, more than 3,500 hotels and 534,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories around the
world. The Group owns a portfolio of well recognised and respected hotel brands including InterContinental(r) Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza(r) Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn(r) Hotels and Resorts, Express by Holiday Inn(r), Staybridge Suites(r), Candlewood Suites(r) and
Hotel IndigoTM, and also manages the world's largest hotel loyalty programme, Priority Club(r) Rewards, with more than
24 million members worldwide. In addition to this, InterContinental Hotels Group has a controlling interest in Britvic,
the second largest soft drinks manufacturer in the UK.
InterContinental Hotels Group offers information and online reservations for all its hotel brands at
www.ichotelsgroup.com and information for the Priority Club Rewards programme at http://www.priorityclub.com/.
For the latest news from InterContinental Hotels Group, visit our online Press Office at http://www.ihgplc.com/media.