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News for the Hospitality Executive |
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Holiday Inn Express Upgrades Free Morning Breakfast, Adds
Cheese Omelets,
Bacon, Sausage, and Biscuits with Sausage Gravy
| ATLANTA (February 19, 2008) � Despite hectic schedules
and tighter travel budgets, business travelers have declared breakfast
a must when it comes to starting the day off right, but not for all the
reasons you might think. According to a new survey conducted on behalf
of Holiday Inn Express, business travelers are looking to get a lot more
out of breakfast than just a tasty start to their day.
The survey finds an astounding 70 percent of business travelers would
rather conduct business during a sit-down breakfast as opposed to cocktails
over dinner. And, while 87 percent enjoy having a hot breakfast with
their colleagues, 77 percent view breakfast with the boss as an innocent
opportunity to get to know them better, not just a way to earn brownie
points and get ahead professionally.
As evidenced by the survey, the business traveler�s desire to seek out smarter, cost-conscious ways to work and connect with others over breakfast continues to grow. And to that end, Holiday Inn Express has upgraded its free Express Start® Breakfast Bar to include a more robust menu of hot foods conducive to the full, sit-down breakfast desired. The Express Start® Breakfast Bar now offers guests new hot items like cheese omelets, bacon, sausage, and biscuits with sausage gravy on a rotating basis, in addition to its existing guest favorites like the signature cinnamon roll and Smart Roast® coffee. And in keeping with the brand�s desire to meet the taste and nutritional preferences for all guests, the breakfast bar will continue to offer lighter fare like fresh fruit, assorted yogurts, hardboiled eggs and a variety of breakfast breads. For business travelers who don�t have time for a sit-down breakfast, the redesigned bar now even features branded to-go bags and single-serve cinnamon roll boxes. The Express Start® Breakfast Bar relaunch coincides with the brand�s newest series of TV commercials that began airing the week of Feb. 11. The new spots play off the idea of Holiday Inn Express offering the �hot� new bar in town. The breakfast bar takes on a life of its own as the social scene for groups of business travelers who dine, flirt and socialize with colleagues in potentially awkward, yet humorous situations. The ads from Fallon Minneapolis have the unexpected, witty humor that is characteristic of the award winning Holiday Inn Express Stay Smart advertising campaign. The new spots can be viewed at www.hiexpress.com, and will air on popular national cable networks like ESPN, The History Channel, Comedy Central, CNN and TNT. The ads also will air on CBS during the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. The Express Start® Breakfast Bar is just one in a series of systemwide brand innovations from Holiday Inn Express designed to create meaningful and guest preferred upgrades to the stay experience. In 2004, Holiday Inn Express launched the wildly successful Simply Smart� Guest Bathroom that included the rollout of approximately 120,000 new showerheads and over a million towels. The $20 million-plus program includes a proprietary Stay Smart� Kohler showerhead; upgraded 100 percent cotton terry towels; and a new line of bath products. And in 2006, the brand launched Simply Smart � Bedding Collection, which is comprised of a soft top sheet, a medium-weight duvet blanket and soft 200 thread-count sheets. The duvet blanket is sandwiched between two top sheets for added plushness. In addition, there are four pillows, available in two comfort levels: �Soft� and �Firm.� Together, all of these initiatives create a comfortable and smart environment for Holiday Inn Express guests to ensure a productive stay and the most value while traveling for business or leisure. About Holiday Inn Express
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Brad Minor
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