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Focus Hospitality Services Opens the $20 million
Holiday Inn IPFW & Coliseum

Will Provide Classroom for Hospitality Program Students
at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne

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FORT WAYNE, IND., (Nov. 13, 2008) � The Holiday Inn IPFW & Coliseum celebrated its Grand Opening today with a ribbon cutting and tours of the new facility.  Business and local government leaders attended the ceremony and toured Fort Wayne�s first full-service hotel in 25 years.   The 151-room facility, located on Coliseum Blvd. across from the Memorial Coliseum and on the campus of IPFW, brings 90 full- and part-time jobs to Allen County. 

The Holiday Inn at IPFW and the Coliseum is owned and managed by Focus Hospitality Services, under a license agreement with a company in the InterContinental Hotels Group and is located at 4111 Paul Shaffer Drive, Fort Wayne, IN 46825.

�It�s wonderful and amazing that, even based on the current economy, Focus Hospitality Services has invested $20 million into the community to provide those jobs,� Holiday Inn General Manager Rob Evans said.
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John Merkin, senior vice president, Brand Management, Holiday Inn Brands, The Americas, noted, �We are proud to welcome the new Fort Wayne property to the Holiday Inn family.  With this hotel design, Holiday Inn has arrived at the perfect convergence of tradition and innovation � one that will define the Holiday Inn of the future, offering the value and authenticity business travelers and families expect from this beloved brand.�

Clearly proud of the hotel he manages, Evans said, �This is the first Holiday Inn in Indiana to be the new hallmark Holiday Inn.  The chain recently re-launched its brand with a fresher, newer look that includes a new logo, new lighting and focuses on the first impression guests have of the facility. 

�The brand took that new look and made it better,� Evans said, pointing out the extras the hotel offers, including extra thick, pillow-top mattresses and 32-inch flat screen televisions in every room.  The level of comfort needs to be greater than what you have at home, Evans said.

The facility offers complimentary wireless internet and parking, and boasts the largest indoor pool of any hotel in the city � a 20,000-gallon pool and a hot tub/spa that fits 15. 

IPFW � Holiday Inn Partnership Outlined

Along with featuring the latest amenities the Holiday Inn brand has to offer, the hotel marks the first time the new brand will also serve as a classroom through its partnership with IPFW. 

�This is a new breed of hotel,� said Jerald Good, President and CEO of Focus Hospitality Services, who built and manages the new hotel. �We�ve turned the hotel into a giant classroom, one where we can showcase and teach the Focus and IPFW traditions of hospitality excellence.� Evans pointed out some of the artwork in the new hotel.  �When you walk into the facility, and enter the Mastodon Grill, the Faculty Club, the IPFW Boardroom or the University Ballroom, you are seeing the artwork that has been provided by the university,� he said.  One example, Evans said, are the photos in the hotel�s fitness center showing the IPFW Men�s Volleyball team at the Final 4.

Along with its connection to IPFW, the newest gem in the Holiday Inn brand has created partnerships with the Allen County Memorial Coliseum and Glenbrook Mall, making the hotel its own destination.  The prospect of more and larger conventions at the Coliseum can only serve to help businesses throughout the area.

�The partnership with the Coliseum completes the area,� stated Randy Brown, General Manager of the Allen County Memorial Coliseum.  �For the first time, the Coliseum can pursue events that require overnight rooms at an adjacent facility.  Already, the Coliseum is looking to host a three-day convention that will need 400 room nights,� Brown added. 

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Contact:

Mike Berry
260-424-3373
[email protected]

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