ATLANTA (Feb. 1, 2011) – IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON: IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)], the world's largest hotel group by number of rooms, today announces the relaunch of Crowne Plaza Hotel & Suites Minneapolis Airport, following a conversion from the Holiday Inn flag, which is also an IHG brand. Associated Hotels LLC invested $2 million in upgrades to serve Bloomington’s growing business district. The hotel added a Caribou Coffee oasis to the lobby and will continue to cater to groups and meetings with 18,000 square feet of meeting space and the Crowne Plaza’s signature comprehensive meetings program.
 
The 13-story, 430-room hotel is owned by Associated Hotels LLC, which owns six IHG properties, including the Crowne Plaza Englewood, located five miles from downtown Manhattan, and five Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels.
 
The hotel is located at 3 Appletree Square (at I-494 and 34th Ave.) near Minneapolis – St. Paul International Airport, 2.5 miles from the Best Buy campus, eight miles from downtown Minneapolis, the Minneapolis Convention Center and St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center. Companies located nearby include Unisys, Health Partners, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Toro and Ford Motors. For those looking for entertainment, the hotel is eight blocks from the Mall of America, the largest shopping mall in the U.S., and home to Nickelodeon Universe, and Target Field and Target Center are just nine miles away.
 
Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts is a dynamic hotel brand currently located in more than 50 countries around the world. Truly international, Crowne Plaza offers premium accommodations, designed for the discerning business and leisure traveler who appreciates simplified elegance combined with practicality of the latest features, as well as value for money.
 
“We’re pleased to bring our seventh Crowne Plaza to the Minneapolis area, especially in such a convenient location for business travelers," said Gina LaBarre, vice president, Brand Delivery, the Americas, IHG.  "There are several major employers in the area that will benefit from the meetings-savvy products and services that only a Crowne Plaza can provide."
 
The hotel features an impressive 18,000 square feet of meeting space. The space can be configured into as many as 16 meeting rooms for smaller meetings and one ballroom for large events. The Crowne Plaza is “the Place to Meet” with our signature comprehensive meetings program that ensures a seamless planning process and exceptional meeting experience consisting of three key components: a Two-Hour Response Guarantee, a Crowne Meetings Director and a Daily Meetings Debrief. 
 
“Due to the business growth in the Bloomington area, we saw a need for a hotel that offered a comprehensive meeting package,” said Jay Fishman, president of Associated Hotels, LLC. “We’re proud owners of many IHG brands, and I have served as the President of International Association of Holiday Inn Owners (IAHI) and continue to remain active with IHG, most recently as Chairman of the Priority Club Committee, so it made sense to look at the Crowne Plaza brand. We decided the conversion to a Crowne Plaza was right for the property and the business, group and leisure travelers we serve.”
 
The Crowne Plaza Hotel & Suites Minneapolis Airport boasts 430 contemporarily renovated guestrooms, including 120 junior suites, five bridal suites and one presidential suite. All rooms feature 37” LCD flat panel TVs, microwaves and refrigerators. Guests can take advantage of a variety of amenities, including complimentary wireless Internet available in both guest rooms and public areas of the hotel; a 24-hour Business Center; a renovated 2,500 square feet Precor Fitness Center; Olympic-sized indoor pool; and complimentary 24-hour airport shuttle service.  Guests can also enjoy Martels Restaurant and Lounge featuring savory, Americana fare and Caribou Coffee located in the lobby.

Consistent with the Crowne Plaza brand, the hotel features the Crowne Plaza Sleep Advantage®, available at all Crowne Plaza hotels in the Americas.  Sleep Advantage encompasses the entire sleep experience, from training staff on how to create and maintain a restful environment to providing innovative products and services.   Program components include signature bedding, guaranteed wake-up calls, designated quiet zones, nightlights, drape clips and amenities such as eye masks, earplugs and lavender spray.
 
Crowne Plaza was recently recognized by Lodging Hospitality magazine as one of the industry’s top-growing brands.  Additionally, Business Travel News magazine announced Crowne Plaza as the No. 1 upscale brand as voted by travel buyers in its annual U.S. Hotel Chain Survey (up from 9th in 2009).  As part of the IHG global portfolio, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts has more than 300 hotels in nearly 60 countries, located in major urban centers, gateway cities and resort destinations. For reservations at Crowne Plaza properties, visit www.crowneplaza.com or call 1-800-2CROWNE.  For reservations at the Crowne Plaza Charleston Airport Convention Center, guests can also call the hotel directly at 877-747-7301.
 
Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts participates in IHG’s guest loyalty program, Priority Club® Rewards; the industry’s first and largest guest loyalty program has 52 million members.  Priority Club Rewards membership is free and guests can enroll by logging on at priorityclub.com, by calling 1-888-211-9874 or by inquiring at the front desk of this hotel or any of IHG’s nearly 4,400 hotels worldwide.
 
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is the world's largest hotel group by number of rooms.  IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns, through various subsidiaries, over 4,500 hotels and more than 650,000 guest rooms in 100 countries and territories around the world.  The Group owns a portfolio of well-recognized and respected hotel brands including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites® and Candlewood Suites®.  We also manage the world's largest hotel loyalty program, Priority Club® Rewards with 52 million members worldwide.
 
IHG has over 1,200 hotels in its development pipeline which we expect to create 160,000 jobs worldwide over the next few years.
 
InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group's holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.
 
IHG offers information and online reservations for all its hotel brands at www.ihg.com. For our latest news visit www.ihgplc.com/media, YouTube http://www.youtube.com/user/ihgplc or Twitter www.twitter.com/ihgplc.