InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) said its new midscale U.S. brand will be called Even Hotels and will be geared towards providing wellness and a healthy travel experience for guests.
IHG announced earlier this month that a new brand was in the works.
IHG will invest about $150 million during the next three years on the brand’s launch and will announce the first Even Hotels location by June.
The company said it will own the first “several” Even hotels before expanding the brand through franchising.
The brand will appeal to those looking for a healthy, wellness-oriented travel experience by including touches such as live rosemary in the hotels’ entryways, warm or cool hand towels presented to guests at the front desk, hypoallergenic linens on the beds, spa-like showers and fully-staffed gyms, according to Even's website.
IHG is looking to have 500 Even hotels under contracts within five years.
“The wellness sector continues to grow year over year, and the launch of Even Hotels will allow IHG to take advantage of this long-term trend,” said Kirk Kinsell, president of IHG’s Americas region, which accounts for two-thirds of the company’s global hotels.
IHG, whose other brands include the luxury InterContinental and the midscale stalwart Holiday Inn, will expand its brand offerings further when it debuts a an upper-upscale brand in China later this year.
The company is also looking to move the Crowne Plaza badge up-market into the upper-upscale sector by working with hotel owners at investing in improvements while deflagging underperforming hotels.
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