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Holiday Inn is getting a millennial makeover
The chain is modernizing its hotels with an elevated design scheme.
Holiday Inn is modernizing, and travelers who favor mid-century modern furniture and wood slat walls will appreciate the new look.
The hotel chain is in the middle of an overhaul meant to elevate and standardize its interior design after finding that guests thought there was “a lot of inconsistency” in its interior spaces, says Meredith Moore, VP of global brand management for Holiday Inn’s parent company, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG).
The makeover brings in pared-down furniture silhouettes in slate gray and toffee leather finishes, more reminiscent of the mid-century modern direct-to-consumer brand Article than what you might expect at your typical Holiday Inn.
The hotel chain also wants guests to experience the same look and feel no matter which Holiday Inn property they visit. “It was really important for us to get really prototypical and have a bit more of a consistent feeling overall,” Moore tells Fast Company, noting that guests today are “looking for a sense of familiarity.”
[Photo: Holiday Inn]
The refresh comes at a time when the company is doing well, relative to the industry. In its most recent earnings call, IHG’s CEO, Elie Maalouf, said the company hasn’t observed a slowdown that its competitors have seen in the U.S. domestic leisure market. The company says it’s experienced a 67% increase in room signings over last year across its portfolio of hotels, which includes brands like Kimpton and Crowne Plaza.
MIDSCALE ROOMS ARE GETTING A MORE UPSCALE LOOK
The chain’s makeover includes a redesigned entry that brings the front desk, order counter, bar, and market to a central unit, and redesigned rooms with a “welcome zone” (made to feel like a home entryway) and decor that seems targeted squarely at millennial tastes.
Renderings of the updated guest rooms show modern modular couches, abstract art, and beds with wide headboards that feature wood-paneled treatments, sconce lighting, and floating shelves, giving the midscale accommodations a decidedly upscale look. Holiday Inn says the first hotels to feature all the design changes will open in the first half of 2025, and it expects 70% of hotels to be new or like new by the end of next year.
“It’s making sure that there’s the warmth in the experience, so it is about the details, it is about the decorative elements, the pillows, how plush something looks, the colors, the lighting, so a lot of it has to come together,” Moore says. Strong Wi-Fi and plenty of charging ports also top the priority list.
[Photo: Holiday Inn]
[Photo: Holiday Inn]
Other notable changes include a darker shade of green for the hotel’s signage (“before it was a little bit more in the limey space,” Moore says), and a more focused food menu. The chain’s survey of its food service and offerings revealed that just two items—burgers and wings—generate more than 40% of all dinner orders. “If you can get those two things right, you’re already satisfying about half of your diners,” Moore says.
With its spiffed-up design, more sophisticated signage, and a focus on the little things—from pillows and wood paneling to Wi-Fi and wings—Holiday Inn is making a calculated bet that it can appeal to a new generation of travelers with an elevated look and a standardized experience, no matter which location they check into.
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