InterContinental Hotels Group Plc (IHG) has launched its first upscale boutique brand in Shanghai, highlighting the rising prominence of the city as a business and tourism hub.
The 184-room Hotel Indigo is a waterfront hotel located in the city’s picturesque promenade, the Bund. It features locally made materials and art reflecting history of Shanghai and is due to open by the end of the year.
“The historic nature of the location, the visibility of the hotel and also the excitement of the city in general; it is one of the most progressive, ever-changing cities in all of China, so really it is a good fit for Hotel Indigo,” said Keith Barr, regional manager of IHG.
The company said it planned to open more Indigo branded hotels across Asia over the next three years, including in Xiamen, Hong Kong, Taipei and Bangkok, adding to its hotels in the US, London and Costa Rica.
“The key thing is for us is making sure we have customers who want to travel there, and what drives Indigo is ‘psychographics’ rather than demographics,” said Mr. Barr.