Cheney Holiday Inn Express wins IHG newcomer award

By CARA LORELLO

Staff Reporter

Just two months after celebrating its second birthday, Cheney's Holiday Inn Express was recognized by the world's largest hotel group, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) with the 2008 Newcomer Award as one of the best properties to join its system within the last year.

Hotel manager Beth Ann Sjolund and Holiday Inn director of operations Ralph Morgan were on hand at the IHG Americas Investors and Leadership conference in Los Angeles this past September to accept their award. More than 4,000 franchise owners, operators and company officials attended the 2008 conference, according to a company press release.

As one of 21 hotels selected for the award, Cheney Holiday Inn Express had to meet the highest standards of quality and customer service.

“The [hotel] exceeded expectations and is one of the best new hotels in the IHG system,” Richard Solomons, interim president, the Americas, IHG, said.

IHG is the world's largest hotel group by number of rooms. It owns, manages, leases or franchises over 4,000 hotels in nearly 100 countries around the world. Its portfolio brands include Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, and many more.

Cheney Holiday Inn Express, located at 111 Betz Road, opened in July 2006, and is one of over 1,300 Express locations in the country, Sjolund said.

“We were in competition with those other Express locations—[Holiday Inn] opens many new Express hotels every year,” she said, adding the hotel has enjoyed a steady stream of business since opening, enjoying peak sales during summer that help balance the winter slowdowns that are typical in the industry.

“There was some concern we'd struggle during summers with the university being out, but we've managed to do very well,” Sjolund said.

Express hotels cater mainly to the business travelers, offering amenities including high-speed Internet, a 24-health and fitness center, business center and free breakfast. The main difference between an Express hotel and a regular Holiday Inn is that you won't find the sit-down restaurant found at the larger establishments, Sjolund explained, but that hasn't stopped travelers from checking in at Cheney's counter.

“I can say it's been great. Cheney is a great community to be in and do business,” Sjolund said.

The company's homepage reported that IHG has 1,700 hotels in its development pipeline, and plans to create 150,000 jobs worldwide over the next few years.

Cara Lorello can be reached at [email protected]