InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has revealed it sees the potential for Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants in the Middle East, as it confirms it has signed its second Kimpton hotel in Europe.
IHG acquired the boutique brand in January 2015, and marked the US concept's first international foray with a signing in Amsterdam (scheduled to open in 2017), and now in Paris (scheduled to open in 2020).
IHG chief operating officer IMEA Pascal Gauvin told Hotelier: “Europe is starting the internationalisation of that brand and we will do the same as soon as we have the opportunity and we have the right partner.”
He continued: "The first hotel of a brand is very critical, we have to make it right, right from the first day. We will be taking our time to see where we want to open it and whom we want to open it with as a partner, but definitely it will come [to this region]."
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Gauvin also noted in a statement: "Here in the IMEA region, we plan to capitalise on our scale, powerful distribution systems and owner networks to support the growth of the Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants. Our focus of course is to put the right brands in the right locations, by careful consideration and assessment of individual market needs."
There are currently 62 managed Kimpton hotels in the US (11,076 rooms) and a further 16 (3,128 rooms) in the pipeline, as of June 30, 2016. Kimpton also runs 76 destination restaurants and bars.
In the Middle East, IHG is actively developing partnerships to expand its regional footprint across markets including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Jeddah, Riyadh and Doha.
Read the full interview with Pascal Gauvin in the August 2016 issue of Hotelier Middle East.
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