Dive Brief:
- IHG Hotels & Resorts opened its first dual-branded Avid Hotels and Candlewood Suites property in North Platte, Nebraska, the company announced Tuesday.
- The property offers 123 pet-friendly rooms, 57 under Avid and 66 by Candlewood. The hotel’s public areas blend elements of both brands, including Avid’s 24-hour market and complimentary hot breakfast and Candlewood’s outdoor gazebo grill and free laundry facilities.
- IHG debuted a prototype for dual-branded Avid and Candlewood hotels in 2021. The company has 40 additional locations in its pipeline, including ones opening this year in Fort Payne, Alabama, and West Memphis, Arkansas.
Dive Insight:
Lincoln, Nebraska-based Nightcap Management owns and operates the North Platte hotel.
Michael Works, Nightcap’s owner, said the hotel’s “midscale, limited service and extended stay offering will allow us to accommodate a wider range of travelers and deliver top-notch amenities as well as stress-free comfort with every stay.”
IHG said Avid is its fastest-growing new build brand, and its combination with “one of the most well-known extended stay brands” has already drawn attention from both new and veteran IHG owners.
Nearly 30% of all Avid Hotels and 27% of all Candlewood Suites in the company’s Americas pipeline are adopting this new dual-brand prototype, IHG said. The expansion will help the Avid brand, in particular, achieve its goal of tripling its regional real estate in the coming years, according to the company.
“By combining these two brands, we now can cater to two complementary demand segments under one roof,” said Jennifer Gribble, IHG’s senior vice president of global marketing for mainstream brands, in a statement. “This allows us to not only mitigate rising costs and maximize potential returns for our owners, but also introduce both short- and long-term guests to new brands and offerings by pairing them with ones they already recognize and trust.”
Further openings for the dual-brand concept are slated across the U.S. and Mexico.
The North Platte hotel will welcome transient and extended-stay travelers. The hotel is near local corporate offices for the Union Pacific Railroad and Great Plains Health, as well as the Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park and State Recreation Area.
