330,000 Reasons to Say 'Thank You'

IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group), the world's largest hotel company, is leading a week of celebrations to say ‘thanks' to the teams across their 4,400 hotels, offices and reservation centres around the world.

‘Celebrate Service Week' - an initiative launched by IHG in partnership with its Owners' Association, the IAHI, is designed to give back to their people who work tirelessly every day for their guests. It will run from 26 - 30 July 2010 and is dedicated to celebrating the 330,000 people, from accountants to chefs and housekeeping to HR, who work across its hotels and offices, for their invaluable contribution.

‘Celebrate Service Week' will feature everything from barbeques and pool parties to grand prize draw giveaways including tickets to the London 2012 opening ceremony.

Andy Cosslett, Chief Executive IHG, commented: "Our people are what sets us apart from our competitors, they're the reason our guests come back and they are what makes our brands market leading. Celebrate Service Week gives us a chance to do one of the simplest, most effective things we can to show our appreciation - say ‘thank you', but in a way only the world's biggest hotel company can."

Around the world there are hundreds of thousands of people working in Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites and Hotel Indigo hotels. Last year, IHG opened 439 hotels, creating 25,000 new jobs and another 160,000 jobs will be created over the next five years as 1,300 more hotels open under these brands.

Cosslett continued: "To open all the hotels in our development pipeline we need to recruit 160,000 people over the next five years. Recruiting and retaining this many people is an enormous challenge. And we can only achieve it by being a company that attracts top talent, a company people love to work for, and one that is known for its approach to people." 

Mark Carrier, Chairman of the IAHI, the Owners' Association, said: "The IAHI, our hotel owners and IHG have come together to dedicate a week to thanking our people and letting them know how important they are to the success of our businesses. It's their hard work and professionalism that makes our hotels places that guests want to return to again and again."