Holiday Inn Express® Pittsburgh East – Munhall Opens in the Heart of Exclusive Waterfront Shopping District

New Hotel Just Seven Miles from Downtown Pittsburgh

ATLANTA – 2013-01-03 — /travelprnews.com/ — IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON: IHG, NYSE: IHG (ADRs)] one of the world’s leading global hotel companies, announces the recent opening of the new Holiday Inn Express Pittsburgh East – Munhall, conveniently located near the banks of Monongahela River and the area’s upscale Waterfront open-air shopping mall.

Close to Interstate 376, the new hotel is just seven miles from Pittsburgh and three miles from the world-renown Kennywood Amusement Park. Surrounded by shops, nationally recognized department stores and a wide selection of restaurants, the new hotel is perfect for those travelers who want to relax in a comfortable suburban setting.

“Holiday Inn Express hotels are designed to be the smart choice for value-conscious business and leisure travelers,” said Jim Anhut, senior vice president, Brand Management, the Americas, IHG. “With more than 2,100 properties worldwide, the Holiday Inn Express portfolio continues to expand in markets like Pittsburgh, providing our guests with an enhanced stay experience at a great value.  We are proud to welcome this hotel into the Holiday Inn brand family with the brand new sign and everything it represents.”

The new hotel includes features in keeping with the $1 billion Holiday Inn global brand relaunch, the largest project of its kind in the history of the hospitality industry. First announced in 2007, the relaunch program creates a more contemporary brand image as part of the drive to increase quality and consistency across the global portfolio. The program focuses on arrival and welcome services, guestroom and guest-bath comfort, and a redesigned logo and signage.

“We’re excited to be joining the Holiday Inn brand family and to be able to provide visitors to the Pittsburgh area with outstanding service and great value,” said General Manager, Donald Schultz. “The Holiday Inn Express brand is both smart and fresh, and we believe this hotel fits perfectly with the needs of our community.”

In addition to visiting the Waterfront, a 260-acre open-air mall on the former site of the Homestead steel mill, hotel guests can enjoy visits to several nearby area museums including The Andy Warhol Museum and the Carnegie Museum of Art & Natural History and the Sand Castle Water Park.

Located at 608 E. Waterfront Drive in Homestead, PA, the 70-room hotel’s proximity to Pittsburgh is also attractive to business travelers as the area hosts offices for several of the nation’s top corporations including H.J. Heinz, PPG Industries, US Steel, and PNC Financial Services Group. The hotel is also less than 20 minutes from both the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University.

Guest rooms feature contemporary styling, a 42-inch HD flat screen TV, iPod docking station, comfortable queen or king-sized beds, a sitting area with a lounge chair and an in-room coffee machine featuring complimentary Smart Roast 100% Arabica coffee. Business travelers will find large desks with ergonomic chairs, free high-speed internet access both in the rooms and throughout the hotel, and free local phone and toll free, phones with private voicemail and complimentary USA TODAY®newspapers a . The Holiday Inn Express Pittsburgh East – Munhall also features a 24-hour business center and wireless data connections.

The new Holiday Inn Express hotel includes a 525-square foot meeting room that can accommodate up to 40 people and a fully equipped 24-hour fitness center. The hotel Guests at the Holiday Inn Express Pittsburgh East – Munhall will experience a comfortable and smart environment with innovative preferred guest upgrades to ensure a productive stay while traveling for business or leisure.The hotel’s complimentary Express Start® breakfast bar features a full range of breakfast items, including a rotation of egg and meat selections, biscuits, yogurt, fruit, pancakes, the brand’s proprietary cinnamon roll and Smart Roast® coffee. The SimplySmart™ shower incorporates a proprietary StaySmart™ Kohler showerhead, signature shower curtain with curved rod, and upgraded 100 percent cotton terry towels.  Guests will enjoy the SimplySmart™ bedding collection, where they will find crisp fresh bedding that features an attractive decorative throw, a medium-weight duvet blanket and soft 200 thread-count sheets.

The Holiday Inn Express Pittsburgh East – Munhall is owned and managed by the Forza Group, under a license agreement with a company in the InterContinental Hotels Group. Reservations can be made by calling 1-800-HOLIDAY or by going to www.hiexpress.com.

Holiday Inn Express participates in IHG’s guest loyalty program, Priority Club® Rewards. The industry’s first and largest guest loyalty program has 69 million members.  Priority Club Rewards membership is free and guests can enroll by logging on at priorityclub.com, by calling 1-888-211-9874 or by inquiring at the front desk of this hotel or any of IHG’s more than 4,500 hotels worldwide.

About Holiday Inn Express
Holiday Inn Express hotels are modern hotels for value-oriented travelers.  Fresh, clean and uncomplicated, Holiday Inn Express hotels offer competitive rates for both business and leisure travelers.  Guests Stay Smart® at Holiday Inn Express hotels where they enjoy a free hot Express Start® Breakfast Bar, free high-speed internet access and free local phone calls (US and Canada only).  There are currently more than 2,100 Holiday Inn Express hotel locations around the globe.  For more information about Holiday Inn Express hotels or to book reservations, call 1-800-HOLIDAY or visit www.hiexpress.com.

Media Contacts:
Manjusha Sharma, Holiday Inn Express, manjusha.sharma@ihg.com, +1(770) 604-8781
Sarah-Ann Soffer, Holiday Inn Express, sarahann.soffer@ihg.com, +1(770) 604-2707

Notes to Editors:

IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global organization with nine hotel brands including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites®, Candlewood Suites®, EVEN™ Hotels and HUALUXE™ Hotels & Resorts. IHG also manages Priority Club® Rewards, the world’s first and largest hotel loyalty program with over 69 million members worldwide.

IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns over 4,500 hotels and more than 672,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories. With more than 1,000 hotels in its development pipeline, IHG expects to recruit around 90,000 people into additional roles across its estate over the next few years.

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group’s holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.

Visit www.ihg.com for hotel information and reservations and www.priorityclub.com for more on Priority Club Rewards. For our latest news, visit www.ihg.com/mediawww.twitter.com/ihgwww.facebook.com/ihg or www.youtube.com/ihgplc.

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