21 June 2012
InterContinental Hotels Group wins prestigious Stevie Award's online marketing campaign of the year for Best Price Guarantee
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) – one of the world’s largest hotel companies and leading visionaries in the travel industry – was awarded the top prize at this year’s American Business Awards, "The Stevies" for our innovative creation and launch of the ‘Best Price Guarantee’ program.
Winning in the "online marketing campaign of the year" category, IHG’s Best Price Guarantee has once again demonstrated how this iconic hotel company is leading the way in the industry when it comes to online booking innovations.
“We are thrilled with winning the award, especially given the stiff competition amongst other strong brands and agencies,” said Michael Menis, VP, Web & Interactive Marketing for IHG. "As a company, we have a breadth of interactive marketing capabilities that help drive our innovations, and we are truly excited to be recognized for our Best Price Guarantee program which is a great demonstration of our abilities.”
To create the award-winning marketing program, IHG focused its efforts in the digital space. The multi-channel marketing plan started with IHG’s branded websites and included external online marketing, social media, public relations, email, and mobile channels – building a strong and consistent message for consumers.
“We launched the Best Price Guarantee program as our pledge to our customers that IHG is willing to stand behind our prices, if guests find a lower price elsewhere online, we are backing it up with a free night. IHG is constantly working to be a game changer in the travel industry and our Best Price Guarantee program is just one example of an award winning innovation” says Menis.
Best Price Guarantee is another online ‘first’ when it comes to innovation for IHG. IHG was the first to make booking a hotel room online possible in 1995 and the first to introduce the lowest internet rate guarantee in 2002. They were the first hotel company to offer guests a free night with the introduction of Best Price Guarantee in 2011.
Media contact:
Sarah Shilling, IHG
+44 (0) 1895 512 318, [email protected]
Notes to Editors:
The Book With Us Advantage
IHG understands how important booking a hotel reservation is to its guests. Therefore, those who book directly on any IHG brand website will not only receive the ‘Best Price Guarantee’, but they will also enjoy all the other benefits of the new ‘Book With Us Advantage’. These advantages include:
- Booking direct on IHG websites allows guests to choose from the most available room and price types for all of IHG’s hotels.
- No hidden booking fees.
- All transactions are safe and secure.
- Guests can receive valuable reward points, which never expire, from the world’s largest hotel loyalty program, Priority Club Rewards® (PCR).
- Additionally, when guests book directly through IHG, it allows hotel employees to cater to their specific requests and ensure the best possible experience.
IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global organisation 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®, as well as our two newest brands, EVENTM Hotels and HUALUXETM Hotels & Resorts. IHG also manages Priority Club® Rewards, the world's first and largest hotel loyalty programme with over 65 million members worldwide.
IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns over 4,500 hotels and more than 661,000 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/media, www.twitter.com/ihgplc, www.facebook.com/ihg or www.youtube.com/ihgplc.