Italy to welcome IHG’s newest Essentials brand, Garner

[13.02.2025] (London, UK): IHG Hotels & Resorts (IHG), a global leader in hospitality, continues expansion of its midscale conversion brand, Garner hotels, across Southern Europe, with the rebranding of a Pacini Group property to Garner Hotel Rome Aurelia. This transformation underscores IHG’s commitment to strengthening its midscale portfolio in Italy, with a conversion brand that offers a flexible and purposefully different guest experience while leveraging the established presence of Pacini Group in the market. Garner Hotel Rome Aurelia will join a robust and growing global pipeline of more than 88* Garner properties.

Launched in 2023 as IHG’s 19^th brand, Garner hotels brings a new offer to the midscale conversion space in the Italian market. Building on IHG’s leading international position in the essentials segment and its success in launching and growing conversion brands, Garner hotels has rapidly become popular with Owners worldwide who understand the flexibility and strong returns, backed by IHG’s powerful enterprise, that the brand offers. 

This transformation of the Pacini Group hotel into Garner Hotel Rome Aurelia demonstrates how owners can seamlessly integrate into IHG’s enterprise platforms, benefiting from its global expertise, powerful technology and revenue systems, and industry-leading loyalty programme, IHG One Rewards - which now has over 130 million members.

Benefiting transient guests looking for an easy going stay that gets you on your way, Garner Hotel Rome Aurelia will be strategically located just west of Rome, on Via Aurelia, providing convenient access to Fiumicino Airport, the Vatican City, the Trastevere district, and the main tourist attractions of the historic city centre. In January 2025, Pacini Group concluded the renovation of the entire hotel (known as The Smooth Hotel Rome), leaving it with a smart, comfortable and minimal look and feel. Guests will enjoy a comfortable stay in one of the hotel’s 58 guest rooms, complete with modern amenities and a range of on-site facilities, including a restaurant and bar, an outdoor terrace, and meeting spaces. 

Focused on an unrivalled commitment to provide guests with a relaxed and purposefully different stay experience at a price that’s hard to find, each Garner hotels property focuses on the essentials: convenient locations, comfortable beds, free Wi-Fi, and dependable amenities like a warm welcome, 24/7 bean-to-cup coffee, and a refreshing welcome moment upon arrival. Guests can also enjoy satisfying snacks 24/7 from the Garner Shop.

(Mrs) Willemijn Geels, Vice President, Development, Europe, IHG Hotels & Resorts, said: “Introducing Garner hotels to Italy is a great milestone for our growth in this market as we look to strategically grow across all brand segments. Having established a strong luxury and lifestyle presence in the country, it is great to see that new and existing Owners also have trust in IHG’s Essentials brands to deliver strong returns and performance.

We are delighted to bring the first Garner to Italy alongside Pacini Group – a very well-respected and trusted Owner in the market. Their excellent track record and substantial experience in hotel renovation and operations, coupled with IHG’s powerful enterprise, fills me with confidence that Garner Hotel Rome Aurelia will thrive once the hotel is rebranded later this year.”

Emidio Pacini, CEO & Owner at Pacini Group, said: "We are proud to launch our partnership with IHG Hotels & Resorts, with the signing of the first Garner hotels property in Italy. With business and leisure traveller interest in Rome continuing to grow, the demand for quality accommodation at a good price point is on the rise. We are excited to meet this growing demand with Garner Hotel Rome Aurelia and to offer a compelling alternative in the midscale segment in the city.”

Garner Hotel Rome Aurelia joins a growing IHG portfolio in Italy of 30* open hotels across seven brands (InterContinental, Six Senses, Hotel Indigo, voco, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express), with an additional 10 properties in the pipeline.

*Numbers as of 30 September 2024