IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group), continued its growth in Latin America’s largest nation with the opening of its first hotel in the city of Cuiabá, the Holiday Inn Express Cuiabá. The hotel is the13th IHG property in Brazil and the 39th Holiday Inn-branded hotel in Latin America, with nine additional Holiday Inns currently under construction.The 128-room Holiday Inn Express Cuiabá is developed and owned by Diamante Azul Hotelaria and is located in the Jardim Leblon neighborhood within 20 minutes of the Marechal Rondon Airport in Cuiabá. The new hotel features a fitness and business center as well as 12 meetings rooms of premium event space with capacity for 500 people.
Cuiabá is the capital of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, which is located in the center of Brazil. Cuiabá itself is renowned for its location in the exact geographic center of Latin America.
“Cuiabá is an ideal example of the type of location in which we look to further the Holiday Inn brand throughout Brazil,” said Jim Anhut, Chief Development Officer, Americas. “It is a city of a half-million people, with a well-balanced economy that focuses on tourism, agro-business and trade. There are literally dozens of cities in Brazil that we have targeted as potential sites to further the growth of the Holiday Inn brand.”
IHG’s 12 existing properties in Brazil are located in: Belem, Curitiba, Fortaleza, Manaus, Natal, Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Luis do Maranhao and Sao Paulo.
“Brazil continues to position itself as a global economic powerhouse, and we welcome the property and its owner Diamante Azul Hotelaria to the IHG family,” said Alvaro Diago, COO, IHG, Latin America and Caribbean. “With the World Cup in 2014 and Olympics in 2016, all eyes are on this country, and one of the key areas is hotel expansion. With 64 years of continuous experience in Latin America, and Brazil the location of our birth, we believe that IHG’s value proposition to owners is unlike any other international hotel companies.”
