IHG launches new luxury and lifestyle brand

The company said the Vignette Collection slots into its Luxury & Lifestyle portfolio and is the sixth addition to IHG’s overall brand portfolio in four years, taking the total to 17.

The brand’s new website said its aim is to appeal to “the next generation of luxury travellers – the thoughtful venturers; those who want to make positive choices, even while they’re away from home... with a discerning eye for both style and substance, and an eagerness to discover something new, they’re looking for stories to share”.

Among the first to join the brand is Hotel X in the centre of Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley, Australia and The Aquatique in Pattaya, Thailand, which is the first hotel signed in Asia.

There are expected to be more than 100 Vignette Collection hotels added to the brand over the next 10 years, in a mixture of city and resort locations. IHG said the independent luxury and lifestyle market was made up of around 1.5 million rooms globally and worth more than $100 billion.

“Our new Vignette Collection gives IHG a compelling way to welcome world-class independent hotels into our brand family, combining each property’s distinctive identity with the power of our global scale, while also benefitting from our luxury and lifestyle expertise, and powerful IHG Rewards loyalty programme,” said Keith Barr, chief executive, IHG Hotels & Resorts. “These exclusive properties in sought-after urban and resort locations will accelerate IHG’s growth and meet an increasing appetite from travellers for one-of-a-kind stays.”

He added IHG’s Luxury & Lifestyle portfolio now stood at more than 400 hotels with 100,000 rooms, “the second largest in the industry”.

“We’ve built on the heritage and global success of our InterContinental brand with the rapid international expansion of Kimpton and Hotel Indigo, and acquisitions of Six Senses and Regent,” Barr said.