21 January, 2015 Hotel Indigo® launches new 'locally crafted' food and beverage philosophy

Hotel Indigo®, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG®)'s boutique brand has launched a new food and beverage (F&B) philosophy to create a local landmark by bringing the best food and drink artisans from the community into the hotels.

Every Hotel Indigo property is unique to its surrounding as it's designed to reflect the local neighbourhood; from the building design and the hotel's artwork, to partnering with local food producers. This locally crafted F&B philosophy further extends Hotel Indigo's brand essence through partnering with local foodie artisans. It's an offering that is designed to cater to different meals from breakfast through to dinner.

Simon Burdess, VP Food and Beverage, Europe said "Restaurant s and bars are the heart and soul of any good neighbourhood. The Hotel Indigo F&B philosophy demands that you don't have just another hotel restaurant. The key to this is using a retail element tailored to your community to help create a local landmark. If you are a hit with your locals, your guests will feel that they have got the inside line on the neighbourhood."

Having piloted in Hotel Indigo® Kensington, this locally crafted F&B philosophy will be going in to every new hotel starting with Hotel Indigo® Helsinki which opens this spring.

What's more, to raise awareness of the new Hotel Indigo F&B philosophy IHG is launching a search to scour the nation for the best food vendor, producer or artisan. The 'Flavours of the Neighbourhood' search is open until Sunday 15th February and vendors, producers and artisans can enter by simply uploading information about them and their products with an image and caption to the Hotel Indigo Facebook page. This is for the chance to win not only £1,000 but national and regional recognition and a food photo-shoot so that their business can feature in the Hotel Indigo local foodie guide.

Entries will be judged by a prestigious panel including farmer and television presenter, Jimmy Doherty, Editor of Waitrose Magazine and Broadcaster, William Sitwell and, Ms Marmite Lover food blogger and chef, Kerstin Rodgers. The winner of Hotel Indigo's 'Flavour of the Neighbourhood' search will be announced on 17th March.

IHG, one of the world's leading hotel companies, has a broad family of nine brands in nearly 100 countries and territories to meet the needs of guests, whatever the occasion. The Hotel Indigo brand, which was launched in 2004, offers guests the individuality of a boutique hotel but with the benefits and reassurance of a big hotel company.  There are 17 Hotel Indigo properties in Europe and 11 in the pipeline.

* Figures as at 30th September 2014

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For media enquiries please contact

Gemma Bull on 0044 (0)1895 512084 or on gemma.bull@ihg.com

Laura Baker on 0044 (0)1895 512820 or on laura.baker@ihg.com

Notes to Editors:

IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global organisation with a broad portfolio of nine hotel brands, including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites®, Candlewood Suites®, EVEN™ Hotels and HUALUXE® Hotels and Resorts.

IHG manages IHG® Rewards Club, the world's first and largest hotel loyalty programme with over 82 million members worldwide. The programme was relaunched in July 2013, offering enhanced benefits for members including free internet across all hotels, globally.

IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns over 4,700 hotels and 697,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries, with almost 1,200 hotels in its development pipeline.

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.ihgrewardsclub.com for more on IHG Rewards Club. For our latest news, visit: www.ihg.com/media, www.twitter.com/ihg,www.facebook.com/ihg or www.youtube.com/ihgplc.

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