Holiday Inn Gwinnett Center is First of 25 New Properties, Celebrates Heritage, Introduces "e-Menu" Innovation
Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts is opening the doors this month to its 21st-century model hotel designed to test customer enhancements and new technological innovations while bringing the heritage of Holiday Inn to life. At the Holiday Inn Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Ga., north of Atlanta, the hotel chain will gauge customer feedback to electronic menus, the return of icons like the classic green striped towel, and the introduction of notable modernized icons like the re-designed "Great Sign."
"With this hotel, we believe Holiday Inn has arrived at the perfect convergence of technology that will define the hotel experience of the future, with the value and authenticity people expect from this beloved brand," said Mark Snyder, senior vice president, brand management, Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts, North America. "We're celebrating the pioneering spirit of Holiday Inn founder Kemmons Wilson by providing customers with a real, down-to-earth hotel that also sets new standards for today's traveler."
Twenty First Century Technology Delivers Great American Comfort
A hotel industry first, Holiday Inn will test the use of a wireless electronic menu allowing customers to view a list of options updated in real time while searching for added nutritional information, browsing the Internet, or searching for additional hotel and travel information.
"This is the first time that technology like this has been used to enhance the customer experience and increase a hotel's productivity," said Snyder. "Eventually, we will be able to integrate operations systems wirelessly – from reservations to supply chain management – all while providing the customer with a great dining experience."
While the technology may reflect the dining experience of the future, the food guests receive will reflect Holiday Inn's roots. Guests at the prototype's "Kemm's Café," the new restaurant concept named after the founder of Holiday Inn, can use their e-Menu to order from a choice of "comfort food," including the All-American Cheeseburger, Kemm's Meatloaf and apple pie.
"People stay at Holiday Inn for comfort and value, and our restaurant should reflect that," continues Snyder. "Kemm's Café is not about fine dining. It's simply about great American food."
The restaurant also will debut "Kemm's Collection," a set of salad dressings and sauces, including Old Fashioned Memphis Mustard and Barbecue Sauce, specially designed for the new menu. The collection will be packaged in bottles bearing the face of Kemmons Wilson and will eventually be available for sale to the public. Kemm's Café will offer the standard Holiday Inn Best-4-Breakfast menu and Kids Eat Free* program.
The "Great Sign" Gets a Makeover
An iconic beacon that came to embody the brand, the Holiday Inn "Great Sign" receives a modernized look for the Atlanta prototype. In testing for future roll-out, the sign evolution is based on the same distinctive design elements as the classic Great Sign – the asymmetrical design, neon lights, reader board and guiding star – but updated to endear itself to a new generation of travelers and meet modern signage dimensions. Just as it did in 1952, the new Great Sign is designed to provide a unique silhouette that is most recognizable at dusk, the prime viewing time of hotel guests.
Classic Meets Contemporary: The New Holiday Inn Guest Room
The prototype debuts a bold change in room décor for Holiday Inn, creating a design-focused, residential atmosphere incorporating iconic representations of the brand's history. The bedspread and carpet display simple, organic patterns in stand-out colors like eggplant, and a custom-designed armoire, complete with a breakaway-door-and-panel design, allows guests to view the TV from anywhere in the room. Upgraded features like faux leather ottomans, a variety of lamps, refrigerators and granite vanities will all be standard in each room. The residential design includes business-focused necessities, and the hotel will be completely WiFi enabled, including guestrooms and hot spots in common areas. Additionally, all guestrooms will have wired hi-speed Internet access for guests without wireless capacity.
New design elements are complemented by enduring symbols from the brand's past including:
• The return of the classic Holiday Inn towel, that green-striped icon remembered by millions of travelers nationwide.
• A series of artwork featuring memorable images from Holiday Inn's history, including Kemmons Wilson departing his Holiday Inn jet, the Great Sign as a 50s movie set backdrop and a modern take on the iconic Great Sign.
• A copy of Wilson's autobiography, Half Luck and Half Brains, detailing his journey that made frequent and affordable road travel a reality for American business and leisure travelers more than 51 years ago.
Expanding the Future of Holiday Inn Nationwide
The Holiday Inn Gwinnett Center is located in Duluth, Ga., in Gwinnett County just north of Atlanta. Smaller, more cost-effective to build and more efficient to maintain than its predecessor Holiday Inn properties, the prototype boasts 143 rooms and 78,000 square feet of revenue-generating space – almost 98 percent of the entire building. Twenty-five prototype properties will open across the country over the next two years, including those currently being produced in Tallahassee, Fla., and College Station and Amarillo, Texas.
Holiday Inn Hotels and Resorts
With more than 1,500 hotels worldwide, Holiday Inn Hotels and Resorts is the most widely recognized lodging brand in the world. Holiday Inn Hotels and Resorts provides the services that business travelers need, while also offering a comfortable atmosphere where all people can relax and enjoy amenities such as restaurants and room service, swimming pools, fitness centers and comfortable lounges. The casual atmosphere and amenities such as meeting and on-site business facilities, KidSuites rooms, and the Kids Eat Free program demonstrate the long-standing commitment of Holiday Inn Hotels and Resorts to providing what matters most to travelers.
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