IHG to launch new midscale brand
 

Apologies if this was already posted but a search didn't turn anything up.

From Travel Weekly:

Full article:

http://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-N...midscale-brand

Saved you a click.

Personally I'm not overwhelmed by this move, I think IHG already has too many brands with too little differentiation.

Candlewood is low-end not mid-scale.

If they believe thay Holiday Inn and HIX is upper midscale then the new midscale will most likely be similar to motel 6 or Formule 1.

It's pretty uncontroversial that HI is upper midscale, just like BW+, Clarion, Comfort Inn, Park Inn, Country Inn & Suites, Hampton Inn, Tryp by Wyndham, Fairfield Inn & Suites, Home2Suites, ...

I agree.^^

lol yep! Staying at one right now on Points Break!

My guess is this has something to do with the success of Tru by Hilton - in just 16 months since launch, there are 425 Tru properties in development and IHG want a bit of that business.

You obviously don't know what low end means in the hotel industry. Please stay at a Motel 6 followed by a Days Inn, and then compare that to a Candlewood.

I'd say Candelwood is at the low end of midscale, but not the low end of hotels overall.

AFAIK Candlewood always has a fitness center, free self-service laundry, a lending library, and a pantry, and each room has kitchen facilities and cookware/utensils. That's far beyond what a true low end hotel brand like Motel 6 or Days Inn has.

Aren't those more aspects of the extended stay category, vs. quality factors?

Holiday Inn and Hampton Inn/Holiday Inn Express are two different categories.

Holiday Inn is a Full Service brand and upscale. It has a restaurant, a variety of room types incl. suites and eventually room service, a pool. However there is a variety of Holiday Inn Hotels which makes you feel sometimes staying at different categories but with same brand.

Hampton by Hilton is a limited service brand and midscale such as Holiday Inn Express. No real restaurant, only breakfast and snacks. Standard room types.

It could not been proven yet that the "Tru by Hilton" concept - if that is what IHG wants to copy - will be successful. I understood this is a kind of low service category of hotel with lower costs for the owners to build it and to run it. It is promoted as a "hip" concept to younger people. I read about a different breakfast concept also, and lobby concept (like Moxy maybe). I am not in the hotel industry but that is what I understood. If finally the (younger) guests pay less and feel better than in a HIX or Hampton is the question.

Personally I do believe IHG should work also on the premium and luxury segment. More Crowne Plazas, upgraded to small InterContinentals, plus IC, Kimpton and Indigo to form a luxury group with better footprint. Eventually reactivate the Holiday Inn Select brand in addition. A brand above IC is missing, like Park Hyatt, Ritz Carlton. Maybe IHG and Hyatt should join forces. IHG knows better to run midscale and lower upscale, Hyatt knows upper upscale and luxury better IMHO. Premium/luxury both know to run (IC, Grand Hyatt).

If you think all these are the same level, your experience is vastly different from mine.

I would rank
(1) BW+, Hampton Inn, Fairfield Inn and Suites
(2) Clarion, Comfort Inn, Park Inn, Country Inn and Suites — definitely a lower category than (1) with the exception of a few Clarions

Have not stayed at Tryp or Home2Suites

My personal peeve is that IHG keep relabeling Holiday Inns as Crowne Plaza in order to charge more for the same facilities (tiny bathrooms, tatty carpets, etc).

Too many poor brands already, I mean most of them are just rubbish.

Aside from IC which is a mixed bag in itself, what is worthwhile? Indigo and a selected few CPs

Grade inflation!

Industry hotel categorization is not based on quality. There are some full-service hotels out there that are total dumps, but that doesn't change them from being full-service hotels. There are some budget properties which may be really nice for what are, but their minimal features/services keeps them classified as budget properties.

While yes, what I listed above are extended stay features, a low end extended stay might not have half of those features. There are cheapo extended stays out there without fitness centers, without free guest laundry, without lending libraries, etc. They have just the bare minimum for you to survive on an extended stay, while Candlewood goes beyond the bare minimum.

While I've stayed at lower-end extended stays before, it was well over a decade ago, so I don't remember clearly the brands and their features. But there are certainly "budget" extended stay chains out there, by comparison to which (a well-maintained) Candlewood would seem definitely at least on the lower end of midscale.