InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), which owns Holiday Inn hotels, recently unveiled the “Key Card Hotel,” the first-ever hotel made of key cards in New York City, to mark the re-launch of 1,200 Holiday Inn hotels in September.

The $1 billion Holiday Inn re-launch is the largest in the history of the hospitality industry, with more than 3,300 hotels being updated - improving quality and driving consistency at Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels around the world.

The global estate is expected to be re-launched by the end of 2010.

“The Holiday Inn brand re-launch continues to gain momentum with over 1,200 re-launched hotels anticipated globally through September,” said Kevin Kowalski, senior vice president, global brand management, Holiday Inn Brands.

“Our success with this initiative reinforces our leadership position in the branded hotel category and further demonstrates our ongoing commitment to improving quality and consistency at our over 3,300 properties around the world,” he added.

“The Key Card Hotel is a fun and interactive way to showcase the changes happening at our hotels and is the only structure of its kind to ever be created by a hotel brand.”

The 400 sq ft “Key Card Hotel”, built by world record-holding card stacker Bryan Berg, includes a guest bedroom, bathroom and lobby, all fully equipped with life-sized furniture made out of Holiday Inn key cards.

Berg said: “This is my largest card stacking challenge to date and the only card creation I have ever made at full human scale, which is fitting since Holiday Inn is one of the largest and most successful brands in the hotel industry. I think it’s a great way to celebrate re-launching 1,200 Holiday Inn hotels globally.” – TradeArabia News Service