The InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has opened Crowne Plaza Electronic City, a 195-room upscale business hotel in Bengaluru on Hosur Road. The hotel was recently converted from The Ottera.

The Crowne Plaza Electronics City will offer premium accommodation with modern and spacious guest rooms, 24-hour business service and exclusive club access.

Commenting on the opening, Shaun Langdon, general manager Crowne Plaza Bengaluru Electronics City and regional general manager for India, IHG said, “Our premiere location in the heart of Electronics City, Bengaluru’s business and information technology hub, offers guests the convenience of location with exceptional meeting and banqueting facilities. With premier dining options and exclusive lounge facilities, the Crowne Plaza in Bengaluru promises to be electronics city’s most compelling business hotel.”

With a dedicated Crowne meeting director, a two-hour response guarantee, Meeting Centre and more than 6,000 sq ft of meeting space through a selection of banquets and outdoor spaces, the 12-floor Crowne Plaza Electronics City will offer comprehensive meetings programme.

Hope Foundation, an NGO, has a partnership with IHG, according to the deal, guests staying at the hotel can make a voluntary contribution of Rs 50.

Globally, IHG operates 4,400 hotels, and 645,000 guest rooms. The group has currently ten hotels in India – including the current franchised ones. The group has 32 hotels, with over 7,600 rooms, in the development pipeline, which are scheduled to be open in the next couple of years.

A few of the projects that are in the development stage include one in Mayur Vihar, New Delhi, eight Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts in Okhla, New Delhi and Cochin, Bangalore, 23 Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts at Mumbai and Bangalore airports, Mayur Vihar, New Delhi, Hinjewadi, Pune, Cochin, Dehradun, Ban­gladesh and Kolkata.

“We like to work with owners and franchisees who share the same passion for our brands. We will assess arrangements with franchisees, when appropriate. In the past, franchising was the model as that was permitted to non-Indian hotel companies. Our franchised brands started operating in 1974. Success of our managed hotels is visible and brings tangible business benefits through the delivery of brand and service quality standards,” Langdon said.

In 2009, IHG recorded revenue of $1,538 million compared to $1,897 million in 2008, and brought down the net debt to $1,082 million from $1,273 million in the previous year. The interest charge for the period fell $47 million to $54 million due to a reduction in interest rates and lower average net debt. The effective tax rate for 2009 is five per cent versus 23 per cent in 2008 due to the release of certain prior year tax contingencies, primarily as a result of the final resolution of various tax audits.

In Asia Pacific, annual RevPAR fell 13.5 percent, with a fourth quarter decline of 4.6 per cent, while the brands outperformed the market in Greater China by 8.9 percentage points with a RevPAR decline of 16.9 per cent and occupancy growth of 0.2 per cent.

Andrew Cosslett, CEO of InterContinental Hotels Group, said, “2009 was a very challenging year for the industry. The fourth quarter did show some improvement in trends and occupancy has now stabilised. Rates, however, remains under pressure and we expect trading to stay tough until business travellers return in greater numbers. Through the year, we took decisive action to reduce costs and improve efficiencies. Our margin performance, as a result, was good and our cash control enabled us to reduce our net debt from $1.3b to $1.1b.”