IHG® Hotels & Resorts’ premium voco Hotels brand has officially reached the milestone of 50 signed and open hotels in more than 20 countries across the globe – marking IHG’s fastest ever global expansion.  

After debuting with its first signing and opening in 2018 with voco Gold Coast, voco Hotels entered IHG’s largest markets in the US and China in late 2020, with new properties now open in New York and Hangzhou.  

IHG created voco with a solution for a quick conversion, making it fast and easy for owners of high-quality, independent hotels to become part of IHG’s system. In 2020, following the brand’s launch in the region, the 148-room vocoHangzhou Binjiang Minghao was signed and opened in just over two months. IHG’s first voco signing in Wuhan is also a conversion property, which will be officially opened as voco Wuhan Xinhua in 2021 after renovations are complete. The property is situated in an ideal location for both leisure and business travellers.  

In 2021, China will also open two voco hotels in Nanjing – one is a new-build property located in the Garden Expo with amazing architectural and landscape designs; the other one is converted from the heritage Nanjing Oriental Pearl Hotel in a prime downtown location. 

Jane Mackie, Senior Vice President, Global Marketing, Luxury & Upscale Brands, IHG commented: “With the ability to hold onto the informality and charm of an independent hotel, paired with the quality and reassurance of a respected global brand, our voco brand has seen extraordinary growth since launching in Australia only two and a half years ago. With its entry into the US and China last year, we’re excited about the growth potential for this brand and its unique offer for owners and guests. By focusing on celebrating each hotel’s individual spirit and character, this makes it easier and faster for owners to move from signing to opening, providing a real advantage in today’s market.” 

 As the global expansion of voco continues, we’re tracking well against our aim of growing to 200 voco hotels in attractive urban and leisure locations around the globe within 10 years. 

In a clear sign the brand has been warmly embraced by owners and the travelling public in this market, the IHG Hotels & Resorts team in Australasia is particularly thrilled to announce that the brand’s latest milestone voco signing is in Australia, with voco Brisbane City Centre marking the 50th voco hotel globally. The stunning hotel, which will overlook the Brisbane River and the city’s best cultural institutions, is scheduled to open in 2021.  

 In addition to voco Brisbane City Centre’s opening later in the year, there are several other exciting voco openings in the Australasian pipeline, which include voco Melbourne Central which is on track to open in August 2021 and voco Auckland City, which is scheduled to open later in 2021.  Two additional voco hotels, voco Sydney Central and voco South Melbourne, are set to open in 2022 and 2025 respectively. They will join the much-loved voco Gold Coast and voco Kirkton Park Hunter Valley and take the region’s voco portfolio count to 7 hotels. 

Thanks in part to its ease of conversion, the voco brand is attracting widespread interest from owners looking to convert hotels, maximise returns and quickly benefit from IHG’s global scale and one of the world’s largest hotel loyalty programmes, IHG® Rewards. Amid the pandemic, in 2020, IHG reported an increase in conversion activity globally, with 25% of the company’s signings as conversions – and 13% of those for the voco brand. The brand’s versatility also continues to evolve, with a first all-suites property (Doha) and first new-build properties (Edinburgh, Scotland, which is now open and Nanjing, China opening later this year). 

 Not just appealing to owners, guests love the high quality and uniqueness of the voco brand too. Designed to stand out from the crowd, every voco hotel provides a unique experience thanks to its commitment to being reliably different. Guests can expect the brand’s signature ‘Come on in’ warm welcome, promising a swift and simple check-in, a locally inspired welcome treat and dedicated voco hosts to ensure guests make the most of their stay. With the reliability, quality and comfort of the voco brand, combined with the charm and uniqueness of each hotel, voco hotels around the globe have reported increased guest satisfaction, in some cases by double digits, post-conversion into the IHG system.  

voco Nanjing Garden pictured below: