SANZAR and IHG Extend Partnership

SANZAR and InterContinental Hotels Group have extended their long-standing partnership for a further three years, covering the 2016-18 seasons.

As part of the agreement, IHG is the Exclusive Hotel Partner throughout Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Japan during Super Rugby and The Rugby Championship.

The continuation of this significant sports accommodation contract covers all IHG hotels in Australia and New Zealand, primarily Crowne Plaza hotels and resorts, as well as InterContinental Singapore and InterContinental Tokyo due to the expansion of the competition to these new countries in 2016.

Karin Sheppard, Chief Operating Officer, Australasia, Japan and Korea & Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA) Franchising, IHG said, “We are thrilled to open our doors to the prestigious SANZAR squads once again as the exclusive hotel partner of Super Rugby and The Rugby Championship. We are extremely supportive of these elite global competitions and look forward to welcoming the teams to our hotels across the region to experience the very best in hospitality.”

Across Australia, IHG currently has a total of 25 hotels open across three brands: InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn with a further 6 hotels in the pipeline, due to open over the next three to five years. This includes the launch of the Holiday Inn Express brand next year.

Across New Zealand, IHG currently has a total of 5 hotels open across three brands: InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn.

Brendan Morris, SANZAR Interim CEO, said, “We are delighted to re-affirm our commitment to IHG as SANZAR's exclusive hotel provider throughout Australasia. Over the past three years, IHG's dedicated teams throughout all of their first-class properties have done everything possible to look after the needs of our players and support personnel. In what is one of the most travel-intensive competitions in world sport, it's vital that comfort and high performance needs are met with seamless ease and we look forward to another three years working with the attentive and highly-experienced team at IHG.”

See also: Pictures from Asia Rugby Sevens Qualifier in Hong Kong, Pictures from the Thailand Sevens 2015 and Pictures from the Cathay Pacific / HSBC Hong Kong Sevens 2015.