InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has announced that its newly launched upscale brand Voco will make its debut in Australia with the conversion of the 388-room Watermark Hotel & Spa Gold Coast, Surfers Paradise, Australia. The property will be acquired by IHG partner SB&G, which currently operates five other IHG units in Australia. It is set to open under the Voco banner before the end of 2018.
The Voco brand will focus on conversion opportunities to strengthen IHG’s influence in the $40 billion upscale segment, which is projected to grow by an additional $20 billion by 2025. Slated to drive incremental growth for IHG, Voco is forecasted to comprise more than 200 hotels in urban and leisure settings over the next 10 years. The rollout will begin in IHG’s European, Middle Eastern, Asian, and African region, with plans to expand in the Americas and China in the future.
