IHG Wants 2,000 Rooms in Moscow by 2010

The Holiday Inn will have 240 rooms, and will be complete by mid-2010, according to a statement by IHG. Company officials could not be reached for comment. The hotel will be the 16th IHG hotel in a growing Russian market, with six now open and 10 in the development pipeline, according to the statement.

Michael Cooper, the company's VP of strategic development for Russia and the CIS, says in the statement that there's a strong demand for internationally branded hotels in Russia, a country that spans 11 time zones. "The room rates here are premium across all brands and we are growing fast," he says. The market is under-supplied. Our brands are well known and are attracting a growing number of Russian investors keen to invest in the hotel industry."

He said in the statement that the company also has signed deals for the Holiday Inn Volomkolamshoye Shosse on the main arterial route into the city, as well as two more hotels in the South-East market. "Although the high cost of air travel and visa restrictions continue to deter tourism, increasingly Russians across the country are viewing international-branded hotels as their number-one choice for business and social events," Cooper said.

The six hotels now open include the 575-room Crowne Plaza Moscow World Trade Centre, which opened in September, and five other Holiday Inns. Other hotels planned include the InterContinental Moscow, close to the Kremlin, due to open in 2010, according to the company.