IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group), the world’s largest hotel group by number of rooms, announced the global launch of its Priority Club Rewards iPhone app. The app complements IHG’s worldwide strategy which includes its enhanced mobile websites that provide customers with the functionality to find and book hotel rooms, check rates and view or cancel reservations for all seven of its brands – InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites.

IHG was an early pioneer in the mobile space with the hotel industry’s first wireless reservation system in 2001. Today, the company’s mobile strategy and platform continue to expand. The iPhone app is the latest entry into the mobile space from IHG following the release of its enhanced mobile websites more than a year ago. These websites are currently generating more than US$1 million per month in revenue for IHG’s hotels globally – growing by more than 600 percent over the past year.

As part of the iPhone app launch, IHG is offering users 1,000 Priority Club Rewards bonus points for all bookings and stays for the rest of April through 15 June 2010 made using the iPhone app.

The Priority Club Rewards iPhone app contains the features Priority Club Rewards members expect when booking and managing reservations. The features for the initial release include:
- Find and Book Hotel
- View Priority Club Rewards member details (number, level, points balance)
- View and Cancel upcoming reservations
- Quick enrollment into Priority Club Rewards
- Manage account profile
- View special offers

“It’s important to have a holistic view of a customer’s needs when creating a mobile strategy and supporting applications. Customers want access to information whenever and wherever they want and mobile provides that capability,” said Michael Menis, Vice President, Global Interactive Marketing, IHG. “With this in mind we developed our iPhone app to complement our mobile strategy which includes our optimized mobile websites. These websites allow customers to reach us through various mobile devices giving them greater accessibility. This is particularly important as different regions of the world have different customer needs and smartphone adoption rates.”

IHG’s Priority Club Rewards iPhone app is now available in English at the iPhone app store. BlackBerry and Android app will follow in the coming months.