IHG hopes to grow new luxury and lifestyle brand Vignette Collection 'across key markets in EMEAA'

IHG Hotels & Resorts has revealed Vignette Collection as the name of its new luxury and lifestyle brand, with hotels in Australia and Thailand the first to join the collection and plans to expand it further into "key markets".

Vignette Collection, which IHG announced it was launching last month, becomes the sixth addition to IHG's brand portfolio in the past four years, taking it to 17 in total across nearly 6,000 hotels in more than 100 countries.

The brand is aimed at independent hotels, allowing them to retain their identity but benefit from IHG's brand affiliation and loyalty programme, with hopes to attract more than 100 hotels to the brand within 10 years.

The properties will be in both urban and resort locations, with Hotel X (pictured) in Brisbane, Australia, and Pattaya Aquatique hotel in Thailand the first two properties to be announced.

Keith Barr, chief executive of IHG Hotels & Resorts, said: "Our new Vignette Collection gives IHG a compelling way to welcome world-class independent hotels into our brand family, combining each property's distinctive identity with the power of our global scale. As our first hotels in Australia and Thailand both showcase, each property is as unique as the next, and all will be endorsed by IHG's trusted reputation for quality.

"We've been strategic with the enhancements we've made to our Luxury & Lifestyle portfolio in recent years, which at more than 400 hotels and 100,000 rooms is the second largest in the industry. We've built on the heritage and global success of our InterContinental brand, with the rapid international expansion of Kimpton and Hotel Indigo, and acquisitions of Six Senses and Regent. We expect to attract more than 100 Vignette Collection hotels in 10 years, and the brand will be key to delivering our ambition of industry-leading net rooms growth."

Kenneth Macpherson, chief executive of Europe, Middle East, Asia and Africa (EMEAA), added: "I'm thrilled that our first hotels for Vignette Collection are already secured in Thailand and Australia, and we look forward to partnering with owners to realise our exciting plans to grow the brand further, especially across key markets in EMEAA."