riviera travel ownership

Riviera Travel hires bankers to set sail with new owner

Silverfleet Capital has appointed Baird to oversee an auction of the river cruise and holiday operator aimed at the over-55s, Sky News understands.

City editor @MarkKleinmanSky

Friday 8 March 2024 14:38, UK

The owners of Riviera Travel, one of Britain's biggest providers of escorted foreign tours for the over-55s, have hired bankers to prepare a sale of the company.

Sky News understands that Silverfleet Capital, which has owned Riviera since 2017, has hired Baird, the investment bank, to oversee an auction later this year.

Riviera runs river cruises as well as holidays to destinations in Europe, India and South Africa.

Money latest: Why you should look out for candles at a house viewing

Founded in 1984 by Michael Wright, it was initially backed by private equity firm Phoenix Equity Partners in 2014.

The value of any prospective deal was unclear on Friday, although parts of the travel industry have recovered strongly in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic.

The impending auction of Riviera comes as Saga, the London-listed insurance and travel group, explores options for its own cruise business.

Saga confirmed in January that it was examining ways to release capital from the division, which comprises the Spirit of Adventure ships.

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Riviera is one of only four remaining assets in the Silverfleet portfolio, having once been one of London's most prominent mid-market private equity investors.

It also owns Sigma, an aerospace components supplier.

A spokesman for Silverfleet declined to comment.

Private equity firm acquires majority stake in Riviera Travel

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Private equity firm Silverfleet Capital has bought a majority stake in river cruise and escorted tours specialist operator Riviera Travel.

The deal, for an undisclosed sum, is expected to be completed shortly and will see Riviera invest in its direct sales channels and new ship orders and was described by the operator as a “huge opportunity” for the trade.

It comes less than six months after its majority stakeholder Phoenix Equity Partners hired professional services firm PwC to look for new investment and was tipped to attract investment of up to £250 million.

Phoenix Equity Partners acquired its majority stake in 2014 from founder Michael Wright in a deal thought to be worth around £120 million.

Founded in 1984 and based in Burton-on-Trent in the UK, Riviera is a leading operator of escorted tours with a focus on the over-55s market.

It provides European tour holidays, river and ocean cruises, city breaks, solo travel, weekend breaks and long-haul tours with itineraries combining leisure with education and entertainment.

Riviera currently offers tours and cruises to 140 destinations across 50 countries and has more than 118,000 customers per year.

The companies say Silverfleet Capital’s investment will “enable Riviera to accelerate its growth trajectory by focusing on developing the direct to consumer channel”, increase its river capacity through investing in new ships, expand its US customer base and “use its strong brand to help develop new holidays and experiences”.

David Clemson, chief executive of Riviera, said: “We will continue to evolve our escorted tours and river cruises and build on our unique quality and value proposition, not to mention high levels of repeat business, making this a huge opportunity for our travel agent partners.

“Riviera is now positioned as a premium tour operator for the over 55-year-old consumer. Having managed the development of the business over the past nine years, I look forward to leading Riviera through its next phase of growth.

“Silverfleet Capital is a partner that comes with a significant and longstanding reputation for helping European businesses grow. With their support and substantial experience in the consumer sector we can successfully achieve our goals and develop the company further.”

The investment is the sixth completed by Silverfleet in its current fund, and the second within retail, leisure and consumer, a sector where the firm has been investing since 1990. Silverfleet specialises in buy-to-build acquisitions and its current portfolio companies are based in Denmark, Norway, France, the UK and Germany.

Gareth Whiley, partner at Silverfleet Capital with responsibility for Silverfleet’s investments in the retail, leisure and consumer sector, said: “Riviera is a high quality, well-established business with a strong brand and value proposition. Silverfleet has long been attracted to the travel sector and the growing demographic that Riviera serves. We are excited by the prospect of working closely with the highly experienced management team and using our knowledge of the sector to help Riviera continue to develop its brand and customer base.”

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Riviera Travel

Riviera is a leading holidays provider with a focus on the over 55s market. Based in the UK, it provides European tour holidays, river and ocean cruises, city breaks, and long-haul tours with varied itineraries combining leisure with education and entertainment.

Riviera continues to diversify its range of holidays and currently offers tours and cruises to 50 countries, attracting more than 118,000 customers per year.

Riviera has built an excellent reputation for quality, value for money and exceptional customer service. It attracts new customers through its multi-channel route to market and its distinctive brand ensures a significant and growing level of repeat customers.

Our investment

Silverfleet’s investment will enable Riviera to accelerate its growth by focusing on developing the direct to consumer channel; increasing river capacity through investing in new ships; expanding its US customer base, and using its strong brand to help develop new holidays and experiences.

United Kingdom

Investment date

Mid-market fund

rivieratravel.co.uk

Changing business models

Internationalisation.

customers a year

Which? recommended provider

for 7 years

UK’s largest provider

of European river cruises

itineraries

99% of customers

would book again (source – Reevoo)

Silverfleet team

Gareth Whiley

Managing Partner

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13 December 2017

Silverfleet invests in specialist global tour operator, Riviera Travel

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Riviera Travel Has Been Acquired by Silverfleet Capital From Phoenix Equity Partners

Phoenix Equity Partners (Phoenix), a leading UK middle-market private equity firm, has to announcd that it has entered into a binding contract to sell Riviera Travel (Riviera) to Silverfleet Capital (Silverfleet).

Founded in 1984 and based in Burton-on-Trent in the UK, Riviera is a major operator of escorted tours with a focus on the over 55s market. The Company provides European tour holidays, river and ocean cruises, city breaks, and long-haul tours with varied itineraries combining leisure with education and entertainment. Riviera continues to diversify its range of holidays and currently offers tours and cruises to 50 countries, attracting over 118,000 customers per year.

Phoenix first partnered with Riviera’s CEO David Clemson in 2014 to support a management buyout of the business.  Since then, Riviera has significantly increased revenues and profitability by driving growth through the direct-to-consumer channel, adding new and complementary products, and expanding internationally.  David will continue to lead the business through the next stage of its growth.

David Burns, Managing Partner at Phoenix, said: “We are delighted with the strong growth that Riviera has achieved during our investment period. This growth, combined with Riviera’s recognition in the industry – including Which? Travel brand of the year 2017 – is testament to the complete focus on customer satisfaction at Riviera. It has been a huge pleasure working with the Riviera team and we wish them every continued success for the future.”

David Clemson, CEO of Riviera, said: “I am immensely proud of what we have achieved over the past three years and I’ve really valued our partnership with Phoenix.  I look forward to working with Silverfleet over the coming years as we continue to provide fantastic experiences to both our existing, loyal customers and new holidaymakers alike.”

Corporate finance advisers on the transaction were PwC. Travers Smith (legal), PwC (financial due diligence), and LEK (commercial due diligence) advised Phoenix and Riviera.

Deloitte advised Silverfleet on the transaction structure and tax aspects of the deal. The transaction was led by Roger Wightman and James Hatton from the Deloitte M&A tax team, with specialist input from our VAT and management equity teams. The team leveraged its previous experience and insights from recent successful Private Equity deals in the tour operator and travel sector, and brought in expertise from across the firm in order to deliver the transaction.

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Riviera travel: 'it’s a constant growth story for us'.

Riviera Travel has been the company to watch in recent years, making headlines across both the trade and national press. Tom Parry speaks to managing director David Clemson about what we can expect from the rapidly growing tour operator in 2018.

I think the industry will see more private equity acquisitions in the coming months,” Riviera Travel’s managing director David Clemson states confidently.

He’s speaking to me just weeks after the booming tour operator was itself acquired by private equity for the second time in just under three years. Silverfleet Capital took majority ownership last month – in a deal understood to be worth more than £200 million – from Phoenix Equity Partners. Phoenix had acquired its majority stake directly from Riviera’s founder Michael Wright in 2014, who stepped down as director of the company following the latest deal. “We talk on a regular basis and share ideas,” explains Clemson. “He’s still involved, just a bit less than he used to be.”

Clemson believes the trend of private equity firms snapping up travel businesses will only continue. “I think they ask where the best home for their investment is, and the [best] opportunity to grow. And I believe they absolutely see that with travel – especially the generation of customers that we appeal to.

“So I’m not surprised at all that we are seeing a number of travel businesses being sold to private equity companies, and I think more will happen in the coming months.”

It’s not hard to agree the hunger for travel acquisitions is great, with the likes of Audley Travel, JacTravel and Travelopia all sold in the past few years. And Riviera was of obvious appeal after posting a turnover of £136 million in November 2016. It also holds a coveted place on the Sunday Times Top Track 250 list.

“I’m not surprised at all that we are seeing a number of travel businesses being sold to private equity companies, and I think more will happen in the coming months” David Clemson

From a Riviera perspective, Clemson is unequivocal that the operator’s recent change in ownership will not impact its burgeoning trade sales, which since they began conducting in 2012 – following a history of national newspaper reader offers – now account for a fifth of overall business.

“We’re delighted to get Silverfleet onboard. They’re very supportive of the management team and of the plan we’ve put in place, and want to continue growing the business at the rate that we have,” he enthuses, adding that Riviera’s profits have risen “by up to 70%” since Phoenix’s takeover.

Riviera’s agency sales team, led by Joseph Grimley, grew business by more than 30% during 2017, with Clemson considering future expansion of the four-person outfit to “maybe even six” due to demand.

“We’ll always look for double-digit growth [in agent sales] as we see so much potential on the agent side of the business, so we’re absolutely looking to deliver that this year,” he says.

These average selling price rises have coincided with strong sales for the coming year. “We’re already very well sold for 2018 so our plan right now is to continue investing in our product range, develop more personalised programmes and become closer and closer to our travel agent partners – there’s bags of opportunity through working with the trade.”

Clemson is more qualified than most to look ahead at the bigger picture, and adapt quickly to the twists and turns often encountered by the industry. He has just entered his 30th year working in the over-55s sector – a decade of which has been spent with Staffordshire-based Riviera.

Just a year ago, with demand for Turkey having stalled, Egypt still feeling the impact of Sharm el Sheikh’s flight ban and Tunisia off sale entirely, even some of the industry’s most ardent forecasters may not have envisaged the “big resurgence” to North Africa that Riviera has experienced. Clemson cites the launch of a new Nile cruise “for the first time in a number of years” last summer as evidence of its renewed popularity.

“It’s really good to see the signs that more challenged areas are recovering and those green shoots of business are coming back,” he smiles, hinting that a potential Tunisia return may even be in the offing. “What we want to see is some of our bigger destinations – Morocco, Turkey – coming back first and then we’ll look to open up other North African products.”

Clemson adds that Riviera will always “try those lesser-known destinations”, with escorted tours to Romania and Namibia launched in 2017.

Naturally, with new programmes will come new marketing tactics. Clemson, formerly general manager at Wallace Arnold Tours and deputy managing director of Travelsphere, is cautious not to stretch Riviera’s proposition “too thin” in search of a younger clientele within its dedicated age bracket – Saga rebranded in July to better court the more youthful demographic.

“The [over-55s] market is one I really understand and I think we are absolutely set up to cater brilliantly for that customer,” explains Clemson. “Don’t get me wrong, I think there are opportunities out there for the younger end of the market – you don’t have to be 60 before you start to think about taking a cultural holiday – but it’s not where we focus on, and we don’t want to be all things to all men.”

He believes a strong factor in helping to drive both trade sales and brand awareness in recent times has been the operator’s TV campaigns, which first launched 18 months ago.

Clemson says that despite the TV ads – which this year feature escorting touring in India and South Africa and cruising on the Danube – bear Riviera’s “The World Within Reach” tagline, considered as a direct-sell technique by many, “the biggest growth from that activity comes through the trade”.

“We’ll always look for double-digit growth [in agent sales] as we see so much potential on the agent side of the business” David Clemson

“The biggest impact that it has is through our travel agent sales, and that’s a big message that Joseph [Grimley] and the team are sending out there to agents,” Clemson explains.

“It’s very easy for people in the industry to look at Riviera and believe we’re spending money direct, but in reality we’re helping agents, because customers will book however they feel most comfortable. We’re bringing new customers to the brand and if they’re booking through an agent then that’s absolutely great with us.”

In addition to simply bringing customers to agents’ doors, giving the trade an opportunity to immerse themselves with Riviera’s product is “absolutely key”, Clemson adds, recalling hosting delegates onboard the line’s Emily Bronte ship during Clia’s River Cruise Conference in Amsterdam last November.

This offered Riviera “huge value”, according to Clemson, given the operator’s growing cruise programme. The 167-passenger Robert Burns launches in April and Douro Splendour follows in July, taking its fleet to 12, with two more vessels coming in 2019.

“It’s a constant growth story for us, and one that we want agents to come with us on,” adds Clemson. “We’ve virtually doubled our business size in the last five years,” he smiles, “and I see no reason why we can’t do the same in the next five.”

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Rich List 2018: No.37= - Michael Wright and family

Burton-on-Trent businessman Michael Wright had another payday in December - when Riviera Travel, the business he founded, was sold on to European private equity firm Silverfleet for a reported £250 million

• 02:25, 25 JAN 2018
• Updated 09:34, 25 JAN 2018

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Travel 2018: No.37= - £145m 2017: No.36 - £130m

Burton-on-Trent businessman Michael Wright had another payday in December - when Riviera Travel, the business he founded, was sold on to European private equity firm Silverfleet for a reported £250 million.

Phoenix Equity Partners had previously invested in Riviera in 2014 in a deal which netted founder and director Michael Wright and his wife Claire around £130 million. They retained a significant shareholding. Now Phoenix has exited the business with Silverfleet becoming the major shareholder.

The business, which specialises in cruises and tours for the over-55 year-old customer, was established by 61 year-old Michael Wright in 1984.

Profits and revenue have grown steadily over recent years, boosted by repeat business and new destinations. Michael Wright famously road tested the tours himself before offering them for sale. The business runs tours and cruises to 50 countries, attracting almost 120,000 customers each year. In 2017 it won the Which? Travel Brand of the Year Award.

Riviera employs around 120 people. In 2016 it generated pre-tax profits of £13.6 million on sales revenues of £136.5 million.

Buster Jimmy, the company which receives dividend's from the family's remaining stake in Riviera Travel has assets of more than £130 million.

Award-winning Riviera has developed a wide-ranging series of escorted tours, from short breaks and river cruises in Europe to 16-day itineraries across North America, India and the Middle East, but its reputation has been built on small details.

Michael Wright won a reputation for employing experienced and fully trained tour leaders who are not only knowledgeable about their destination, but experienced in handling the concerns of clients. Riviera’s success has also been built on the recognition that value for money is essential, and so they weathered the recession unscathed. Every part of an itinerary is included – from the accommodation and food to the transfers and taxes – meaning no unexpected costs.

Silverfleet says its investment will be used to accelerate Riviera's growth with new ships and an expansion of the firm's US base.

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Building a brand: Riviera Travel

Investing can be like going on an adventure holiday; you know where you want to get to, but success depends on finding the best route to your destination. That was certainly the case when we invested in Riviera Travel, the British market leader for escorted tours and European river cruises.

At the time we backed Riviera in 2014, the business was growing rapidly, but was little known among the public at large. The majority of the travel company’s sales were derived via partnerships with national newspapers – holidays were run by Riviera but were sold to consumers under the newspaper’s brand.

As Riviera’s chief executive officer David Clemson puts it, changes in the newspaper industry presented a big opportunity for the holiday company to become a better-known brand in its own right. “We could see clearly from the data that not enough new customers were being fed into the business, into the customer database, so we realised from the start of the investment that we had to branch out into different distribution channels,”. Riviera needed to migrate from powering other people’s brands to becoming a big name in its own right.

We knew this would be a tall order in a competitive market dominated by long-standing brands with a strong resonance with consumers. Riviera was starting from a low base of awareness among its target audience – just 15% of people over 50, who form the majority of its core customer base, said they had heard of Riviera when asked.

The first thing we did, in partnership with management, was to recognise that Riviera didn’t have all the requisite skills for an extensive brand-building exercise in-house. This meant the team had to recruit specialists to handle everything from communications to database management. This even extended to the choice of a new chairman – Simon McMurtrie – who had previously taken another newspaper, white-label product down the direct-to-consumer route.

One way to build the Riviera brand was to advertise on television, which the company had never done previously. The team had to learn to be patient for the campaign to pay off. David says: “The issue with television advertising is that the results are hard to measure, and it takes a while for the benefits to start coming through,”. “We had to hold our nerve – because of the cycle of purchasing holidays, people tend to buy once every 12 months at best, so it can be some time before the results are seen.” The team’s patience was rewarded. Within 18 months, the company enjoyed a significant increase in the number of new customers who became aware of Riviera, who enquired about holidays, who considered the proposition and, crucially, who went on to buy.

Although the television campaign was the most high-profile manifestation of the brand-building programme, it was supplemented with direct, digital and social media marketing. The percentage of business coming direct grew significantly under Phoenix’s three-year period of ownership, with direct to brand becoming the largest sales channel, while brand awareness tripled to 45%.

The strength of the Riviera brand is borne out by the financials – EBITDA climbed from £13m to almost £23m across the life of the investment. But perhaps the most satisfying vindication of Riviera’s fresh approach was being awarded the Which? Brand of the Year 2017 in the Travel category, where it nestled alongside other category winners such as Apple, Marks & Spencer, Samsung and Miele.

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RIVIERA TOURS LIMITED

Company number 01869298

• Company Overview for RIVIERA TOURS LIMITED (01869298)
• Filing history for RIVIERA TOURS LIMITED (01869298)
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Next accounts made up to 30 November 2023 due by 31 August 2024

Last accounts made up to 30 November 2022

Confirmation statement

Next statement date 27 July 2024 due by 10 August 2024

Last statement dated 27 July 2023

Nature of business (SIC)

• 79120 - Tour operator activities

Holiday Inn Club Vacations Acquires Four Resorts in Mexico from Royal Resorts, Marks First International Expansion for the Company

ORLANDO, FLA. – (May 23, 2023) Holiday Inn Club Vacations Incorporated , a leading vacation ownership company and partner of IHG® Hotels & Resorts (IHG), announced today that it has acquired four scenic beachfront resorts located in Cancun, Playa del Carmen and the Riviera Maya, Mexico from Royal Resorts® , a pioneer in the Mexican Caribbean tourism industry. The acquisition also includes most of Royal Resorts’ related companies and its corporate operations. These resorts will be Holiday Inn Club Vacations Incorporated’s first properties located outside the United States, further broadening Holiday Inn Club Vacations’ and IHG’s resort footprint and providing guests with increased choice in leisure destinations.

The four award-winning, family-friendly resorts acquired by Holiday Inn Club Vacations Incorporated – The Royal Sands®, The Royal Cancun®, The Royal Haciendas® and Grand Residences by Royal Resorts® – collectively will add more than 850 villas to the company’s growing portfolio of destination resorts. The company expects it will take approximately one year to fully integrate the resorts, and during this process, the resorts will continue to operate normally.

Once complete, IHG Hotels & Resorts customers will be able to book these properties through IHG and enjoy benefits of IHG’s loyalty program – IHG One Rewards – including the ability to earn and redeem points for hotel stays. These properties will join IHG’s global network of 18 brands and more than 6,000 hotels globally, adding stunning family travel destinations to IHG’s growing brand portfolio.

John Staten, President and Chief Executive Officer, Holiday Inn Club Vacations Incorporated , stated: “We couldn’t be more excited about this news and what it means for Holiday Inn Club Vacations, and most importantly, the families that travel with us. This acquisition is aligned with our growth roadmap where growing guest love and our resorts are two interconnected foundational pillars supporting our all-encompassing mission to be the most loved brand in family travel. With four incredible resorts located throughout one of the fastest growing family travel destinations in the world – the scenic Mexican Caribbean – the acquisition brings an entirely new, all-inclusive experience to our owners, Club members and guests.”

Keith Barr Chief Executive Officer, IHG Hotels & Resorts , said: “Guests around the world will now have even more exciting choices to add to their travel plans while also enjoying the rich benefits of our IHG One Rewards program for their current and future stays. The addition of these award-winning resorts also demonstrates the strength of the Holiday Inn brand family and, certainly, founder Kemmons Wilson’s unwavering vision to create a better way to vacation lives on today.”

Spence Wilson, Board Chairman, Holiday Inn Club Vacations Incorporated , commented: “Since my father started Holiday Inn Club Vacations more than 40 years ago, there have been many significant growth milestones along the way. Few can top today’s announcement—our first expansion outside the United States. I am incredibly proud of our team and look forward to a future that is brighter and even more exciting as we welcome the Royal Resorts team and their owners, members and guests into our family.”

Dr. Kemil Rizk, Chief Executive Officer and President of Royal Resorts , added: “We believe that it is a perfect fit, and we could not ask for a better partner to continue our legacy since welcoming our first guests in 1978. Like us, Holiday Inn Club Vacations is a pioneer company with a family-oriented resort collection and a reputation for outstanding service and quality. Holiday Inn Club Vacations is dedicated to providing memorable vacation experiences for families – something that aligns perfectly with the Royal Resorts mission and values, our points based and fixed week vacation ownership memberships and our team’s everyday commitment to quality service.”

The transaction was reviewed and received approval from the Anti-Trust Commission (Comisión Federal de Competencia Economica, COFECE) of the Mexican government. As part of a separate agreement, Tortuga Resorts UK Limited is acquiring the entities which own and operate the remaining Royal Resorts properties—The Royal Islander® and Royal Uno® All Inclusive Resort & Spa.

About the award-winning resorts Holiday Inn Club Vacations Incorporated is acquiring from Royal Resorts

The Royal Sands

Located in Cancun, the 17-acre resort has 340 two-bedroom villas, three pools and a children’s pool, four restaurants, three bars, a fitness center, spa, supervised kids club, activity center, a lagoon-side marina for sailboats and kayaks, a resort store, coffee shop and an on-site travel agency, along with beach access.

The Royal Cancun

Located on Cancun’s north shore with views out over the bay and Isla Mujeres, the 7-plus-acre resort has 201 two-bedroom villas and two pools, two full-service restaurants and two bars. It also has a fitness center, tennis courts, activity center and supervised kids club along with a travel agency, convenience store and gift shop. The resort has access to a beach that is perfect for children. Other popular activities at the resort are snorkeling, sail boating and kayak trips.

The Royal Haciendas

Located in the Riviera Maya, five minutes to the north of Playa del Carmen, the 23-plus acre resort has 252 two-bedroom villas with whirlpool tubs on the private balconies and features four pools, four full-service restaurants and five bars. It also has a spa, fitness center, beauty salon, dive center, travel agency, activity center, supervised kids club, children’s pool with an aqua play area, four large whirlpool tubs on the pool deck, tennis courts and a convenience store. The resort is nestled on the shores of a bay in the CoraSol resort community and is within walking distance of a golf course.

Grand Residences by Royal Resorts

Also located to the south of Cancun in the tranquil waterfront village of Puerto Morelos, Grand Residences by Royal Resorts offers beachfront luxury. The 13-plus acre resort has 62 villas with two, three or four bedrooms. The spacious, elegantly furnished units have tropical hardwood furniture, state-of-the-art appliances and amenities, private terraces, spa bathrooms and jacuzzis. Some larger units even have private plunge pools and gardens. The resort features four pools, two restaurants, a beach grill and bar, pool bar, a lobby bar café, fitness center, spa, daily activities, supervised kids club, tennis courts and a gourmet food market.

A brief video overview of the resorts Holiday Inn Club Vacations is acquiring can be found here.

About Holiday Inn Club Vacations Incorporated

Encompassing resorts across the United States and the Mexican Caribbean, Holiday Inn Club Vacations Incorporated is a resort, real estate, and travel company with a mission to be the most loved brand in family travel by delivering easy-to-plan, memorable vacation experiences that strengthen families.

Based in Orlando, Fla., the company has been a leader in the vacation ownership industry since 1982, when Holiday Inn® founder Kemmons Wilson debuted the company’s flagship property, Holiday Inn Club Vacations® at Orange Lake Resort next to Orlando’s Walt Disney World® Resort.

Today, the Holiday Inn Club Vacations resort portfolio spans across the United States, and into the Mexican Caribbean, with the company's international expansion in May 2023. Throughout its history, the company has maintained the core family values true to its founding Wilson family, while aggressively pursuing growth, transforming its member engagement model and building an industry-leading team passionate about the guest experience.

About Royal Resorts

Founded in 1975 in Cancun, Royal Resorts® is a pioneer company in Mexican Caribbean tourism and in the international vacation ownership industry. It has been welcoming visitors since 1978 to its resorts in Cancun and the Riviera Maya where families enjoy a perfect combination of beach beauty, exceptional guest services and hallmark hospitality. Spacious villas are equipped with everything they need for their stay, and they enjoy a wealth of resort amenities for an unforgettable vacation, including daily activities for all ages, kids clubs, non-motorized water sports, pools, gyms and spas and a varied dining scene.

Each resort has its own charm and character, and all have a family ambiance and a spirit of community, with friendships forged between members and employees over the years. The two Riviera Maya resorts – The Royal Haciendas and Grand Residences – have architectural designs and elements that take their inspiration from Mexico’s grand old haciendas. For more information, visit www.royalresorts.com .

About IHG Hotels & Resorts

IHG Hotels & Resorts [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global hospitality company, with a purpose to provide True Hospitality for Good.

With a family of 18 hotel brands and IHG One Rewards , one of the world's largest hotel loyalty programmes, IHG has over 6,000 open hotels in over 100 countries, and more than 1,800 in the development pipeline.

• Luxury & Lifestyle: Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas , Regent Hotels & Resorts , InterContinental Hotels & Resorts , Vignette Collection , Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, Hotel Indigo
• Premium: voco hotels , HUALUXE Hotels & Resorts , Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts , EVEN Hotels
• Essentials: Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts , Holiday Inn Express , avid hotels
• Suites: Atwell Suites , Staybridge Suites , Holiday Inn Club Vacations , Candlewood Suites
• Exclusive Partners: Iberostar Beachfront Resorts

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group's holding company and is incorporated and registered in England and Wales. Approximately 325,000 people work across IHG's hotels and corporate offices globally.

Visit us online for more about our hotels and reservations and IHG One Rewards . To download the new IHG One Rewards app, visit the Apple App or Google Play stores.

For our latest news, visit our Newsroom and follow us on LinkedIn , Facebook and Twitter .

Media Contact: Ashley Pipa, Holiday Inn Club Vacations [email protected] 407.315.8866

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