From AdAge
InterContinental Hotels Battles Amenity Creep
Eric Pearson, chief marketing officer for the Americas division of InterContinental Hotels Group, was on hand during a guided tour of the InterContinental in New York's Times Square to point out the amenities that set InterContinental apart from other brands in the company's portfolio. In the lobby, oversized touchscreens help guests browse restaurant options or look up theater locations. The hotel's concierge team speaks half a dozen languages and offers recommendations via an app before guests even arrive. And each room boasts luxurious Gilchrist & Soames bath products and Keurig coffee machines, along with walk-in rain showers, computers and 42" flat-panel TVs.

"The hotel industry historically has been very poor at truly defining each brand," Pearson said. "Usually it's a price-point play, not a true differentiation of what it stands for to the consumers. So it's been a huge focus of our company over the past couple years to really try to define and differentiate the brand." Over breakfast at Ca Va, Todd English's French brasserie connected to the hotel, Pearson talked about IHG's brand-building journey, the benefits of traveling incognito and the "war on talent" in China. Click here for the full story.