InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has established a new National Sales Organisation (NSO) to support its growth plans in South West Asia (SWA). With a newly-formed team based across Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru, the NSO will focus on developing strong relationships with domestic companies to drive business to the hotel group’s 23 hotels across the region.
The establishment of the NSO stemmed from increased optimism in the market following measures by the new Indian government to improve the business landscape. Commenting on the launch of the NSO, Shantha de Silva, Head of South West Asia, IHG said, “India has always been a strong focus for IHG. With an increasing level of optimism in the market, we feel it is the right time to put in place additional platforms to drive growth.”
“More than half of the business for our hotels in India originates domestically and it makes business sense to have a dedicated sales team to cater to this market. The National Sales Organisation will provide a structured approach for us to manage our domestic partnerships more efficiently and we are confident it will be a critical enabler in driving more business for our hotels in the region,” he continued.
The new NSO will be led by Jaideep Khanna, Director of Regional Sales, South West Asia, IHG. Together with the IHG’s global sales team and counterparts on property, the NSO will be focused on driving incremental revenue from room bookings, as well as conference and events, to IHG’s hotels in the region.
IHG currently has 23 hotels open across four brands in South West Asia: InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express; and a further 50 hotels in the development pipeline due to open in the next three to five years.
