Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts Awarded Patent For WorkLife Room

Patent Marks Major Milestone for the Brand's Proprietary "Guest Room of the Future"

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Aug 28, 2018, 10:48 ET

ATLANTA, Aug. 28, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Crowne Plaza^® Hotels & Resorts brand today announced the approval of its patent application for the WorkLife Room: the brand's innovative "guestroom of the future." The newly-patented concept is designed to help modern business travelers unleash their productivity and provide them with a space that fits their blended lifestyle.

The WorkLife Room was developed as part of the Crowne Plaza Accelerate program, IHG's $200 million, multi-year investment to transform the Crowne Plaza brand in the Americas region. Following the WorkLife Room's market debut in early 2017, the patent approval marks a major milestone in the brand's quest to bring innovative design to the fold for the modern business traveler.

With a flexible environment and distinct zones that encourage guests to work, relax and recharge, the key elements of WorkLife guestrooms include:

Angled bed, which opens up more space for the room's distinct zones. The cocooning headboard, Beautyrest mattress, plush linens and Sleep Advantage^® aromatherapy kit help guests rest.
Sofa nook, a multi-purpose space for reading, watching TV, working, meeting with colleagues or kicking back with room service.
Desk area, an uncluttered workspace where guests can focus.
Welcome station, which gets guests settled with a space for keys, bags and coats.
Bathroom, with modern and bright design to help guests feel re-energized by their routines.

Additionally, because connectivity is key for the modern traveler, the WorkLife Room delivers with fast, free Wi-Fi and enough charging stations – comprised of USB and power outlets – to power up to fourteen devices. Guests are never more than an arm's length away from a charging station and never have to move furniture to reach outlets.

Meredith Latham, Regional Vice President, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Americas said: "The patent approval of the Crowne Plaza brand's WorkLife Room is a major distinction – one that speaks to the concept's ground-breaking design, and one that demonstrates how the Crowne Plaza brand is redefining what a hotel room can be."

The WorkLife Room is currently available in Crowne Plaza properties nationwide, including Crowne Plaza Atlanta Midtown; Crowne Plaza Downtown Denver; Crowne Plaza Farmington Hills - Novi; Crowne Plaza Cleveland at Playhouse Square; Crowne Plaza Suites Arlington - Ballpark - Stadium; and Crowne Plaza Springfield. Three thousand WorkLife Rooms are expected to be installed by early 2019, including the brand's first-ever flagship property in the Americas, Crowne Plaza Atlanta Perimeter at Ravinia.

The Crowne Plaza Accelerate Program includes high impact, distinctive and meaningful innovations that deliver sophisticated design and modern amenities. In addition to the WorkLife Room, other components of the Accelerate program include adaptive third spaces, known as Plaza Workspace; an exclusive designer staff uniform collection, MOMENTUM by Timo Weiland; New Modern Design throughout hotel properties; and more.

About the Crowne Plaza^® Hotels & Resorts Brand
Part of the IHG^® global portfolio, the Crowne Plaza^® Hotels & Resorts brand has more than 410 locations around the world. The Crowne Plaza brand is dedicated to making business travel work for the modern business traveler. IHG is investing in the brand with the Crowne Plaza Accelerate plan which is a multi-year $200 million brand transformation in the Americas region. The plan ensures that the Crowne Plaza brand will remain at the forefront of the new way of doing business with design-led, culturally-relevant and technology-enabled solutions. For more information about the Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts brand, visit www.crowneplaza.com. Connect with us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/crowneplaza, Facebook: www.Facebook.com/crowneplaza and Instagram: www.instagram.com/crowneplaza.

Notes to Editors:
IHG^® (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global organisation with a broad portfolio of hotel brands, including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Kimpton^® Hotels & Restaurants, Hotel Indigo^®, EVEN^® Hotels, HUALUXE^®Hotels and Resorts, Crowne Plaza^® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn^®, Holiday Inn Express^®, Holiday Inn Club Vacations®, Holiday Inn Resort^®, avid™ hotels, Staybridge Suites^® and Candlewood Suites^®.

IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns nearly 5,400 hotels and 800,000 guest rooms in almost 100 countries, with more than 1,700 hotels in its development pipeline. IHG also manages IHG® Rewards Club, our global loyalty programme, which has more than 100 million enrolled members.

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group's holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales. More than 375,000 people work across IHG's hotels and corporate offices globally.

SOURCE IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group)