More Work Than Play For Hosts This Holiday Season

IHG provides interactive solutions for stressed-out hosts over holiday period

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Dec 18, 2013, 10:37 ET

ATLANTA, Dec. 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- To help ease the pressure for hosts around the world this holiday season, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), whose family of brands includes InterContinental^® Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza^® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo^® hotels, Holiday Inn^® hotels, Holiday Inn Resort^®hotels, Holiday Inn Club Vacations^® hotels, Holiday Inn Express^®hotels, Staybridge Suites^® hotels and Candlewood Suites^®hotels, has tapped into its vast hospitality expertise to create a new interactive, IHG Guide to Hospitality.

New global research released by IHG polled over 5,000 people across Europe, the Americas and Asia. The results revealed that even though one in five people say that they enjoy hosting others, 15 percent of people admit to feeling stressed within just 10 minutes of their guests arriving.

The research also revealed that, almost 44 hours, which is more than the average work week, are spent looking after guests' needs during the holiday season. Perhaps not surprising then, that an average of 11 percent of hosts[1] admit they would rather be at work than host friends or family.

U.S. Specific Results
From changing bed linens and entertaining to decorating and preparing food and drinks, some of the most time consuming elements when Americans host this holiday season will be:

Preparing meals / baking – between 4 - 8 hours
Entertaining guests – between 4 - 8 hours

More than 20 percent of Americans who host this holiday season also admit that one of their biggest concerns is guests who outstay their welcome, and with an average of six people to host per household, this could be expected.

Some additional top concerns of American hosts this holiday season are:

The cost of hosting guests – 35 percent
Running out of food and drink – 24 percent
Catering to fussy eaters – 19 percent

According to the research, in some countries the "art of hospitality" is practiced at a high level, with 34 percent of those in the U.S., saying they like to leave a scented candle in the room for their visitors. Thirteen percent of hosts in the U.S. leave a chocolate on the pillow for their guests.

Hotels can provide respite for stressed-out hosts, but for those that still prefer to take the challenge head on, the IHG Guide to Hospitality is designed to help by sharing tips from hospitality experts working in some of IHG's 4,600 hotels and resorts around the world. Some of the top tips to help ease holiday woes include:

Practical Housekeeping tips, provided by Prolet Gale, Executive Housekeeper at Staybridge^® Suites London hotel: When making beds, fill a spray bottle with clear water or even add a drop of your favorite scent. Spray this in the air above a bed in a fine mist and straighten the sheets. This helps to avoid creases on the bed linen and can enhance sheets with a pleasant fragrance.
DIY Food and drink tips, provided by Nitin Sharma, Executive Assistant Manager of Food & Beverage at Crowne Plaza^® New Delhi Rohini hotel: Try to make some foods and drink DIY - a cupcake decorating station is great for kids as well as adults and means less work for the host.
Tips for entertaining kids at home, provided by Laura Brogdon, Activities Director at Holiday Inn^® Resort Wrightsville Beach hotel: Use any old holiday cards that were hidden away from last year and create a card game for the children. Cut the tops into even squares, then ask the children to draw pictures on the back - for example two of the same thing or two things that go together. Turn them over and start to play this matching game with the whole family.

"Collectively, our family of brands has 250 years of experience in hospitality, with our teams around the world hosting millions of people every year," said Phil Broad, vice president, Food & Beverage. "A number of the great insights and guidance that we live by at our hotels, can also be used by our guests in their own homes. Every host should enjoy the festivities as much as their guests, so we've created the IHG Guide to Hospitality, to share some of our knowledge and experience and help people have a more relaxed, stress-free holiday period."

Visit IHGPLC.com to view the IHG Guide to Hospitality.

Notes to Editors:
International creative market research agency, Census Wide (www.censuswide.com), conducted the research on behalf of InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) during November/December 2013. In total; 5,027 respondents across five countries (UK, USA, China, Russia and India) were polled online.

About IHG
IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global organisation with a broad portfolio of nine hotel brands, including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites®, Candlewood Suites®, EVEN™ Hotels and HUALUXE™ Hotels & Resorts.IHG manages IHG® Rewards Club, the world's first and largest hotel loyalty programme with over 76 million members worldwide. The programme was relaunched in July 2013, offering enhanced benefits for members including free internet for Elites across all hotels, globally.IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns over 4,600 hotels and 679,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories. With more than 1,000 hotels in its development pipeline, IHG expects to recruit around 90,000 people into additional roles across its estate over the next few years.InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group's holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.

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[1] A 'good host' is determined as someone who spends time food shopping, preparing meals/ baking, making drinks, cleaning the house before guests arrive, tidying up whilst guests are there, entertaining guests, decorating the house and table, washing bed linen, towels, table cloths, getting things back to normal once guests have left and stopping arguments break out.

SOURCE InterContinental Hotels Group