WhyA different opportunity
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HowA different mindset
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WhatA different identity
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WhenA different way
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We’ve created a new hotel brand, that gives
people a different choice. Hotels to count on, but
different enough to be fun. Unstuffy hotels, where people
feel comfortable to relax, and just get on with relaxing.
Hotels that stand out from the crowd.
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From big comfy beds, to invigorating showers. Luxuriously long lie-ins,
to saying yes! to a nightcap.
We’ve been in the business long enough to know how to make a night
away, a break from the norm.
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So, with our latest brand, we’ve created somewhere that combines familiar comforts, with the indulgences of a hotel. Somewhere
that’s dependable, but not vanilla. Somewhere that’s upscale, but with a laidback spirit.
Somewhere reliable, but different.
It’s about the perfect mix of reliability and difference. The important things you can depend on, with things that make staying in a hotel different each time.
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Our new family of hotels are connected by their individual characters, that make memorable
travel dependable.
We are the upscale hotel with years of experience in delivering
True Hospitality.
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We call our hotels voco™. It means ‘to invite’ and ‘call together’ originating
from Latin – representing our thoughtful, unstuffy and charming nature.
Guests tell us that voco sounds fun without being vanilla, trendy
without being alienating, and premium without being stuffy.
This unique and playful attitude, combined with a consistent level of quality,
sits at the heart of our brand.
Welcome to voco.
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We combine characterful hotels with a name that you can trust.
The security of a bigger brand, without the vanilla experience. An informal
attitude, with charming touches you’ll remember long after check out.
We call our way of doing things
DifferentReliably
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Be distinctive
We take a distinctive approach toour design and guest experience.
Brand values
Always dependable
We can always be relied onto provide upscale quality.
Respect individuality
We are sympathetic to local provenance, place and community.
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For every occasion
voco hotels work for lots of different moments. Quiet weekends away, important work trips, get-togethers
with the girls or family reunions. Whatever you have in mind, we make sure you’ll have everything
you need (and more).
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Different for guests, different
for owners, and different for
the hotel industry.
Here’s how.
voco offers something different.
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Easier to work with
Our versatile new brand celebrates what makes an existing property successful in its own right. By focusing investment where it matters, it lets you make the most of all the support and knowledge the IHG© family offers, with dedicated teams ready to help.
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Everything as it should be
We know the little extras mean little to our guests when the fundamentals aren’t right. We make sure the basics are in place, so that everything’s as it’s expected to be in an upscale hotel. All backed by the reassurance of IHG.
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Celebrating individuality
All voco hotels have their own sense of style and individual character – and that’s something we make the most of. Each hotel celebrates what’s great about what they are, both through their design, and by championing local flavours and tastes. But while every voco hotel has its own memorable personality, we also make sure they still feel part of the family with familiar touches that are warm, inviting, and full of charm.T
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Everyone’s a host
At the heart of every great stay is a great host. We think the trick to hosting is taking the time to understand what your guests need, and want. So, before they arrive, we find out more about them and how we could make their stay even better. And while they’re with us, we give tempting recommendations of our favourite drinks or desserts, or tips for local experiences that they won’t find in a guidebook.
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Sleep, eat and everything in between
A hotel stay should be a break from the demands of the day to day. So, we go beyond the fundamentals of a great hotel stay by adding our charming hallmarks. Little touches that make a world of difference for our guests, giving them the time and space to really indulge and enjoy.
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These personality traits guide all aspects of our brand. It helps us
look, feel and act differently to other hotels, and makes sure guests leave
with plenty of stories to tell.
Here’s how we bring the brand to life.
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Getting the basics
right
G E T T I N G T H E B A S I C S R I G H T
The voco brand sitson a succinct set of
standards that guests told us they expect at an upscale price point.
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G E T T I N G T H E B A S I C S R I G H TG E T T I N G T H E B A S I C S R I G H T
Upscale quality, in great condition
• Excellent upscale condition throughout, as evaluated by IHG Balanced Scorecard
• Room size is market dependent, but targeting 22sqm-30sqm gross
Premium sleep experience
• Mattress, mattress topper, bedding package and linen in line
with voco defined set of standards
• Blackout curtains or blinds required
• Guest room to comply with IHG acoustic standards
Genuine welcome experience
• Efficient and hassle-free check in process
• Warm and personal welcome
Tech friendly• Must comply with IHG WI-FI performance
thresholds/specifications (e.g. free, universally available, min bandwidth speed of 5Mb)
• Ability to easily charge 3 devices in guestroom; Extended cord USB/Charge dome permitted
• Guest room TV target at least 42” Smart TV
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G E T T I N G T H E B A S I C S R I G H TG E T T I N G T H E B A S I C S R I G H T
Hot, good-quality breakfast
• Hot buffet breakfast, with limited selection of a la carte items
Upscale F&B Offer
• Must provide hot food options throughout the day and have out-of-hours
provision; delivery method flexible by location
• Must have barista-served coffee
•Must have bar
High-quality shower experience
• Flow rate and temperature per IHG standards
• Base min area of 0.8sqm with min width of 0.75m
• Showers over bath permitted, provided bath size is at least 0.7m by 1.5m
• Shower head must be from IHG approved supplier and height adjustable
• Shower area must be enclosed by shower screen
Flexible guest room lighting
• Guest room lighting must achieve specified lux levels at keymoments (e.g. bedside, deskside)
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I H G F O U N D AT I O N A L S TA N D A R D SI H G F O U N D AT I O N A L S TA N D A R D S
Compliant with existing IHG Fire & Life Safety
Standards
Opera Property Management System
IHG Corporate Social Responsibility and Data
Security Standards
Core IHG Engineering Requirements
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Our guest experience hallmarks
For a guest experience that stands out, we add touches of charm with our memorable
hallmarks. They’re easy to deliver, but hard for guests to forget.
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Come on in
It’s true what they say about first impressions, so we make sure to get them right.
We start with a warm welcome and a swift and simple check-in, in instantly familiar
surroundings, making sure to cover any special requests or personal preferences.
And then, to make it really special, we give every guest a welcome treat inspired
by each hotel and its location.
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Me time
We know a lot of our guests are looking forward to a break from the day-to-day when they
visit us. So, we add a few little things to our rooms to encourage them to take a moment for themselves.
Extra cosy beds and bedding for long lie-ins, luxury bathroom amenities that go perfectly
with our super-rejuvenating aerated showers, great viewing content with our Smart TVs
and fast Wi-Fi in every room.
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voco life
From morning lattes to that just-before-bed nightcap, voco hotels always have room for
guests to relax and enjoy themselves. We make sure our bars and lounges work for different moments of the day, so whether it’s a quiet
coffee in the morning, catching up with friends over afternoon tea, or kicking off (or ending)
their evening, we’ve got the perfect place for it.
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Our brand identity is bold and distinctive – but has been designed to flex across softer
hotel touchpoints, so it’s always sympathetic to an existing hotel’s
character. We have two application systems, Bright and Bold, which
use our identity in different ways to complement different types of hotels.
A distinctive identity T
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We’ve crafted a distinctive and characterful logo, carrying
elegant letter forms which reflect our upscale positioning.
The rounded nature and composition of the name gives lifts and nods to our welcoming
and unstuffy nature. Just like our hotels our logo feels relaxed
yet sophisticated too.
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Bright
Ideal for heritage properties, which suit a more delicate application:Use of colour is lighter and more subtle.
Fresh and open feel overall.A yellow thread provides pops of intrigue without overwhelming.
Brushstrokes are softer, but still full of personality.
Bold
Suits more contemporary properties, which can carry a more striking application:
Higher contrast of light and dark colour for impact.A yellow thread provides highlights and flair.
Bold brushstrokes feel dynamic.
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Pleasantly chatty, distinctive and unique in colour, with a relaxed,
easy glide. Finches represent the warm welcome and simple check-in guests get as soon as they enter our hotels – as well as the little extra touches they
discover once they start exploring.
Tranquil and serene, well groomed, and partial to a bit of time alone.
The owl represents our bedrooms, where cosy bedding, hot showers, luxurious amenities and tempting
room service encourage our guests to relax, and enjoy moments to themselves.
Bold, interesting, and up for a party. Flamingoes love spending
time in pairs, families or larger groups – making them the perfect
mascot for our characterful bars and lounges, where guests
can meet, eat, work and play throughout the day.
Hallmark mascots
We use three mascots within our hotels to add marks of quality, character and personality.
Highlighting our important hallmark moments, they feel distinctive and charming.
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Brushstrokes
Our textured, handcrafted brushstrokes add charm and an element of surprise for guests
to discover. They bring our characterful and unique personality through to our visual identity.
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Untuckedphotography
We describe our photography style as untucked. It’s the perfect mix of reliability and difference – curated editorial
imagery that feels dependable but relaxed, balanced with a documentary style that highlights and celebrates
difference, telling us stories through real moments.
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The look and feel of our hotels is one of the most important ways of helping our guests to settle in.
We make sure each property feels like part of the voco family by uniting them with our Yellow Thread – interior elements that
bring our character to life.
A sympathetic style
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Hotel environment
We choose versatile elements that bring our unstuffy, thoughtful and charming character
to life across all of our hotels.
This encompasses interior finishes, key furniture and lighting pieces, accessories, soft furnishings,
and artwork; all in a contemporary traditional style that suits every property.
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Colours & materials
Our colour and material palette has been designed to work across a varied estate. We call this the
‘Yellow Thread’ that creates a sympathetic design style that works with the character of each hotel.
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Small changes, big impact
Bold and distinctive, our identity flexes across softer hotel touchpoints, so it always works with,
and to enhance, an existing hotel’s character.
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Artwork & accessories
All the artwork and accessories in our hotel help tell our story, bringing a hotel to life with character and charm.
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BRUSHSTROKES
TEXTURAL
EXPRESS IVE
M IN IMAL
GESTURAL
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Respectinga hotel’s history
When they have particular historical value or standing within the local area, we make sure
to respect the heritage of our original hotel names by incorporating them into signage and online use. These original names work together with our voco
wordmark, so each hotel still feels part of the brand family, but links to its history, too.
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We’re here to host
If there’s one thing we know, it’s that a great host is at the heart
of every great stay.
And it might be stating the obvious, but at home or in a hotel, we think the trick to being a great host is
understanding what your guests want.
Our guests are by and large pretty unstuffy and laid-back. But while they might not be looking for us to hang on their every word, they do want us to
be there when they need us.
So, we find the right balance. The perfect mix of easy-going but
attentive service, that just lets guests get on with it.
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Style guideAt voco we have a different approach to uniform:
it shouldn’t be ‘one size fits all’. Our hosts should feel like part of our hotel – but still feel like themselves, too.
That’s why our style guide lets them choose from items that suit them, just as well as they suit voco.
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And, as a quick guide, if they’d be happy wearing their outfit on a first date, they’re ready to meet our guests.
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Becoming part of the voco family
Our flexible approach is guided by you and your hotel – doing what we need to do
to deliver consistent high quality experiences and help you drive returns in the most
efficient way.
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Sympathetic evaluation
We look at each hotel on a case-by-case basis – every property and location is different. We want to take the best of what a hotel is already offering with the added layer of our highly distinctive brand identity and signature hallmarks. We take a pragmatic and sympathetic approach, working with our owners and using our extensive guest insight to determine where extra investment is necessary and where it will add value. That’s why we’ve simplified our upscale quality standards down to the ones we know that really make a difference to our guests.
Accelerated conversion
We’ve simplified and accelerated the hotel conversion process, making it quicker and easier for owners to become part of the IHG family and driving stronger returns once they do. With a focus on delivering our signature standards and hallmarks, this means less downtime during the conversion process, and missed revenue opportunities. Owners have the reassurance of a dedicated team of experts ready to turn around hotels at pace with our New Hotel Openings (NHOPs) team’s years of experience in converting hotels.
Ahead of opening under the voco flag, hotels can access our system and drive returns by operating under our SP chain code as a “white labelled” hotel within our websites and controlled distribution channels. This means getting the benefits of our scale ahead of time, subject to compliance with minimum FLS and IHG foundational standards.
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Performing from day one
We offer comprehensive tools to enhance sales and operations but we’re not here to overwhelm. We’ve bundled up all the essentials into a digestible package, meaning less time spent poring over screens and paperwork and more time delivering great performance.
Ongoing support
voco is a key strategic priority for IHG and we’re putting in significant effort to ensure the brand builds momentum. We have dedicated marketing plans for the brand, ready to be deployed at a global, regional and market-level. You also have access to expertise from the pool of knowledge across IHG from sales and marketing to operations support. Because we’re guided by guest feedback and providing a high quality, upscale experience, we’ll focus our quality evaluation and compliance programmes on the guest experience delivered, as much as the standards and specifications that enable them.
Powered by the knowledge and strength of IHG®
In a segment with room for growth, voco will benefit from the formidable strength and scale of IHG’s systems — from the world’s largest loyalty programme to our best in class technology and capabilities. The global upscale segment presents a significant opportunity and, with our owners, we are perfectly placed to take advantage of this potential.
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