One of the world’s leading hotel groups, IHG had identified the need for a conversion brand that would allow independent hotels to become part of its portfolio – with access to millions of loyal customers – without the need for high level capital investment. Leading Outcomes was appointed to set up and run a launch management strategy for the new upscale brand, named voco.
A PMO was established to oversee brand design, customer experience, marketing, finance, strategic delivery and communications. Crucially, the structure was able to satisfy IHG governance, while retaining the ability to challenge the limitations of conventional corporate thinking. A comprehensive plan established regular project meetings, providing the right people with the right information at the right time.
voco launched successfully in July 2018, with the number of rooms signed exceeding target. As the programme moved from launch to additional openings, we adapted our delivery to meet its changing requirements and developed a set of standardised plans to allow for localisation in new regions. voco is a multi-year, multi-million dollar programme that is already adding significant revenue and room numbers to the IHG portfolio.