Crowne Plaza Franchise Formats Offered

The Crowne Plaza franchise system offers four hotel sub-brands / formats for franchisees to choose from: Crowne Plaza, Crowne Plaza Suites, Crowne Plaza Hotel & Suites, and Crowne Plaza Resort. Below is a brief description of each.

Crowne Plaza: This full-service hotel format is targeted at upscale business, conference, and holiday travelers, as well as groups, meetings, and special events. This format is primarily located in major markets and notable secondary cities.

Crowne Plaza Suites: Crowne Plaza Suites hotel offers guests the option of a 1-, 2-, or 3-room room suite and kitchenette. A Crowne Plaza Suites hotel must have the number of suites approved by the franchisor. Each suite may include a living area, kitchen area, bedroom, and a full bathroom. 

Crowne Plaza Hotel & Suites: This is a hybrid of the Crowne Plaza and Crowne Plaza Suites formats. Essentially, a Crowne Plaza Hotel & Suites branded hotel is a Crowne Plaza wherein 25% or more of the room inventory is comprised of suites. The suites offer guests the option of a 2-room or 3-room suite and kitchenette.

Crowne Plaza Resort: Designed for placement in holiday destination locations, Crowne Plaza Resort offers a wide variety of recreational facilities, amenities, and services targeted to upscale leisure travelers and groups, meetings, and events.

Crowne Plaza Franchise Opportunities - History

The first Crowne Plaza hotel was opened in Rockville, Maryland in 1983. The Crowne Plaza chain was started by Holiday Inn, which wanted to craft a new overnight experience specifically oriented toward the needs of business travelers. In 1990, the hotel conglomerate now known as InterContinental Hotel Group purchased the Holiday Inn brand, which included Crowne Plaza Hotels & Suites. Today, there are more than 400 Crowne Plaza locations worldwide.

To stand out in the increasingly competitive business hotel category, the Crowne Plaza franchise continues to evolve by tailoring its properties and guest experience to attract the 25-54-year-old “Modern Business Traveler,” a consumer with a “lifeaholic” and “millennial” mindset who blurs the lines between work and life. Beyond the brand’s recent $200 million update, Crowne Plaza features sleek, tech-forward WorkLife rooms with unique furniture configurations, a unique Sleep Advantage program to help travelers wake up refreshed, and modern meeting spaces overseen by Crowne Plaza Meetings Directors who are specially trained to the standards of the Meeting Professionals International (MPI).

Financial Requirements To Own A Crowne Plaza Franchise

Initial Investment

The total investment to open a standard 300-room Crowne Plaza hotel, excluding land costs and certain other items, ranges from $29,831,350 to $55,161,440 ($99,437 to $183,871 per guest room) or more. The total investment to open a standard 300-suite Crowne Plaza Suites hotel, excluding land costs and certain other items, ranges from $32,646,750 to $56,678,470 ($108,823 to $188,928 per guest room suite) or more. Finally, the total investment to open a standard 250-room Crowne Plaza Resort hotel, excluding land costs and certain other items, ranges from $37,035,895 to $64,324,700 ($148,143 to $ 257,298 per guest room) or more.

Franchise Application Fees

When franchisees apply for a Crowne Plaza franchise, whether, for new development, conversion, transfer of ownership, or re-licensing, there is an initial application fee of $500 per guest room (a minimum of $75,000). This fee is refundable if the franchisor does not approve the application, less a $15,000 non-refundable portion.

For applicants seeking conversion, transfer of ownership, brand change, or re-licensing, the franchisor must inspect the property to develop a specific list of upgrades, construction, and furnishing to ensure the facility is up to brand standards. There is a nonrefundable $7,000 payment required for the completion of this inspection.

Ongoing Royalties and Program Contributions

Crowne Plaza franchisees must pay a monthly 5% royalty fee on gross room revenue as well as a monthly services contribution of 3% on gross room revenue. There are additional ongoing fees for brand marketing programs, technology, and other items. 

Crowne Plaza Franchise System Size and Composition

As of year-end 2018, there were approximately 430 Crowne Plaza hotels active or in development worldwide, including around 162 hotels (nearly 42,000 rooms) active or in the pipeline across the Americas, 182 hotels (over 46,000 rooms) active or in the pipeline across Europe and the Middle East, and 91 hotels (nearly 33,000 rooms) active or in the pipeline across Greater China. Systemwide, Crowne Plaza generates an estimated $3.2 billion in worldwide sales. The vast majority of Crowne Plaza hotels are franchised.

Crowne Plaza is one brand in the IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) portfolio, which franchises, leases, manages, or owns some 7,500 hotels (active or in development) and over 820,000 guest rooms across nearly 100 countries. 

Other than Crowne Plaza, hotel brands in the IHG family include:

• InterContinental Hotels & Resorts
• Regent Hotels & Resorts
• Kimpton Hotel & Restaurants
• Hotel Indigo
• EVEN Hotels
• HUALUXE Hotels & Resorts
• voco Hotels
• Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express
  
• Holiday Inn Club Vacations
• Holiday Inn Resort
• avid hotels
• Staybridge Suites
• Candlewood Suites
• Six Senses Hotels Resorts