New IHG® Hotels & Resorts study reveals 80% of travellers struggle to sleep when staying away from home

ATLANTA, March 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- A global study commissioned by IHG® Hotels & Resorts, one of the world's leading hotel companies, has revealed that a lack of sleep is a primary concern for travellers, with four in five (80%) stating they have trouble sleeping when travelling away from home.

The launch of the findings coincides with World Sleep Day, an annual day devoted to tackling important sleep issues. The findings from the survey revealed:

• The business traveller loses around 58 minutes of sleep each night when staying away from home, averaging just 5 hours and 17 minutes of sleep
  
  
• The biggest causes of a restless night's sleep for those travelling are:
• Different environment (44%)
• Unfamiliar noises (35%)
• Working late (35%)

Dr. Steven W. Lockley, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and advisor to Healthe® said: "It's no secret that travelling can be challenging for our health, particularly when it comes to maintaining our normal sleep patterns. Light is the major environmental time cue that resets the circadian clock in our brains each day, which is easily thrown off when travelling."

Over two thirds (67%) of those surveyed stated they feel more tired when they are away from home. To aid sleep, nearly a half either try listening to music (47%) or watching TV (45%) to try and fall asleep. To help travellers combat a restless night away from home, IHG has piloted the use of portable and versatile JOURNI™ Mobile Task Light. Developed by Healthe by Lighting Science, a global leader in innovative LED lighting solutions, the portable, the LED task light is designed to help regulate sleep when traveling.

Dr Lockley continues: "Light can also be a stimulant, directly alerting the brain, or promote sleep before bedtime, depending on the spectrum and intensity of light exposure. Having greater control of light exposure when traveling can help promote sleep at the right time or wake at the right time, preserving some sense of sleep normalcy when on the road."

Brian McGuiness, IHG's Senior Vice President of Global Guest Experience said: "With so many travellers experiencing sleep disruptions when they're on the road, we want to do everything possible to make sure our guests at any one of our 14 IHG Hotels & Resorts brands, including Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza and EVEN Hotels, have a restful sleep while staying with us. We're excited to be the first hotel company to pilot this technology that uses LED lighting to improve guest sleep, and it's just one of the many programs we've introduced over the years to improve guest experience, such as our Crowne Plaza Sleep Advantage programme with premium bedding and aromatherapy kits and our Holiday Inn pillow menu."

Crowne Plaza^® Atlanta Airport will be the first IHG Hotels & Resorts property to install the JOURNI™ Mobile Task Light as part of this pilot project. Guests can easily adjust the light from the blue-enriched white spectrum of Healthe's patented GoodDay^® technology used to boost energy and performance when awake, to the blue-depleted spectrum of the GoodNight^® technology for use in the evening in preparation for bedtime, to promote a more restful night's sleep.

For bookings or for more information, visit our IHG Blog.

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Notes to Editors:

Crowne Plaza^® Hotels & Resorts Sleep Advantage™ Programme
Crowne Plaza Sleep Advantage™ programme has been designed to improve the quality of sleep during hotel overnights, improving the quality of the following day. The bed linens are made from 100% cotton for unbelievable softness. New, soft pillows provide great support for the neck, and plush duvets keep guests suitably warm. The Sleep Advantage programme introduces the unique This Works aromatherapy line. Two of the products in the series contain pure essential oils that help the customer to recover from the day's stress and to sleep more soundly. When the night is over, the customers can take the products with them and continue to benefit from them at home. The other products of the This Works series are available from major department stores in more than 20 countries and from the online shop.

Rest Easy at EVEN^® Hotels
The EVEN^® Hotels brand was home developed by IHG based on an understanding of the consumer shift toward holistic wellness – especially as it relates to travel. Designed to offer guests a helpful way to keep their health and wellness routines while on the road, EVEN Hotels feature best-in-class fitness facilities, in-room exercise zones and simple, fresh and organic foods. Beyond food and exercise, the brand offers initiatives that build on the bigger wellness picture, such as bedrooms with plush bedding and a night-time tea service intended to encourage a good night's sleep and lighting profiles that energise and relax.

Holiday Inn^® Pillow Menu
Holiday Inn^® understands that not all pillows appeal to everyone, so they came up with a winning way to satisfy every guest. The Pillow Menu was introduced at all Holiday Inn locations in the early 2000's and can be requested at the front desk of the hotel. The menu consists of pillows that aren't found in your hotel rooms by default; they are alternatives for people who have different needs. The pillows vary from firmness, as well as type of fill.

About IHG®

IHG ^® (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global organisation with a broad portfolio of hotel brands, including Regent Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental^® Hotels & Resorts, Kimpton^® Hotels & Restaurants, Hotel Indigo^®, EVEN^® Hotels, HUALUXE^® Hotels and Resorts, Crowne Plaza^® Hotels & Resorts, voco™ Hotels, 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 more than 5,600 hotels and approximately 837,000 guest rooms in more than 100 countries, with more than 1,900 hotels in its development pipeline. IHG also manages IHG^® Rewards Club, our global loyalty programme, which has more than 100 million enrolled members.

In February 2019, IHG acquired Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas, adding 16 hotels (1,347 rooms) to its system and 18 hotels to its development pipeline.

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group's holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales. More than 400,000 people work across IHG's hotels and corporate offices globally.

Visit http://www.ihg.com for hotel information and reservations and www.ihgrewardsclub.com for more on IHG Rewards Club. For our latest news, visit: www.ihgplc.com/media and follow us on social media at: www.twitter.com/IHGCorporate, www.facebook.com/IHGCorporate and www.linkedin.com/company/intercontinental-hotels-group

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SOURCE IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group)