ATLANTA—IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) has hired actor/comedian Rob Riggle as the Holiday Inn Express brand’s first creative director and breakfast excellence honcho.
In this newly created role, Riggle will be responsible for driving Express Start breakfast enthusiasm for the brand through a variety of programs and content rolling out this summer and fall.
Jennifer Gribble, VP, Holiday Inn Express brand, Americas, IHG, stated, “Guests have told us that breakfast is one of the most influential factors when choosing where they stay, so the creation of this new position was a no-brainer. In this role, Rob’s sole focus is to tell the world about our Express Start breakfast bar experience in the humorous and engaging way guests have come to expect from the Holiday Inn Express brand. His creativity, wit and colossal appetite for pancakes make him the perfect addition to the Holiday Inn Express team.”
The Holiday Inn Express brand will feature Riggle in its latest Stay Smart campaign spots. As his first order of breakfast business, Riggle is crowdsourcing a name for the brand’s one-touch pancake machine—the first of several contributions to follow. Throughout the month of July, Riggle is challenging pancake lovers and breakfast aficionados to submit their best ideas for a chance to win a trip to Montreal or Vermont or, as Riggle calls them, “maple syrup Valhalla.” Entries will be judged based on their creativity, humor and breakfast-relevancy. To enter for a chance to win, and for full contest rules, visit http://pancakes.hiexpress.com/.
“I’ve eaten breakfast my entire life, so I feel like I’ve been training for this job for quite some time, and it’s that commitment to the morning meal that has prepared me for brilliance in this role,” said Riggle. “I’m excited to use the skills I’ve been honing for years to bring breakfast at Holiday Inn Express hotels to the next level, starting with their freaking awesome one-touch pancake machine.”
Over the summer and fall, Riggle’s breakfast innovations will be featured on staysmart.com as well as the Holiday Inn Express brand’s YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.