Fall 2008 | Volume 4

Talking F&B wiTh SUE MORGAN

Sharing a meal creates an almost magical social connection that holds endless fascination for Sue Morgan. Our series of F&B interviews with the Americas leadership team continues in a conversation with IHG’s Vice President of Franchise Food & Beverage, North America.

>> PAGE 2

>> PAGE 4

The World’s Most Valuable Brand

A Look Inside The Company Behind

There are few things Sue Morgan enjoys

more than the social aspects of enjoying

a great meal—whether it’s a delightful

dinner with friends she’s prepared herself

or chatting with the wait staff in a holiday

inn restaurant. as Vice President of

holiday inn Franchise Food & Beverage in

north america, she gets the opportunity

to do that on a regular basis, at ihg hotel

breakfast bars and dining rooms across

the U.S. and Canada. in a recent interview,

Sue talked with us about her F&B

expectations, pet peeves and unabashed

passion for salmon.

Any foodservice experience in your background?

“Yes—about 25 years, primarily in foodservice (restaurant) marketing. Prior to joining IHG three years ago I was chief marketing officer for Church’s Chicken, responsible for about 1,300 domestic locations. Before that I was Marketing VP for the second-largest franchisee of Arby’s restaurants and later was Vice President of Marketing for two casual dining restaurant chains, Don Pablo’s and Hops. So, I’ve worked on brand strategy and execution on both the franchisee and company-owned sides of the business. I also worked as a waitress in high school and college, and paid for my post-graduate education by waiting tables. Foodservice is a dynamic, fast-paced industry with a tremendous amount of appeal for me.”

What does a great dining experience look like for you?

“Being with people you want to be with, great food and seamless service. The server can make or break the dining experience by how well he or she understands the way the customer wants the meal to go. For example, some guests may want the wait person to engage in conversation and others may not.”

Morgan Views

Well-Delivered F&Bas a key Driver of Occupancy and guest Satisfaction

2

What’s your favorite food?

“I honestly think I could eat salmon three meals a day and not get tired of it. As for favorite cuisines, my top choice is a tie between nouveau Southern and Italian food, depending on what I’m in the mood to go out for or what I feel like cooking.”

How about your favorite beverage?

“Hot tea in the morning…I’m partial to a particular brand that I order by the pound from a little shop in San Francisco. It’s a delicious blend of Earl Grey and seven other teas. As for alcoholic beverages, I love red wine, either a great Cabernet or a Cote du Rhone wine—it’s difficult to narrow down the choices. For special occasions, I like to order a selection from Caymus Vineyards, a great Napa producer known for their estate-grown Cabernets.”

Favorite restaurant?

“It depends on the occasion, but two that I enjoy in Atlanta are South City Kitchen in Midtown and Watershed in Decatur. Both are great examples of the best in nouveau Southern cuisine. I also love di Paolo in Alpharetta for Italian. It’s grounded in a real sense of authenticity, coupled with fresh ingredients and magic in their sauces. In fact, one evening at the restaurant I ran into a well-known, highly respected food writer for Nation’s Restaurant News. She indicated that, in her opinion, di Paolo was the best Italian restaurant in Atlanta, and I would agree.”

When you stay at an IHG property, what are your expectations regarding F&B?

“I expect absolutely the best execution the property is capable of delivering within what the guest expects and the brand requires. I get to work with most of IHG’s brands, and the food and beverage requirements for each are very clear and well-defined, so there’s a specific target for the hotels to deliver against that includes the expectations of the guests. For example, at Holiday Inn Express, guests expect the eggs on the breakfast bar to be hot and well-prepared and the coffee to be freshly brewed, with plenty of perfectly ripe bananas and cold milk for the cereal. Food and beverage can be a real driver of occupancy and guest satisfaction if it’s delivered to the guest’s and the brand’s expectations.”

When you dine at an IHG hotel, what do you usually order?

“It depends on what I feel like having. I usually chat with the wait staff about what they would recommend and the specialty of the house. My approach is not unlike it would be at any other restaurant where I’m dining.”

Any recent standout meals at an IHG property?

“I attended a Food & Beverage Council meeting at the Holiday Inn-Issaquah in Seattle recently, and the dinner entrée was an excellent cedar plank salmon. The team really took a lot of pride in ensuring the freshest product, prepared exactly as required, then plated and served beautifully.

“I also had an excellent breakfast at the Holiday Inn Express on Hammond Drive in Atlanta recently. The food on the breakfast bar was fresh and delicious, the bar itself was spotless and it was well-attended—the wonderful hostess on duty exceeded expectations and delivered the breakfast experience exactly as it was intended.”

Do you ever order room service?

“When I’m on personal travel I rarely use room service, but for business stays I occasionally order to experience the execution by the property. Generally, though, I prefer to eat in the restaurant, even if I’m dining alone.”

Mineral water or tap?

“Tap. I drink a lot of water every day—I play a good bit of tennis so I’m constantly at the water fountain. Drinking bottled water is usually just too much trouble to organize.”

Any F&B “pet peeves?”

“Serving huge portions that don’t allow the dish to be engineered responsibly or attractively. A plate with far too much food on it is just a bother. It’s not healthy—the calorie count is ridiculous— the presentation is not appealing and it runs counter to the growing trend toward healthier dining options. It has nothing to do with the price/value of the meal—it’s simply a waste. We in the foodservice industry need to be sensitive to the desires of most customers for a reasonable amount at a reasonable price.”

Do you cook at home yourself, and if so, what’s your specialty?

“I love to cook and have people over. My favorite place in the house is the dining room. I don’t bake and I don’t really do desserts much, but I enjoy creating entrees and salads. Of course, I can prepare salmon a million ways—I especially like to grill salmon using Bobby Flay’s sauces, then enjoy eating it out on the patio with friends. Sharing a meal is such a wonderful, social, connecting activity—it’s too bad we can’t do it more times a day.”

Sharing a meal is such a wonderful, social, connecting activity— it’s too bad we can’t do it more times a day.

3

The Coca-Cola SystemAt the heart of Coca-Cola’s operations is the powerful collaboration of three entities that make up the informal “Coca-Cola System:”

• The Coca-Cola Company itself manufactures the concentrates, beverage bases and syrups that make its brands unique, and sells them to bottling operations.

• Morethan300Coca-Colabottling partners worldwide produce and distribute the company’s products and are its main connection with retail customers. Coke bottlers comprise international and publicly traded corporations as well as small, family-owned and

–operated businesses. The vast majority of bottlers are not owned or controlled by Coke. Bottling partners produce, package, distribute and merchandise Coca-Cola products worldwide, working closely with retail customers to carry out localized marketing plans developed in cooperation with the company.

• Coca-Cola’s20million-pluscustomer outlets worldwide sell its products, including grocery stores, restaurants, street vendors, mass merchandisers, vending companies, convenience stores, drug stores, movie theaters, amusement parks—and HMG hotels.

“Our customers are largely responsible for our ongoing success,” says Sasha Davis, Senior National Sales Executive for Coca-Cola North America. “They make it possible for consumers in communities around the world to enjoy our brand portfolio of quality beverages.”

A Place in History The global Coca-Cola phenomenon had its beginnings in 1886, when Atlanta pharmacist Dr. John S. Pemberton created a unique, new syrup for use in fountain drinks. The first newspaper ad for Coca-Cola soon appeared in The Atlanta Journal, launching The Coca-Cola Company’s legendary body of culture-shaping advertising.

Pemberton patented his creation in 1887 but soon sold the business to others, including Atlanta businessman Asa G. Candler, who shortly acquired complete control. A firm believer in advertising and merchandising, Candler boosted sales tenfold in only three years. The Coca-Cola Company was incorporated in 1892, and “Coca-Cola” was

registered as a trademark in 1893. By 1895 the product was being sold in every state and territory in the United States.

Product and Marketing InnovationThe first bottling agreement was signed in 1899 and in 1916 the iconic contour bottle was born, becoming one of the few packages ever granted trademark status by the U.S. Patent Office.

Quick quiz! Name the most popular and biggest-selling soft drink in history.

Pretty easy question, isn’t it? Coca-Cola, or “Coke” as its legions of fans better know it, has held the undisputed No. 1 soft drink position since its creation more than a century ago.

Every day, many of us enjoy a Coke, Diet Coke or one of the other 2,800 products in The Coca-Cola Company’s blue chip portfolio of 450-plus brands—and/or, we serve them to guests in our hotels. Coca-Cola is the exclusive World Class Beverage Program supplier of carbonated soft drinks and other non-alcoholic beverages, including sports drinks, juices, teas, fruit juice drinks, energy drinks and selected bar mixes. Coca-Cola also supplies the bottled water for HMG properties, including the Dasani, Evian and Spring! brands.

Behind each glass or bottle of Coca-Cola product that leaves our hands is a huge, successful and far-reaching enterprise. Herewith, a brief glimpse into the organizational machinery, innovation and brand magic that position Coca-Cola as the world’s largest beverage company.

Exploring The

4

55

• Coca-Colaowns4ofthetop5non-alcoholicsparkling beverage brands: Coca-Cola Classic, Diet Coke, Caffeine-Free Diet Coke and Sprite.

• Worldwide,theCoca-ColaCompanyisNo.1 in sales of sparkling beverages and juices/juice drinks, No. 2 in sales of sports drinks and No. 3 in sales of bottled water.

• Approximately1.5billionpeopleworldwideconsume a Coca-Cola product daily.

• TheCoca-ColaCompanyemploysapproximately 90,500 associates worldwide, 86 percent outside the U.S.

• Morethan22.7billioncasesofCoca-Colaproductsweresoldin2007.

• Coca-ColaZeroisCoke’smostsuccessfulbeverage launch in 25 years.

• BrandconsultancyInterbrandhasrankedtheCoca-Cola image most valuable overall for the eighth year in a row in 2008.

Cool Coke Facts

A Closer Look At The Coca-Cola Company

In the 20th century the business expanded globally, reaching unrivaled heights of success. Along the way, the company introduced landmark merchandising innovations, including the six-bottle carton (the 1920s), automatic fountain dispensers (introduced at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair), metal cans (1960) and plastic bottles (1977). Today, consumers can purchase a Coca-Cola product in virtually every part of the world.

The deep emotional bond between Coca-Cola and its consumers has firmly positioned it in American culture. For example, Coca-Cola advertising helped created the modern image of Santa Claus, and many Americans remember watching television in July 1985 when Coca-Cola became the first soft drink consumed in space.

Partnerships That WorkFrom the start, Coca-Cola has invested in building a strong, positive relationship with customers, leveraging its brand and marketing expertise to create promotions that help them sell its products.

“Our goal is to provide enhanced value to our millions of retail partners,” Davis says. “For IHG, we’ve collaborated with the World Class Beverage Program team to develop creative marketing promotions such as the Non-Alcoholic Beverage menu and merchandising programs like the customized neckhangers for in-room bottled water offerings. We’re committed to strengthening our successful, long-time marketing partnership with IHG and its hotels.”

Editor’s note: The IHG World Class Beverage Program team congratulates Sasha Davis on the recent birth of her son.

Real Thing:

Step into the lobby of the Holiday Inn Toronto Yorkdale at the dinner hour and your nose will likely lead you straight over to the open-concept cooking station near the entrance to the hotel’s Café Monterey.

The delightful aroma, you’ll discover, is a strategically engineered tease for the current promotion showcasing the restaurant’s made-to-order dinner buffet. The daily buffet is the restaurant’s cornerstone, featuring individual stations where food and beverage team members, led by Executive Chef Huan Chen, prepare the chef ’s signature entrees, such as salmon and steak, and specialty desserts.

“The open configuration of the buffet and our kitchen allow enticing smells to drift into the lobby and down the hallways. It really helps attract our in-house guests,” says Food & Beverage Director Louie Papadakos, who joined the Yorkdale property three years ago as assistant food and beverage director, stepping into the lead role a year later.

“Continuously promoting and keeping up with trends is critical to our success.”

Keeping the capture ratio high is also key. The hotel is situated about 20 minutes from downtown Toronto and adjacent to the Yorkdale Shopping Centre, a long-time, premier retail venue. Though the property has little direct hotel competition in the area, it goes head-to-head with the mall’s restaurants in the battle for customers.

A Host of AccoladesWinning in this market scenario—for the entire hotel, including the F&B staff— rests with determining and delivering precisely the experience guests want, while leveraging great service to develop a strong bond with customers. That management approach has proven successful for Regional Vice President of Operations and General Manager Armand Abitbol and his team: among the hotel’s packed trophy case are the coveted 2007 Kemmons Wilson Spirit of Family Award, the 2007 Priority Club Members’ Choice Award and a 2008

Torchbearer Award—marking the Holiday Inn Toronto Yorkdale’s twelfth year to receive the honor.

The food and beverage team has contributed its share of achievements as well, winning seven awards in the last five years, including the IHG Best for Breakfast Award and In-Room Dining Award and the HMG F&B Teamwork Award and F&B Executive Committee Award.

Tastes and TrendsTo keep things interesting for both local customers and hotel guests, the F&B team introduces a different promotion in the restaurant each month, usually reflecting the current season and always emphasizing leading-edge dining trends.

S P O T L I G H T P R O P E R T Y

Holiday Inn Toronto Yorkdale F&B Program

Plays to the Senses, Seasons and guest Sensibilities

The open atmosphere of Cascades Lounge draws both in-house guests and local patrons.

F&B Director Louie Papadakos6

7

Two new members have joined the IHG Corporate Food & Beverage team. Laura Hammer has been named Office Manager and Neill Hamilton is Food and Beverage Project Analyst.

The two new positions were developed to help further strengthen the implementation of the World Class Beverage Program as well as to support other key F&B initiatives.

As Office Manager, Laura will coordinate the administration of programs and promotions, focusing on communications and streamlining processes. She also will serve as the Corporate Food & Beverage team’s day-to-day liaison both with the hotels and with iMi, the World Class Beverage Program marketing agency.

Before joining IHG Laura was Director of Events & Special Projects for Evolv, an Atlanta-based, full-service real estate solutions group that provides marketing and other developer services for condominiums and time-share properties. Previously she coached gymnastics and managed a gymnastics facility in the Atlanta metro area. She holds a B.S. in health and physical education from the University of Georgia and a master’s degree in sports administration from Georgia State University.

Neill’s role as F&B Project Analyst will encompass developing and maintaining a comprehensive and dynamic database of HMG hotels’ food and beverage performance, including generation of regular reports and management dashboards. Neill began his career in bank management in Lexington, Kentucky, later relocating to Atlanta to work in finance and legal services.

He recently received a master’s degree in international commerce and diplomacy from the University of Kentucky’s Patterson School of Diplomacy. He earned his B.S. in economics, with a minor in international business, from the University of Kentucky. Neill has also studied at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration in Vienna, Austria.

“The range of experience and expertise that Laura and Neill bring to our team will significantly enhance our ability to meet our Number One goal: supporting our hotels in operating profitable food and beverage programs that our guests love,” says Jean-Pierre Etcheberrigaray, Vice President of Food & Beverage. 7

Corporate Food & Beverage Introduces New World Class Beverage Program Team Members

For September, the theme was “A Taste of Ontario,” featuring an all-local array of produce, meat and spices. In October, the promotional spotlight shines on organic beef from various countries, with delectable accompaniments reflecting the different regions’ cuisines and cultures.

The restaurant’s open-concept approach is carried over into the property’s busy lounge, Cascades, where a popular sushi bar takes center stage. The flexible outlet features a sedate piano bar atmosphere on most weeknights but can easily convert to a sports bar on the weekends and for major games, with the action centered on the bar’s big-screen television. Beverage promotions also follow the seasonal theme, with light and refreshing cocktails on the menu in summer and plenty of warm and hearty specialty coffee drinks in winter.

Café Express rounds out the hotel’s F&B outlets, offering guests in a hurry an array of take-out breakfast items, from muffins and croissants to fresh-brewed coffee.

Events for Corporations and the CommunityThe Holiday Inn Toronto Yorkdale does a brisk meeting and banquet business, anchored by 11,000 square feet of function space in a dozen meeting rooms. These include the spacious York Ballroom and the Allure private dining room, an elegant and intimate space that can accommodate groups of 10 to 40 people for an exquisite fine dining experience.

The majority of the meetings business is corporate-based, though the hotel also is a popular location within the local community for social events such as Bar and Bat Mitzvahs.

Training and SharingEven in the face of a challenging economy, the hotel’s food and beverage program is having a very good year, Louie says, with strong revenue and margin growth over the prior year, increased capture ratios and solid bookings going into the holiday season.

The secret to the success—for the entire hotel staff, as well as the F&B team—is extensive, ongoing training to empower the employees with both knowledge and a commitment to maintaining a true service culture. “We emphasize going the extra mile to serve and satisfy each guest, and training is an important part of that,” Louie said. “For example, to help keep the team up to date and energized, we periodically bring in suppliers for staff wine-tastings and other training events.”

The F&B team includes a number of long-time employees—one server retired recently after 30-plus years with the property.

“We operate like a family, working closely and well together,” Louie notes.

“All our team members are involved in decision-making on important items such as menu-planning. We encourage everyone to share ideas and we conduct employee focus groups to get feedback. We’re all passionate about what we do, and we attempt to share that passion and excitement with our guests and deliver the very best guest experience. It’s all about creating a great hotel guests love!”

The Allure room offers intimate, elegant private dining.

Diners in Café Monterey select from a buffet of prepared-to-order

specialty entrees and desserts.

3 Ravinia Drive

Suite 100

Atlanta, GA 30346 www.ihg.com

Jean-Pierre Etcheberrigaray | Vice President of Food & Beverage

Neill Hamilton | F&B Project Analyst

Laura Hammer | Office Manager

+1 770 604 8283 www.ihgbeverage.com

BeVerage BrieFS

Argentina’s Rich Geography Produces Superb Wines Tucked on the eastern hillsides of the Andes and running almost the entire length of the country, the vineyards of Argentina thrive in one of the most enviable wine- growing geographies, or terroirs, in the world. The widely varying altitudes afforded by the Andes marry perfectly with ideal weather—clear, dry days that facilitate full maturity of the grapes—and irrigation provided by the mountains’ pure snowmelt.

It’s no wonder that Argentina holds and cherishes a long tradition of producing top-quality wines. Argentinians place pride in their wines on the same exalted plane reserved for their storied beef.

Wine production and consumption in Argentina date back 400 years, when Spaniards brought the first vinis vinifera to the Americas in the early 16th century. The optimum soil and weather conditions led to increased production, and by the mid-1800s, completion of the north-to-south Argentinian Railway and a growing population of European immigrants with superior wine-making know-how established wine production as a national industry.

Argentina grows virtually every varietal, but the standout red is Malbec, the most emblematic of Argentinian wines, offering a hearty flavor that stands up to beef, game and hard cheeses. Born in Cahors in the south of France, Malbec was brought to Argentina in the mid-19th century, and thrived.

For whites, Torrontés is the only wine variety considered 100 percent Argentine. The grape, which dates back to the Spanish conquerors, is cultivated in every region and is thought to have connections to the European Mediterranean Muscat. Torrontés pairs well with spicy food and Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai dishes.

More than 120 wineries in nine distinct regions dot the country’s “Road of Wineries,” beckoning tourists and aficionados alike in every season of the year.

Calling All F&B Bloggers! The Corporate Food & Beverage team has launched a food and beverage blog as part of the Corporate Food & Beverage Teamspace on Merlin, IHG’s company-wide intranet site.

Dubbed the “FB Confitdential,” the blog will be anonymous—that is, anyone with access to Merlin may post comments without leaving their names, if they choose. The Corporate F&B team is inviting IHG employees at hotels and in the corporate and regional offices in the Americas to confidentially post entries about their food and beverage experiences (good, bad and indifferent) at InterContinental Hotel, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn restaurants and bars as well as competitors’ establishments.

“We welcome any and everyone’s ideas, suggestions and opinions on the FB Confitdential blog, and we highly encourage honest, open communication,” says Jean-Pierre Etcheberrigaray, Vice President of Food & Beverage. “Our goal is to increase the level of engagement that IHG employees throughout the region have with our food and beverage programs at our hotels, as well as to provide a place where the F&B teams at our properties can both sound off and contribute.”

The FB Confitdential blog can be found at http://fbconfitdential.ihgblog.com. Or, to access the FB Confitdential blog from the Merlin home page, click on the following links: Hotel Topics: Food & Beverage, then Related Pages: Food & Beverage. This brings up the Corporate Food & Beverage TeamSpace. Clicking on the FB Confitdential duck logo accesses the blog.

Grand Opening November 4th!

InterContinental Montelucia Resort & Spa

Paradise Valley, Arizona

René van Camp Takes New IHG PositionCorporate Food & Beverage Director René van Camp has been promoted to Food & Beverage Director for the InterContinental Shanghai Pudong, China.

“Over the past few years, René’s contributions to the company have greatly enhanced the World Class Beverage Program,” said Jean-Pierre Etcheberrigaray, Vice President of Food & Beverage. “His work has been instrumental in IHG’s winning two highly coveted Cheers Beverage Excellence Awards, which are the adult beverage industry’s highest honors for beverage program operators. We wish him much success in his new role.”

René’s last day in his current position will be November 25th. After that date, World Class Beverage Program questions should be directed to Laura Hammer, Office Manager, at 770-604-8283, or laurahammer@ihg.com.