Holiday Inn is to undergo a $1bn (£488m) makeover, in one of the biggest corporate relaunches ever. Financial Times

The three-year programme will generate growth in revenue per available room of 3-7%, taking advantage of a gap between Holiday Inn and more upmarket brands, according to Inter-Continental Hotels Group, its parent.

The programme includes new signage, lobby upgrades and new service standards.

IHG expects about 20,000 rooms a year to be removed from the Holiday Inn estate over the next couple of years, giving a total of 140,000 between 2003 and 2010 – a third of the current portfolio.

Holiday Inn, Express by Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express, which have more than 400,000 rooms in 3,125 hotels, have in development a further 110,000 rooms in 942 hotels.

More than 700 new Holiday Inns have opened in the past three years and the rebranding – the first for Holiday Inn since it was established in 1952 – is expected to move at a rate of 150 hotels a month until the end of 2010.