The IHG Rewards Club will partner the Mahindra Formula E racing team, in a move that will be officially announced on the day of the Miami race.

The IHG group, which includes the Intercontinental and Holiday Inn chains, checks in more than 150 million guests annually. Its loyalty programme awards customers points based on stays at more than 4,600 hotels worldwide. Accrued points can be “spent” on hotel rooms, flights, books and games, shopping and more.

The partnership with Mahindra will offer members of the rewards scheme access to the team and drivers, while the team will be able to make use of the hospitality group’s extraordinary range of worldwide facilities.

Looking beyond the mechanics of the deal, it is clear that Formula E is fast becoming a target for media-savvy investors who understand that the sport’s focus on social media and young audiences will pay dividends in the coming years. The partnership is also particularly well timed for IHG: Mahindra is among the eight new manufacturers for season two, which means there will be a lot of focus on its new powertrain in the coming months, yielding significant exposure for the brand and its partners (even without taking into account the continuing on-track action).

The partnership will be officially launched at the inaugural Miami Formula ePrix on March 14th 2015, where IHG Rewards Club branding will be unveiled in the Mahindra Racing Formula E garage and on the cars raced by Bruno Senna and Karun Chandhok. As part of the strategic partnership, IHG will also become the preferred hotel partner of Mahindra Racing Formula E Team worldwide.

The partnership will offer IHG Rewards Club’s valued members various levels of access to the Mahindra Racing Formula E Team and its drivers, both at ePrix and other exclusive member events, in some of the world’s most exciting cities from Miami to Beijing and London.

Team principal Dilbagh Gill said of the announcement: “The team will benefit from access to the most comfortable hotels and highest levels of guest service as we travel the world, which will no doubt make a real difference to our ability to perform on the track.”

IHG’s Susanna Freer Epstein said: “Through this new partnership IHG Rewards Club will offer motor racing fans opportunities that are simply not normally available.”

mahindra.fiaformulae.com