Riding with style and sustainability … at voco hotels!

Jan 21, 2024

News releases

08 July 2022

An ordinary bike ride with extraordinary impact.

Guests staying at any one of the five voco hotels across Australia and New Zealand now have complimentary use of Wyld Bikes – hand-crafted bicycles made from bamboo – one of the most sustainable materials on the planet.

"We are hugely proud to be partnering with Wyld Bikes, who share our mission to create a positive impact in working toward a more sustainable future," says Dean Jones, vice president of commercial, IHG Australasia, Pacific & Japan.

With both companies sharing a ‘tread lightly’ philosophy, voco is proudly the first accommodation partner of Wyld Bikes. Guests can explore the local communities at voco destinations from the vineyards of the Hunter Valley to the sunny Gold Coast, Brisbane, and the lanes of Melbourne and Auckland.

The Wyld Bike journey starts in Ghana, part of the Ghana Bamboo Bike Initiative, which designs and builds bamboo bicycles and empowers the local community by generating employment, training, and opportunity. The bike parts then arrive in Australia, where young Australians, through project-based mentorship programs, assemble the bikes and components to make them ready for use. ‘

"Increasingly, people are leaning into this movement towards supporting responsible, ethical, and sustainable businesses that influence positive change," says Natalie Simmons, co-founder and chief operating officer at Barefoot Citizens, the visionary group behind Wyld Bikes.

The Wyld Bikes "Tread Lightly. Doing Good for People & Planet" philosophy marries perfectly with IHG Hotels & Resorts’ promise of delivering True Hospitality for Good and our Journey to Tomorrow commitments.

"The voco brand has carved its niche in the market, and supporting local communities and ecosystems sits at the heart of everything we do," says Jones.

In addition to these epic, sustainable rides, voco hotels also worked with Laura Wells, Australian environmentalist, and model, to create a "Tread Lightly" guide with tips for eco-conscious travel. Along with the bikes, the guides are also available for guests at voco hotels.

"With travel high on the agenda again, people are genuinely more conscious of their footprint and impact on the planet and communities. And after the past two years of border closures, we got very good at discovering the gems at our doorstep – especially when it came to supporting local businesses, exploring local parks, lesser-known beaches, or connecting with the communities around us," says Jones

"The Wyld Bikes are bringing back the joy in a new way while also helping us travel responsibly … plus they’re refreshingly comfortable for those of us who haven't been on a bike for some time!"

To learn more about voco hotels and to book your stay, please click here.

IHG Hotels & Resorts [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global hospitality company, with a purpose to provide True Hospitality for Good.

With a family of 17 hotel brands and IHG One Rewards, one of the world's largest hotel loyalty programmes, IHG has over 6,000 open hotels in over 100 countries, and more than 1,800 in the development pipeline.

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