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Holiday Inn & Suites Geelong by IHG partners with Deakin University to Help Change the Future of Mental Health Research

Holiday Inn & Suites Geelong

Key Facts:

• Holiday Inn & Suites Geelong by IHG will donate $1 per guest night over three years from 1 October 2026, contributing to a PhD scholarship at Deakin University focused on schizophrenia and related mental health disorders.
• The contributions will fund the Franze Family PhD Scholarship in Mental Health Research, supporting an emerging researcher at Deakin IMPACT to identify and repurpose existing medicines as potential treatments for schizophrenia and related disorders.
• Deakin IMPACT is one of Australia's leading mental and physical health research institutes, with more than 400 researchers developing innovative diagnostics, treatments and therapies.
• Hotel General Manager Kruno Velican described the initiative as a way to extend the hotel's positive impact beyond guests' stays, noting that individual contributions of $1, multiplied across thousands of guest nights, could collectively fund meaningful research.
• The partnership forms part of Deakin University's broader Together Campaign, which connects philanthropic support with research and education designed to create meaningful community impact.

Geelong, 01 October 2026 - Every night, hundreds of people turn off the lights in hotel rooms across Geelong. For three years from 1 October 2026 every night spent at Holiday Inn & Suites Geelong by IHG will mean something more.

 

For every guest night, the hotel will contribute $1 towards a PhD scholarship at Deakin University supporting research into schizophrenia and related mental health disorders. It is a simple idea built around a powerful belief: a night away from home can help bring hope to another home. This initiative reflects our commitment to True Hospitality for Good.

 

The contributions will enable the Franze Family PhD Scholarship in Mental Health Research, supporting an emerging researcher at Deakin University’s Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation (Deakin IMPACT) to identify and repurpose potential existing medicines as treatment options for schizophrenia and related disorders. Deakin IMPACT is one of Australia’s leading institutes for mental and physical health research where a team of more than 400 researchers across science and clinical care are developing innovative diagnostics, treatments and therapies for mental, physical and chronic health conditions.

 

For Holiday Inn & Suites Geelong General Manager, Kruno Velican, the initiative represents an opportunity to turn the hotel's connection with its guests and the local community into tangible support for important research.

 

“Hotels are ultimately about people. We welcome people through our doors every day, look after them for a night or two, and hopefully make their lives just a little better while they are with us. I kept asking myself: could we make that impact last beyond their stay? This partnership is our answer. For the next three years, every room we sell will contribute to research that may one day change someone's life. One dollar isn't a lot on its own. But one dollar, multiplied by every guest, every room and every night, becomes something powerful.

 

“Schizophrenia and mental health don't affect only one person. These disorders touch families, relationships, and entire communities. Behind every diagnosis is a human being, and around that person are people who love them and hope for a better future. We cannot conduct the research. We cannot discover the treatment. But we can help someone who can.

 

“So when somebody stays with us for a wedding, a sporting event, a business trip, a family weekend or simply a night away, something small happens in the background. One dollar from that night goes towards giving a researcher the opportunity to ask another question, test another possibility and perhaps, one day, help give a family something priceless: hope.

 

“That is what True Hospitality for Good means to us. Not simply being a hotel in Geelong but asking how our hotel can make Geelong, and people's lives, better.

 

“Our hotel welcomes thousands of guests each year. Collectively, those individual stays create an opportunity for something much larger: a sustained contribution to research taking place here in Geelong. There is nothing additional for guests to pay for and nothing they need to do. They stay. The hotel gives. And together, those nights help fund hope.”

 

Deakin IMPACT’s Director, Deakin Distinguished Professor Michael Berk AO, a world-leading psychiatrist and mental health researcher who has dedicated his career to improving outcomes for people living with mental illness said:

 

“I'm deeply grateful to Holiday Inn & Suites Geelong by IHG for establishing the Franze Family – PhD Scholarship in Mental Health Research. This scholarship is an investment in the future of mental health research. It will allow an outstanding young researcher to focus on work that can change how we understand and treat mental illness, improving outcomes and quality of life for those living with mental health conditions.”

 

The partnership brings together two Geelong organisations around a shared belief that meaningful change can begin locally.

 

The initiative forms part of Deakin University's broader Together Campaign, which connects philanthropic support with research, education and initiatives designed to create meaningful impact in communities and beyond. 

For Holiday Inn & Suites Geelong, the commitment is also about redefining what it means to be part of the community.

For more on Holiday Inn & Suites Geelong, visit the hotel’s website or follow @holidayinngeelong, on Facebook and Instagram.

 

To learn more about the work of Deakin IMPACT, visit impact.deakin.edu.au.

About us:

About IHG Hotels & Resorts   

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 19 hotel brands and IHG One Rewards, one of the world's largest hotel loyalty programmes, IHG has over 6,300 open hotels in over 100 countries, and a development pipeline of over 2,000 properties..

·         Luxury & Lifestyle: Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas, Regent Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Vignette Collection, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, Hotel Indigo

·         Premium: voco hotels, HUALUXE Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, EVEN Hotels

·         Essentials: Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn Express, Garner hotels, avid hotels

·         Suites: Atwell Suites, Staybridge Suites, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Candlewood Suites

·         Exclusive Partners: Iberostar Beachfront Resorts 

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group's holding company and is incorporated and registered in England and Wales. Approximately 345,000 people work across IHG's hotels and corporate offices globally.

Visit us online for more about our hotels and reservations and IHG One Rewards. To download the new IHG One Rewards app, visit the Apple App or Google Play stores.

 

About Holiday Inn:

Whether it’s with friends, family or coworkers, Holiday Inn makes it easy for travelers to be there together for any moment, big or small. With thousands of locations around the world, Holiday Inn hotels deliver memorable experiences for business and leisure travelers through warm and welcoming service, contemporary design that blends the familiar with the new, and a sense of comfort unique to the brand and its iconic green sign. At Holiday Inn hotels, guests can find amenities to help them make connections, work and play, including full-service restaurants where Kids Eat Free, meeting and business facilities, bright swimming pools and flexible public spaces.
For more information about the Holiday Inn brand, visit www.holidayinn.com or call 1-888-HOLIDAY. Find us on Facebook or Instagram.

Contact details:

Media Contact:  

Lely Elfrida
Marketing Manager

Holiday Inn & Suites Geelong

[email protected]