InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) and Ishraq Gulf Real Estate Holding Co. will further strengthen the Holiday Inn Express brand in the Gulf in 2009 with two new properties in the UAE and Bahrain. Due to open in the summer in Dubai's Al Garhoud district, Holiday Inn Express Dubai Airport will offer 381 rooms. It will be the fourth Holiday Inn Express in the Emirate. Holiday Inn Express Manama will be the brand's first venture in the Middle East outside Dubai.