InterContinental Hotels Group
Encyclopedia
InterContinental Hotels Group plc (informally InterContinental Hotels or IHG) is a global hotel
s company headquartered in Denham
, United Kingdom
. It is the largest hotels company in the world measured by rooms (with 646,000 as of January 2010), and has over 4,500 hotels across over 100 countries. Its brands include Crowne Plaza
, Holiday Inn
, InterContinental
and Staybridge Suites
. Approximately 3,800 of its hotels operate under franchise agreements, 639 are managed by the company but separately owned and 16 are directly owned.
InterContinental Hotels has its primary listing on the London Stock Exchange
and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index
. It has a secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange
.
established the Bass Brewery in Burton-upon-Trent. In 1876, its red triangle trademark was the first registered in the United Kingdom.
In 1989, the British Government limited the number of pubs which brewers could directly own, resulting in Bass investing in the expansion of its small line of hotels. In 1990, it purchased Holiday Inn
International from Kemmons Wilson
and expanded into North America.
established the InterContinental
brand as a division of PanAm and opened the first hotel in Belém
, Brazil in 1946. In 1981, holding company InterContinental Hotels Corporation was sold to UK-based company Grand Metropolitan
. As GrandMet focused it core business and expanded into fast food through the purchase of Burger King
, it sold ICH to Japanese based Saison Group in 1988.
for £2.3 billion and changed its name to Six Continents
.
IHG was created in 2003 after Six Continents split into two companies: Mitchells & Butlers
took control of the restaurant assets and IHG focused on hotels and soft drinks. IHG retained Britvic
, the soft drinks division, until December 2005 when it sold its interest in the company by an initial public offering
.
its hotel brands. That is, it sells its expertise in hotel management, systems, and marketing, while leaving investment in real property, which is far more capital intensive, requires different skills, and has a different risk profile, primarily to its partners. This is not an unusual arrangement in the hotel industry. The 16 corporately-owned hotels include many key properties of company's flagship InterContinental brand.
IHG currently operates and/or franchises hotels in the following countries:
, constructed in the 1930s and used until 1986. Its notable art deco
features led to its listing as a heritage building, and subsequent adaption as a hotel.
InterContinental London Park Lane Hotel is the only InterContinental branded hotel in the United Kingdom and one of only 5 hotels owned by IHG.
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
s company headquartered in Denham
Denham, Buckinghamshire
Denham is a village and civil parish in the South Buckinghamshire district of Buckinghamshire, England. It is north west of Uxbridge and north of junction 1 of the M40 motorway. Denham contains the Buckinghamshire Golf Club.-Origin:...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It is the largest hotels company in the world measured by rooms (with 646,000 as of January 2010), and has over 4,500 hotels across over 100 countries. Its brands include Crowne Plaza
Crowne Plaza
Crowne Plaza is a chain of full service, upscale hotels catering to business travelers and to the meetings and conventions market. It forms part of the InterContinental Hotels Group family of brands, which include InterContinental and Holiday Inn and operates in 52 countries, usually located in...
, Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn is a brand of hotels, formally a economy motel chain, forming part of the British InterContinental Hotels Group . It is one of the world's largest hotel chains with 238,440 bedrooms and 1,301 hotels globally. There are currently 5 hotels in the pipeline...
, InterContinental
InterContinental
InterContinental is a brand of upscale luxury hotels, founded by Pan American World Airways, under Juan Trippe, and now owned by InterContinental Hotels Group. The chain operates over 200 hotels and resorts in approximately 75 nations.-History:...
and Staybridge Suites
Staybridge Suites
Staybridge Suites is an all-suite, residential-style brand of hotels within the InterContinental Hotels Group . The brand targets extended-stay and corporate travelers. There are more than 180 Staybridge Suites hotels open in the United States, Britain, Canada, Mexico and Latin America...
. Approximately 3,800 of its hotels operate under franchise agreements, 639 are managed by the company but separately owned and 16 are directly owned.
InterContinental Hotels has its primary listing on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index
FTSE 100 Index
The FTSE 100 Index, also called FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the footsie , is a share index of the 100 most highly capitalised UK companies listed on the London Stock Exchange....
. It has a secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
.
Bass Hotels
The origins of InterContinental Hotels Group can be traced back to 1777, when William BassWilliam Bass (brewer)
-Career:William Bass was the son of William Bass and his wife Hannah Fish. He had a carrier business with his brother John at Hinckley, Leicestershire...
established the Bass Brewery in Burton-upon-Trent. In 1876, its red triangle trademark was the first registered in the United Kingdom.
In 1989, the British Government limited the number of pubs which brewers could directly own, resulting in Bass investing in the expansion of its small line of hotels. In 1990, it purchased Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn is a brand of hotels, formally a economy motel chain, forming part of the British InterContinental Hotels Group . It is one of the world's largest hotel chains with 238,440 bedrooms and 1,301 hotels globally. There are currently 5 hotels in the pipeline...
International from Kemmons Wilson
Kemmons Wilson
Charles Kemmons Wilson was the founder of the Holiday Inn chain of hotels.-Personal life:He was born in Osceola, Arkansas, the only child of Kemmons and Ruby "Doll" Wilson. His father was an insurance salesman who died when Kemmons was nine months old...
and expanded into North America.
InterContinental
Pan American Airways founder Juan TrippeJuan Trippe
Juan Terry Trippe was an American airline entrepreneur and pioneer, and the founder of Pan American World Airways, one of the world's most prominent airlines of the twentieth century.-Early years:...
established the InterContinental
InterContinental
InterContinental is a brand of upscale luxury hotels, founded by Pan American World Airways, under Juan Trippe, and now owned by InterContinental Hotels Group. The chain operates over 200 hotels and resorts in approximately 75 nations.-History:...
brand as a division of PanAm and opened the first hotel in Belém
Belém
Belém is a Brazilian city, the capital and largest city of state of Pará, in the country's north region. It is the entrance gate to the Amazon with a busy port, airport and bus/coach station...
, Brazil in 1946. In 1981, holding company InterContinental Hotels Corporation was sold to UK-based company Grand Metropolitan
Grand Metropolitan
Grand Metropolitan plc is a former United Kingdom-based company operating hotels, holiday centres, entertainment centres, public houses and casinos...
. As GrandMet focused it core business and expanded into fast food through the purchase of Burger King
Burger King
Burger King, often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The company began in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida-based restaurant chain...
, it sold ICH to Japanese based Saison Group in 1988.
ICH merger formation
In March 1998, Saison Group sold IHC to Bass. In 2000, Bass sold its brewing assets (and the rights to the Bass name) to the major Belgian brewer InterbrewInterbrew
Interbrew was a large Belgium-based brewing company which owned many internationally known beers, as well as some smaller local beers. In 2004 Interbrew merged with Brazilian brewer AmBev to form InBev, which is the now largest brewer in the world by volume, with a 13% global market share now...
for £2.3 billion and changed its name to Six Continents
Six Continents
Six Continents was a large British-based retail business which was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.-History:...
.
IHG was created in 2003 after Six Continents split into two companies: Mitchells & Butlers
Mitchells & Butlers
Mitchells & Butlers plc runs around 2,000 managed pubs, bars and restaurants throughout the United Kingdom. The Company's headquarters is in Birmingham, England, United Kingdom...
took control of the restaurant assets and IHG focused on hotels and soft drinks. IHG retained Britvic
Britvic
Britvic plc is a British producer of soft drinks. It is the number two soft drinks producer in the UK. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index...
, the soft drinks division, until December 2005 when it sold its interest in the company by an initial public offering
Initial public offering
An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...
.
Operations
IHG is primarily engaged in managing hotels owned by other parties and in franchisingFranchising
Franchising is the practice of using another firm's successful business model. The word 'franchise' is of anglo-French derivation - from franc- meaning free, and is used both as a noun and as a verb....
its hotel brands. That is, it sells its expertise in hotel management, systems, and marketing, while leaving investment in real property, which is far more capital intensive, requires different skills, and has a different risk profile, primarily to its partners. This is not an unusual arrangement in the hotel industry. The 16 corporately-owned hotels include many key properties of company's flagship InterContinental brand.
IHG currently operates and/or franchises hotels in the following countries:
InterContinental brands
- InterContinentalInterContinentalInterContinental is a brand of upscale luxury hotels, founded by Pan American World Airways, under Juan Trippe, and now owned by InterContinental Hotels Group. The chain operates over 200 hotels and resorts in approximately 75 nations.-History:...
- Crowne PlazaCrowne PlazaCrowne Plaza is a chain of full service, upscale hotels catering to business travelers and to the meetings and conventions market. It forms part of the InterContinental Hotels Group family of brands, which include InterContinental and Holiday Inn and operates in 52 countries, usually located in...
- Hotel IndigoHotel IndigoHotel Indigo is a chain of boutique hotels, part of the InterContinental Hotels Group. It is promoted as being "the industry’s first branded boutique hotel experience." The concept includes a retail-inspired design concept with changes throughout the year. Guestrooms feature murals, area rugs,...
- Staybridge SuitesStaybridge SuitesStaybridge Suites is an all-suite, residential-style brand of hotels within the InterContinental Hotels Group . The brand targets extended-stay and corporate travelers. There are more than 180 Staybridge Suites hotels open in the United States, Britain, Canada, Mexico and Latin America...
- Holiday InnHoliday InnHoliday Inn is a brand of hotels, formally a economy motel chain, forming part of the British InterContinental Hotels Group . It is one of the world's largest hotel chains with 238,440 bedrooms and 1,301 hotels globally. There are currently 5 hotels in the pipeline...
—the No. 2 hotel brand in the world by number of rooms- Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts
- Holiday Inn Club Vacations
- Holiday Inn ExpressHoliday Inn ExpressHoliday Inn Express is a mid-priced hotel chain within the InterContinental Hotels Group family of brands. As an "express" hotel, their focus is on offering limited services and a reasonable price. Standard amenities lean toward the convenient and practical which cater to business travelers and...
(known as Express by Holiday Inn in Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and South America - Candlewood SuitesCandlewood SuitesCandlewood Suites is a brand name applied to hotels within the InterContinental Hotels Group .- History :The Candlewood Suites chain was started in 1995 by Jack Deboer, founder of the Residence Inn and co-founder of the Summerfield Suites chain. The first hotel was built on North Webb Road in...
Priority Club Rewards
Priority Club Rewards is IHG's worldwide loyalty program. With 60 million global members, Priority Club is the largest loyalty program in the hotel industry.Notable properties
The Crowne Plaza Liverpool John Lennon Airport is the former terminal building of Liverpool Speke AirportLiverpool John Lennon Airport
Liverpool John Lennon Airport is an international airport serving the city of Liverpool and the North West of England. Formerly known as Speke Airport, RAF Speke, and Liverpool Airport the airport is located within the City of Liverpool adjacent to the estuary of the River Mersey some southeast...
, constructed in the 1930s and used until 1986. Its notable art deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
features led to its listing as a heritage building, and subsequent adaption as a hotel.
InterContinental London Park Lane Hotel is the only InterContinental branded hotel in the United Kingdom and one of only 5 hotels owned by IHG.