IHG Bets on Ultra-Luxury Even in This Economy by Expanding Regent Hotels
Photo Credit: IHG is sticking by plans to nearly double its seven-hotel Regent (pictured: a Regent guest room) brand portfolio in the next three years. IHG
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IHG's commitment to expand the Regent brand to as many as 50 properties globally signals that the ultra-luxury sector, despite a catastrophic loss of business during the pandemic, is still seen as a durable place to invest.
While coronavirus is expected to deliver the worst performance year on record for the hotel industry, the economy sector’s brands have generally performed well through the crisis and even attracted major investors due to the market segment’s resiliency.
But not all is quiet on the ultra-luxury front.
IHG is pushing ahead with plans to expand the Regent hotel brand, of which it took a 51 percent stake in 2018, across the world as its ultra-luxury brand above its eponymous InterContinental flag. Following the opening of the Regent Shanghai Pudong earlier this year, the company remains committed to its goal of growing the brand from a small, seven-property portfolio in Asia and Europe into a greater, global footprint — even amid a global pandemic.
“Our goal with Regent is not to have it be the biggest hotel brand in the world. We have always said 40, maybe 50, hotels,” said Jane Mackie, senior vice president of global marketing of luxury brands at IHG. “We still have
