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Unlike some of its peers, IHG isn't quite as interested in acquiring new brands as it is in further developing the brands and properties it already has, as well as improving overall growth and quality for the long run.
At a time when other global hotel companies are adding new brands (like Hilton) or contending with a portfolio of 30 brands (like Marriott), InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) is focused on working with the brands it already has, as well as making sure the consistency and quality of all its hotels are up to par.
During the company's fourth quarter 2016 earnings calls on February 21, CEO Richard Solomons noted that although the company's unit growth may be a bit lower than its peers, that's primarily because the company is cleaning up its portfolio of properties, especially in the Americas, removing hotels that don't meet its brand standards.
IHG CEO Richard Solomons is speaking at the upcoming Skift Forum Europe. Get Your Tickets Now
Year-over-year net room growth, compared to 2015, was 1.8 percent in the Americas; 3.1 percent in Europe; 4.8 percent in Asia, Middle East, and Africa; and 8.8 percent in Greater China. Global net room growth for IHG was 3.1 percent. Global net room growth for Hilton year-over year, by comparison, was 6.6 percent.
"Our unit growth has been lower than Hilton or Marriott," Solomons acknowledged, "but we're ahead of a lot of other people." Removals he said, primarily in the Americas, are why the net room growth was lower, and maintaining the quality of IHG's 12 brands is a careful "balance" but one the company is "comfortable with."
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