IHG CEO Keith Barr to Leave Legacy of Expanding Hotel Group's Competitiveness

Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express brands, together making up nearly 70% of InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG)’s portfolio in India, are going to remain the “driver of growth” in the market, said the company’s South West Asia Managing Director, Sudeep Jain.

EasyHotel has always been the success story of tomorrow. That’s been true since EasyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou invented the budget hotel chain in 2004.

Earnings seasons for the hotel sector is nearly over, and one striking aspect of executive comments on calls with investors was the resilience of development pipelines for hotels belonging to brands run by global groups. For new construction, conversions, and franchise signings, hotel companies painted an optimistic picture.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Tuesday, November 22. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) said on Monday that it had added Iberostar Hotels & Resorts as a new brand through a 30-year licensing deal that lets IHG market the all-inclusive hotels and resorts. “Up to 70 hotels,” equal to about 24,300 rooms, will become bookable through IHG’s website and app under the Iberostar Beachfront Resorts brand — the 18th IHG brand.

A pent-up surge in consumer demand for travel gave many hotel companies pricing power in 2022. But hoteliers charged the highest rates the market could support for more than just one-off circumstantial reasons. A critical ingredient in the formula was that hoteliers developed a newfound pricing discipline during the pandemic recovery — even when business travel was historically weak and international tourism was slow to recover in many markets.

The top boss of Marriott International used an on-stage interview on Thursday as a platform to call on the U.S. federal government to do more to cut the wait times for interviews for first-time visitor visa applicants, which he said was leading to lost revenue because of reduced U.S. inbound tourism.

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Hyatt Hotels Corp., which enjoyed a blockbuster financial performance in 2022, forecasted Thursday continued success this year, especially in the first half. The company expects to benefit from growing consumer interest in its lifestyle, luxury, and resort properties, returning group reservations for its banquet halls, and an expanding room count.

For InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), soaring hotel rates owing to a post-pandemic surge in pent-up demand for travel have been a boon after the pandemic bludgeoned the travel sector. But IHG Hotels & Resorts said its pricing power would last beyond the present moment thanks partly to its investments in digital technology. The company also anticipated future growth as China, the world’s second-largest economy, reopens.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, February 22. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Tuesday, February 28. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.