InterContinental brand evolution part of IHG’s broader luxury liftoff

18.10.2023 - 20:18 / thepointsguy.com / Pan Usa / Franklin D.Roosevelt

You could practically hear the gasp of "Finally!" among the hotel fan circuit this month as IHG Hotels & Resorts announced this week an "extensive global brand evolution" for its namesake InterContinental brand.

However, as folks dug into the plans for what it all meant, there wasn't much in the way of concrete plans of how the facelift might turn out at your favorite InterContinental.

Sure, there were all kinds of buzzwords and terms in the announcement: "A focus on modern luxury travelers and diversity" by offering up culturally rich experiences and "game-changing" dining and design. There will be "intentional flexibility for modern travelers" that includes "scientifically backed" dining aimed at reducing jet lag as well as the embrace of Timeshifter, a jet lag app aimed at helping guests get on a new time zone quickly. Then, there was all kinds of chatter about making lobbies, suites and just about every facet of an InterContinental the place to be for its given locale.

"This isn't a rebrand or repositioning; rather, it's a comprehensive transformation from start to finish of InterContinental, ensuring we stay at the forefront of crafting a luxury experience for the modern luxury traveler," Tom Rowntree, IHG's vice president of luxury brands, said in a statement at the time of the brand evolution launch. "Collaborating with our 215 hotels worldwide, we are committed to delivering precisely what today's and tomorrow's guests, owners and colleagues require."

However, the travel crowd (present company included) is an impatient bunch with a need for details. What kind of thread count are we going to get? Will it be Illy or Nespresso pods in the in-room coffee espresso machines? What's the bar scene going to look like? What about the InterContinental Ambassador program, too?

InterContinental's brand evolution comes several years into IHG adding many new brands to its overall portfolio, including Six Senses and Regent — acquisitions aimed at providing the company with offerings that were more luxurious than InterContinental. Don't take that as a sign that InterContinental is now a sleeper for IHG, though.

The story goes U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt encouraged Juan Trippe, president of Pan American Airways, in the 1940s to create a luxury hotel chain that would serve as a symbol around the world of American wealth and lifestyle — and deter other parts of the world, particularly Latin America at the time, from slipping into communism.

InterContinental was born from that and grew over the decades to be one of the most recognizable glitzy hotel brands out there. But InterContinental faces more competition than ever before, both from outside companies like Marriott, Hyatt and Hilton and within its own