IHG Hotels & Resorts

The story of IHG Hotels & Resorts goes as far back as 1777, when founder William Bass opened a brewery in Burton-on-Trent, UK. In 1946, American Airways co-founder Juan Trippe founded the InterContinental brand, followed by the opening of the first InterContinental Hotel in Belem, Brazil, in 1949. But it was almost 50 years later that the InterContinental brand became part of the IHG family. 

 

In 1952, the first Holiday Inn opened in Memphis, Tennessee, and by 1956, Holiday Inn was the world’s largest hotel brand, with 300,000 rooms. In 1983, the first Crowne Plaza opened in Rockville, Maryland. The company’s Priority Club Reward guest loyalty program was launched the same year. 

In 1990, the Bass company completed the purchase of the Holiday Inn brand worldwide and launched Holiday Inn Express. In subsequent years, Bass launched Staybridge Suites and purchased the InterContinental Hotels & Resorts brand.

It was not until 2003 that the IHG brand was established as a standalone company. Soon after, the company purchased Candlewood Suites and launched the lifestyle brand Hotel Indigo. In the 2010s, the company launched EVEN Hotels, a wellness brand, and purchased Kimpton Hotels & Resorts, a boutique hotel brand, among numerous other brands. 

 

From its headquarters in Windsor, England, IHG Hotels & Resorts operates 6,227 properties, more than 900,000 rooms, and 19 brands in over 100 countries. The company’s guest loyalty program rebranded IHG Rewards Club in 2013, reports over 100 million members. 

In 2022, IHG’s annual revenue was 3.89 billion USD, a 33.88% increase from 2021. As of June 30, 2023, the company had 268,228 hotel rooms in its development pipeline.