InterContinental Hotels Group

Infobox Company
company_name = InterContinental Hotels Group
company_
company_type = Public (lse|IHG nyse|IHG)
foundation = 15 April 2003
Origins trace back to 1777
location = Windsor, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom
key_people = David Webster, Chairman
Andrew Cosslett, Chief Executive
industry = Travel & Leisure (Hotels)
products = Brands include:
InterContinental
Crowne Plaza
Hotel Indigo
Staybridge Suites
Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn Express
Candlewood Suites
revenue = £883m GBP (2007)
operating_income = £267m GBP (2007)
net_income = £231m GBP (2007)
num_employees =
parent =
subsid =
homepage = [http://www.ihgplc.com/ Corporate website]
footnotes =

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (IHG) (lse|IHG nyse|IHG) is a multinational company which operates several hotel brands. It is the largest hotel company by number of rooms (556,000 as of March 2007 [cite web |url= http://www.ihgplc.com/aboutus/whatwedo.asp |title=Our brands |publisher=InterContinental Hotels Group |accessdate=2008-03-26] ), and is headquartered in Windsor just outside Greater London. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

History

InterContinental Hotels Group can be traced back to 1777 when William Bass began a brewery in Burton-upon-Trent. [http://www.ihgplc.com/index.asp?pageid=326 Intercontinental Hotels History] ] In 1876, their red triangle trademark was the first registered in the United Kingdom.

In 1989, the British Government limited the number of pubs brewers could directly own, so Bass began to grow their small line of hotels. In 1990, they purchased Holiday Inn International from Kemmons Wilson, expanding themselves into North America. In March 1998, they acquired the InterContinental brand, expanding into the luxury market.

In 2000, the company sold its brewing assets (and the rights to the Bass name) to the major Belgian brewer Interbrew for £2.3 billion and changed its name to Six Continents PLC. IHG was created in 2003 after Six Continents PLC split into two daughter companies: Mitchells and Butlers PLC, to handle restaurant assets [ [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4159/is_20030209/ai_n12734714 Henry Mitchell and William Butler] ] and IHG to focus on hotels and soft drinks. Britvic, the company's soft drinks division, was retained by IHG until December 2005, when IHG sold its interest in the company by an initial public offering. [ [http://www.moneyweek.com/file/5319/britvic-0912.html Britvic IPO set at 230p a share] ]

Operations

IHG is primarily engaged in managing hotels owned by other parties and in franchising its hotel brands. That is, it sells its expertise in hotel management, systems, and marketing, while leaving investment in real property, which is far more capital intensive, requires different skills, and has a different risk profile, primarily to its partners. This is not an unusual arrangement in the hotel industry. As of 2007 it franchises over 3,200 hotels, manages over 510 and owns only 18. [cite web |url=http://www.ihgplc.com/index.asp?pageid=18 |title=How our business works |publisher=InterContinental Hotels Group |accessdate=2008-03-26] The owned hotels do however include many of the key properties of company's flagship InterContinental brand.

IHG currently operates and/or franchises hotels in the following countries: columns
col1 =
Andorra

Argentina

Aruba

Australia

Austria

Azerbaijan

Bahrain

Belarus

Belgium

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Brazil

Bulgaria

Cambodia

Canada

Chile

China

Colombia

Costa Rica

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Dominican Republic

Egypt

El Salvador

England

Eritrea

col2=
Fiji

Finland

France

French Polynesia

Germany

Ghana

Greece

Guatamala

Honduras

Hungary

India

Indonesia

Ireland

Israel

Italy

Jamaica

Japan

Jordan

Kazakhstan

Kenya

Korea, Republic of

Kuwait

Lebanon

Lithuania

Macedonia

col3=
Malaysia

Malta

Mexico

Nepal

Netherlands

New Zealand

Nicaragua

Oman

Pakistan

Palestinian National Authority

Panama

Papua New Guinea

Paraguay

Peru

Philippines

Poland

Portugal

Puerto Rico

Qatar

Romania

Russia

Saudi Arabia

Scotland

Serbia

Singapore

col4=
Slovakia

South Africa

Spain

Sri Lanka

Sweden

Switzerland

Taiwan

Thailand

Trinidad & Tobago

Turkey

United Arab Emirates

United Kingdom

United States of America

Uruguay

US Virgin Islands

Uzbekistan

Venezuela

Vietnam

Wales

Yemen

Zambia

Zimbabwe

InterContinental brands

*InterContinental
*Crowne Plaza
*Hotel Indigo
*Staybridge Suites
*Holiday InnHoliday Inn is the No. 2 hotel brand in the world, by number of rooms.http://www.hotelsmag.com/contents/pdf/htl0807BrandsTable.pdf]

**Holiday Inn Select
**Holiday Inn SunSpree Resorts
**Holiday Inn Resorts
**Nickelodeon Family Suites by Holiday Inn
**Holiday Inn Express (known as "Express by Holiday Inn" outside North America)
*Candlewood Suites

Priority Club Rewards

The InterContinental Hotels brands have a loyalty program for frequent guests, "Priority Club Rewards". The program was named after the Holiday Inn reward program. Points are earned for every dollar spent on eligible hotel stays, and can be redeemed for future hotel stays, converted to frequent flyer miles on partner airlines or traded for gifts such as shopping vouchers.

Notable properties

*The Crowne Plaza Liverpool John Lennon Airport is the former terminal building of Liverpool Speke Airport, constructed in the 1930s and used until 1986. Its notable art deco features led to its listing as a heritage building, and subsequent adaption as a hotel.

References

External links

* [http://www.ihgplc.com/ Corporate website]
* [http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/ Customer website]
* [http://www.ihgplc.com/aboutus/history.asp IHG corporate history]
* [http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=IHG.L Yahoo profile]
* [http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/pc/1/en/home Priority Club Rewards]
* [http://www.cosmopolis.ch/travel/history_intercontinental_hotels_group.htm A history of the Intercontinental Hotels Group by cosmopolis.ch]