InterContinental Hotels Group

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InterContinental Hotels Group
Type Public (LSE: IHG NYSEIHG)
Founded 15 April 2003
Origins trace back to 1777
Headquarters Windsor, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom
Key people David Webster, Chairman
Andrew Cosslett, Chief Executive RIchard Hartman, EMEA
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)
Website Corporate website

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (IHG) (LSE: IHG NYSEIHG) 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[1]), 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.

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[edit] Business model

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.[2] The owned hotels do however include many of the key properties of company's flagship InterContinental brand.

[edit] History

InterContinental Hotels Group can be traced back to 1777 when William Bass began a brewery in Burton-upon-Trent. 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 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.

[edit] InterContinental brands

Brands of IHG
Brands of IHG
An Uptown Houston Hotel Indigo.
An Uptown Houston Hotel Indigo.


[edit] References

  1. ^ Our brands. InterContinental Hotels Group. Retrieved on 2008-03-26.
  2. ^ How our business works. InterContinental Hotels Group. Retrieved on 2008-03-26.

[edit] External links