The origins of the business may be traced to 1777 when William Bass established the Bass BreweryinBurton-upon-Trent.[6] The company later changed its name to Bass Charrington. Its first entry into the lodging sector came with acquisition of tied public houses. In 1969, it launched the Crest Hotels chain.[7]
In 1988, after the British government limited the number of pubs that brewers could directly own, Bass further invested in the expansion of its hotel business with the purchase of Holiday Inn International from shareholders.[6] Bass sold off the bulk of Crest Hotels in 1990, and the few remaining properties were absorbed into the Holiday Inn chain.[8][9] Bass expanded its hotel business again in 1998, acquiring the luxury Inter-Continental hotel chain, which had been founded by Juan Trippe, from the Saison Group.[10] The hotel division was then renamed from Holiday Hospitality to Bass Hotels & Resorts, to reflect its expansion beyond the Holiday Inn brand.[11]
Bass changed its name to Six Continents in 2001, after having sold its brewing assets and the Bass name, and Bass Hotels & Resorts became Six Continents Hotels.[12]
Six Continents announced in October 2002 that it would split itself in two, with one company holding its pubs and restaurants, and the other holding its hotel and soft drink businesses.[13] The split was completed on 15 April 2003, establishing InterContinental Hotels Group as an independent company, alongside the pub company, Mitchells & Butlers.[14] IHG's hotel portfolio at the time comprised 3,325 properties, primarily under the Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, and InterContinental brands.[15] Of those, 190 were owned or leased by the company, with the remainder under management or franchise agreements.[16]
After the separation from Six Continents, IHG began an asset disposal program, selling off hotels to move towards an "asset-light" model focused on franchising and management.[17] From 2003 to 2015, the company sold around 200 hotels for a total of almost $8 billion,[18][19] leaving only 7 owned or leased properties in the portfolio.[20]
In 2015, IHG acquired Kimpton Hotels, a boutique hotel brand with 62 managed properties, for $430 million.[25][26] In February 2021, IHG announced an annual loss of $153 million caused by restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the company expected that the Holiday Inn Express brand would help in the recovery process.[27]
In 2024, IHG signed an expansive cooperation and franchise agreement with German hotel operator Novum Hospitality, rebranding and partially refurbishing all of their current properties (namely the niu, Yggotel, Novum Hotels, Select Hotels and acora living the city) into IHG brands Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Candlewood Suites and Garner in the upcoming years. This will increase IHG's portfolio in Germany by over 100 hotels.[28]
In July 2012, the Office of Fair Trading alleged that IHG had broken competition law by preventing online travel agents from discounting the price of room-only hotel accommodations. In February 2014, IHG agreed to end the practice of price fixing.[34]
In May 2012, the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) warned IHG that it must include VAT in its advertised prices. In August 2012, a report by Which? magazine showed that IHG was continuing to violate VAT rules.[35]
In 2012, IHG claimed more than 5,400 hotels, with 4,433 operated under franchise agreements, 907 managed by the company but separately owned and eight directly owned.[40] As of 31 March 2019, IHG has 842,759 guest rooms and 5,656 hotels across nearly 100 countries.[41]
^"Denham Location Map"(PDF). InterContinental Hotels Group. Archived from the original(PDF) on 9 August 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2014. IHG, Broadwater Park North Orbital Road, Denham, Buckinghamshire UB9 5HR
US$4,624 million (2023)[2]
Media related to InterContinental Hotels Group at Wikimedia Commons
Hotels
South East England
