Company Profile: Intercontinental Hotel Group

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is a UK multinational hospitality company. Based on Yahoo Finance, IHG falls under the Consumer Cyclical sector and the lodging industry. IHG’s history in business, oddly enough, did not start in the hospitality business. With an eclectic back story that includes Bass brewery owner and Pan American Airways founder, it would only be fitting that they kept the same tradition. IHG owns, manages, franchises, and leases hotels in the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Greater China.

As of December 31, 2020, the company had approximately 5,964 hotels and 886,036 rooms in around 100 countries. Before 2020, the Travel & Tourism sector outpaced global economic growth for a decade. The market size, measured by revenue, of the Hotels & Motels industry, is $133.0 billion in 2021. (IBISWorld – Industry Market Research, Reports, and Statistics, 2021) Over the past five years, the sector created one in four new jobs globally, which contributed almost $9 trillion, 10%, to the world’s GDP in 2019. Global pipeline in 2020 was 272k rooms (1,815 hotels); 11% share of industry pipeline vs. 4% current market share. (IHG PLC 20F Report, 2021)

The company’s key competitors include Marriott International, Choice Hotels International, Best Western International, Hilton Hotels, and AccorHotels. In 2020 there were rumors on IHG in talks with a major competitor, AccorHotels, about a possible merger during the pandemic. Adding the pandemic caused a ripple in the hospitality/lodging industry with such a highly competitive market. The company’s key competitors include Marriott International, Choice Hotels International, Best Western International, Hilton Hotels, and AccorHotels. In 2020 there were rumors on IHG in talks with a major competitor, AccorHotels, about a possible merger during the pandemic. (IHG PLC 20F Report, 2021)

Adding the pandemic caused a ripple in the hospitality/lodging industry with such a highly competitive market. IHG operates in a highly competitive market, affecting its market share, profitability, and relationships with owners and guests. The company faces stiff competition from global hotel chains, local hotel companies, and independent hotels. It also competes with businesses, such as web-based booking channels (including online travel agents and intermediaries) and alternative accommodation sources such as short-term lets of private property. (IHG PLC 20F Report, 2021)