IHG Hotels & Resorts (IHG) marked the start of the annual HUNTER Hotel Investment Conference by underlining its leadership in the midscale segment. IHG’s development follows a year that saw more than 150 openings and more than 300 signings worldwide for its midscale brands and reflects a commitment to expansion, expertise, and brand and enterprise investments.
IHG’s continued midscale brand growth stems from increased interest among owners and guests in a segment STR forecasts will grow in revenue from $14 billion to $18 billion by 2030 in the United States alone. The 2023 introduction of conversion brand Garner hotels builds on a midscale segment portfolio that now spans six brands and more than 4,400 open or in pipeline hotels in the Americas alone. This includes essentials and all-suites brands—Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, and Candlewood Suites—and newer brands—avid hotels and Atwell Suites.
Jolyon Bulley, CEO—Americas, IHG Hotels & Resorts, said, “As the midscale space becomes more attractive and competitive, we continue to leverage guest and owner feedback to grow and evolve our brands. Our six midscale brands have grown to represent more than 80 percent of our system size in the Americas by remaining resilient and agile. With nearly 800 additional properties in the regional pipeline supported by IHG’s robust enterprise capabilities, we look forward to extending our reach across new markets and generations of travelers.”
Backed by nearly seven decades of segment expertise, IHG’s midscale brands emphasize several core principles—experiences at affordable price points, an emphasis on what guests want most, smart designs, and clear brand identities.
- Holiday Inn saw the introduction of a new breakfast program and the debut of the H5 prototype design near Chicago’s O’Hare Airport (a dual-brand with Staybridge Suites) in 2023. The brand’s roster of more than 750 open or in pipeline Americas hotels includes recent openings in Dallas, Texas; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Jalisco, Mexico; and on Canada’s Vancouver Island.
- IHG’s largest global brand and one responsible for nearly half of its overall hotel portfolio, Holiday Inn Express has extended its “simple, smart travel” premise to more than 50 countries. The Americas region has more than half of the brand’s 2023 global signings, with exciting regional openings in major U.S. cities such as Dallas, Atlanta, Austin, San Antonio, Phoenix, and Tampa.
- Considered IHG’s next “emerging brand of scale,” avid hotels celebrated the fifth anniversary of its first opening in September 2023 by making its New York City debut. Rooted in “the basics done exceptionally well,” the primarily new-build brand is on pace to triple its Americas estate in the coming years with the planned addition of more than 140 properties across the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Notable 2023 openings include fellow market debuts in Tulsa, Oklahoma; Fort Worth and Austin, Texas; and Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
- Garner hotels opened its first three U.S. properties in suburban Seattle, Washington; Macon, Georgia; and Quail Springs, Oklahoma within five months of its official introduction. Seven additional signings further its goal to have more than 500 open U.S. hotels during the next decade. Its initial openings have inspired global expansion, with franchising now available in Mexico and scheduled to follow in Canada in early 2024. Plans to expand across the EMEAA region (Europe, Middle East, Asia, and Africa) also are underway, with a recent LOI signing in Japan to convert three hotels to Garner in Osaka.
- Known for its “approachable design, unmatched comfort, and home-like amenities,” Candlewood Suites built upon its roster of more than 520 open or in pipeline Americas hotels with 49 new signings in 2023—the second most in the region for any IHG brand. Highlights from 2023 included new openings in Salt Lake City, Utah; suburban Atlanta, Georgia; and Houston and Irving, Texas.
- Upper-midscale all-studio suite brand Atwell Suites capitalized on momentum from its 2022 debut with 16 new Americas signings last year, bringing its regional pipeline to 41 hotels. A third U.S. hotel opening in Austin earlier this month joins its inaugural openings in Miami and Denver, with additional openings forthcoming following a host of recent groundbreakings—including in Las Vegas and Henderson, Nevada and Fort Worth, Texas.
