MEDIA CENTRE - Events

IHG UK&I investor Day, London (06.26)

Philip attended IHG’s UK&I Investor Day at the beautiful Kimpton Fitzroy London and brought back the following take-away nuggets.

• By end 2026, IHG should have around 1,000 hotels in Europe, of which 400+ in the UK alone (IHG’s 3rd largest market worldwide).
• At the time, most expansion was via conversions and not via new build.
• In the UK, IHG had the second highest room count (behind only Whitbread) and in the expansion arena, 1-in-3 rooms among the Big 6 brand-operators was signed by IHG in 2025. [Note: interesting that IHG count the following as their Big 6: Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, Marriott, RHG, Wyndham. Accor’s exclusion is notable!]
• IHG’s most popular brands are the conversion brands voco and Garner. New brands are helping growth, namely Ruby and Noted.
• 25% of Rooms Revenue at IHG-branded hotels was generated via IHG systems directly.
• Hotel industry (unlike retail and office) enjoyed strong tailwinds – during the period 2000-2025, GDP grew by 2.5% per annum v hotel industry revenue growth of 4.4% per annum.
• In the UK, IHG manage 1/3 of their properties and franchise the rest.
• AI was a recuring topic and IHG deploying in (1) guest acquisition, (2) commercial optimisation and (3) cost efficiency.
• On a less cheery note, the era of cheap is over: labour, capital and energy are all becoming more expensive and no relief in sight.
• Investors like hotels as they can provide an ‘inflation hedge’ (can change pricing hourly) whereas by comparison there is no such flexibility in a long-term fixed lease. [Note: the issue of higher prices suppressing demand was not explored and recent GOPPAR data in constant values (ie inflation-stripped) may suggest otherwise.]
• Currently, investors are getting similar returns by providing debt as compared to investing (and with less risk). High interest rates and greater economic uncertainties are thus fuelling more credit deals.
• Equity needs to be more creative in order to close a deal. Creative capital ideas included (1) deferred payments and (2) future payments based on performance hurdles achieved.
• 20% IRR is a good exit, thus selling well and quickly are key.
• Latest tech news: TikTok Go launched in May 2026 for hotel bookings; AI bots will soon monitor your booking for you (including cancelling and rebooking if price becomes cheaper). [Note: this could make life a lot tougher for yield managers when trying to sell those last few rooms.]
• Term of the day: VUCA = Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity. [Note: no wonder business is so tough these days.]

• Key Question #1: Is it best to close or to stay open during major capex expenditure? A – must be considered on a case-by-case basis; new development is very tough; best to keep open if possible.

• Key Question #2: Is it best to sub-let or self-operate F&B in a hotel? A – most panelists preferred to self- operate; if in a top location with high rents possible, then maybe sub-let; essential that the hotel can control the client-critical breakfast experience.

Many thanks to Matt and the IHG team for hosting such a wonderful event again and looking forward to #4 in 2027.