While Rivals Cut Fees, IHG Takes a Different Route on Owner Economics

The major hotel groups have spent this earnings season cutting fees and handing owners concessions to ease pressure. IHG is taking a different approach, redesigning a package of services it provides to franchisees and arguing it doesn’t need to follow Hilton, Marriott, and Hyatt. The program gives franchisees access to a variety of services they would otherwise outsource, such as field marketing, digital support, web design, additional training, and group booking services. IHG has been piloting it at more than 500 hotels across the Americas, and will go system-wide in the region later this year, before expanding to other regions. “It’s performing very well, saving the hotels money. We’ll come back with some statistics, but there’s also confidentiality and competitive advantage that we want to maintain,” CEO Elie Maalouf said on the company’s second-quarter earnings call on Tuesday. “Everybody is working hard to