Q: How is the UK and Ireland hotel/hospitality industry evolving?
A: The UK&I market has seen the return of business-leisure travel over the past couple of years, with 67% of travellers agreeing that Blended Travel is beneficial and offers greater flexibility, according to our research. We have also seen this reflected in bookings at IHG. H1 2025 saw RevPAR increase by +5.1% in our Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia region (EMEAA) while IHG globally experienced year-on-year increases of 2% in business travel and 1% in leisure. It’s once again encouraging to see travellers see the value of meeting in person, building connections, and attending industry events.
The UK&I has always been a key market for IHG, defined by its strong performance and well-established presence. We currently have 371 open hotels across eleven brands and 30 properties in the development pipeline. The properties in our pipeline include several exciting new signings, including InterContinental Manchester and our first dual-brand property in Europe, voco London – Waterloo and Hotel Indigo & Suites London – Waterloo (expected to open in 2028).
Q: How does IHG keep up with the ever-evolving landscape? Does it leverage any technology to help with this?
AWe embrace innovation to stay ahead of our competitors, and technology is central to both guest experience and operational efficiency. For instance, our IHG Travel Planner, developed in partnership with Google Cloud, offers personalised trip recommendations, while the IHG One Rewards app provides a seamless booking experience, access to exclusive offers, and insights into guest preferences. We also enhanced our on-property digital experience for guests with in-room connectivity and Wi-Fi Auto Connect.
Our guests are at the heart of everything we do, but our owners are equally as important. Driving technological advancements that will benefit them is key to us. For example, our HERO Tool, created in collaboration with Arup, reviews a hotel’s infrastructure and its existing energy initiatives. It identifies opportunities to drive further efficiencies, providing indicative capital costs, energy reductions and payback periods. This supports our Journey to Tomorrow goals, as responsible growth continues to be a top priority for us. This integrated approach ensures that we deliver exceptional value to both guests and owners.
Q: RevPAR in the third quarter of 2024 was up 2.2%, while year-on-year business travel was up 4% and leisure travel up 7%. With the UK&I being IHG’s largest market in Europe, what would you attribute this success to?
A: UK&I has 371* open hotels and 30* in pipeline, making IHG the largest global hotel operator in the UK&I. Our robust growth is a result of several factors. Firstly, we see the UK&I as mature and well-established markets for IHG, with a broad portfolio of brands catering to different guest needs but it is a market ripe with conversion opportunities which allows us to grow at pace.
UK&I has a very strong essentials presence with Holiday Inns and Holiday Inn Express across the region. This year also saw IHG introduce a new brand to this collection in the UK, with in the first Garner opening in Preston.
The first half of 2025 has seen us open our first Garner property, Garner Hotel Preston Salmesbury, as well as the celebration of 100 voco properties worldwide milestone (of which there are 16 in the UK) making it the fastest growing brand in IHG’s premium collection. The success of voco is representative of the strength of our enterprise platform and our ability to capture conversion opportunities. Indeed, conversions present owners with a strong ROI by granting them the ability to reduce pre-opening costs by quickly moving to operational and now-open status. voco is a great example of how owners can access the strength and systems of a global brand like IHG quickly, while retaining the individual charm of the hotel.
Q: What trends do you think we’ll see present themselves in the sector in 2025?
A: Technology is something that allows us to keep unlocking our relationships with our owners by exploring the products that power their hotels, drive operational efficiencies and strong returns. For example, we enhanced our on-property digital experience for guests with in-room connectivity and Wi-Fi Auto Connect. In this way, we recognise the value of using technology to create enhanced guest experiences and allow our hotel teams to focus on providing exceptional service.
We also note that sustainability is increasingly influencing consumer booking decisions. Modern travellers are now seeking experiences that not only minimise environmental impact but also contribute positively to the destinations they’re visiting. Our Journey to Tomorrow commitment means we are dedicated to reducing carbon emissions and responsible growth. For example, our voco Zeal Exeter Science Park property, opened this year, is a lifecycle net-zero carbon hotel. Sustainability remains at the heart of our strategy, with initiatives like the Low Carbon Pioneers program and the elimination of single-use plastics water bottles by December 2025 across our European portfolio.
Q: What can we expect to see from IHG this year?
A: 2025 is expected to be a truly exciting year for growth across our UK&I portfolio, where high demand for our brands has so far, led to growth across all our brand segments, together with our trusted partners. Building off the momentum of the first six months, we look forward to the number of new openings awaiting guests across our brand portfolio from Garner Hotel Birmingham South East later this year to Six Senses London next year.
We recently celebrated reaching 100 voco hotels in our global portfolio, which continues to bring a new guest offering by providing thoughtful and distinct hotel experiences. We were also excited to see our UK&I leisure portfolio bolstered by the signing of Hotel Indigo Torquay, set to open in later this year and bringing the essence of luxury and lifestyle to the south west of England community.
Going into the second half of the year, we’re feeling confident following our half year results, and in our ability to further capitalise on our scale, leading positions and the attractive, long-term demand drivers for our markets. Our strategy for the latter half of the year continues identifying opportunities across our brand portfolio and pinpointing strategic locations for investment. However, we don’t want to grow for growing sake. We are committed to thoughtful growth in the UK&I, which forms part of our dynamic and exciting Europe-wide strategy for growth.
In the UK&I specifically, IHG is committed to working closely with local councils, partners, and organisations to provide meaningful opportunities, such as skills training and employment initiatives through programs like the IHG Academy. Embedding IHG properties into local communities in a way that benefits them has always been important to the business, whether that’s creating jobs at our properties or driving more tourism to the local area.
Our mission at IHG has always been to deepen the guest experience and deliver excellent properties to local communities. We will continue to identify more ways to deliver this going into the second half of 2025 and beyond and are excited for what the remainder of this year holds.
