InterContinental Hotels Group Plc history, profile and history video
InterContinental Hotels Group Plc owns and operates hotels. It operates through nine hotel brands, including InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites, EVEN Hotels and HUALUXE Hotels and Resorts. The Crowne Plaza Hotels and Resorts offers premium accommodation, designed for the discerning business and leisure traveler. The Hotel Indigo provides guests with the refreshing design and service experience synonymous with a boutique hotel. The Holiday Inn Hotels and Resorts provides the services to business travellers need, while also offering leisure travellers a comfortable, casual atmosphere where they can relax and enjoy amenities such as restaurants, room service, swimming pools, fitness centres and comfortable lounges. The Holiday Inn Express offers services to both business and leisure travellers. The Staybridge Suites provides multiple suite types with fully equipped kitchens, speaker phone with individual voicemail and direct dial access plus complimentary wireless internet, complimentary deluxe daily breakfast buffet and evening receptions, 24-hour business services and complimentary guest laundry facilities. The Candlewood Suites is focused on comfort, space and value. The EVEN Hotels are designed for business and leisure travellers who maintain a healthy and active lifestyle. The HUALUXE Hotels and Resorts are designed specially for the Chinese travellers. InterContinental Hotels Group was founded on April 15, 2003 and is headquartered in Denham, the United Kingdom.“
“InterContinental Hotels History
Bass Hotels
The origins of InterContinental Hotels Group can be traced back to 1777, when William Bass established the Bass Brewery in Burton-upon-Trent. In 1876, its red triangle trademark was the first registered in the United Kingdom.
In 1989, the British Government limited the number of pubs which brewers could directly own, resulting in Bass investing in the expansion of its small line of hotels. In 1990, it purchased Holiday Inn International from Kemmons Wilson and expanded into North America.
InterContinental
Pan American Airways founder Juan Trippe established the InterContinental brand as a division of PanAm and opened the first hotel in Belém, Brazil in 1946. In 1981, holding company InterContinental Hotels Corporation (IHC) was sold to UK-based company Grand Metropolitan. As GrandMet focused its core business and expanded into fast food through the purchase of Burger King, it sold IHC to Japanese based Saison Group in 1988.
In March 1998, Saison Group sold IHC to British brewery Bass, which traces its roots back to 1777, when William Bass established the Bass Brewery in Burton-upon-Trent. In 1988, in reaction to the British government limiting the number of pubs which brewers could directly own, Bass invested in the expansion of its small line of hotels. In 2000, Bass sold its brewing assets (and the rights to the Bass name) to the major Belgian brewer Interbrew for £2.3 billion and changed its name to Six Continents.
In 2003, the independent corporation InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) was created after Six Continents split into two companies: Mitchells & Butlers took control of the restaurant assets and IHG focusing on hotels and soft drinks. IHG retained Britvic, the soft drinks division, until December 2005 when it sold its interest in the company by aninitial public offering. In April/May 2014 the company reportedly rejected a $10 billion takeover bid from an unknown suitor, believed to be Starwood.”
*Information from Forbes.com and Wikipedia.org
**Video published on YouTube by “InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts“