The IHG story
IHG is one of the largest hotel groups on earth, and most people have never noticed. They know it by one of its brands instead. That sign glowing at the edge of almost every town, Holiday Inn, belongs to IHG, and it is only the front door to a company of nearly 7,000 hotels across more than 100 countries.
Holiday Inn started in 1952 when a Memphis builder, worn out by cramped roadside motels on a family road trip, decided to build something better and named it after a Bing Crosby film. That plain promise, a clean, predictable room for the night, still runs through the brand and its busier cousin, Holiday Inn Express.
The group reaches well past the highway, though. At the top are hotels you would cross an ocean for, Six Senses, Regent, and the InterContinental name that has anchored grand city addresses since 1946, including the one that has watched over downtown Toronto for years. Crowne Plaza and Hotel Indigo fill the middle, each with its own character.
Sun is the one thing IHG chose not to build itself. Instead it partnered with Iberostar, so a well-known beach resort in Cancun or Punta Cana can be booked through IHG and earn its points while staying Iberostar-run. It is a telling move for a company this size: rather than plant a flag on every beach, it made a deal to meet travellers where they already were.
