IHG Hotels & Resorts is on the lookout for conversion and resort opportunities in the DACH region, which the group’s VP of European development confirmed remained a “key strategic market” with “so much opportunity for growth”.
Willemijn Geels told Hospitality Insights that, in the lifestyle and luxury segment for example, the pandemic had pushed elements of traditional luxury into the mainstream, such as families paying extra to have an entire villa to themselves.
“Travellers now seem willing to spend more on a holiday, and as a result we see more investor groups have opened up to the option of resorts. In DACH, for us it means looking at where we see a fit for our conversion and resort brands,” she said – referring to its luxury InterContinental brand, Vignette Collection, as well as Voco and Holiday Inn.
Along with the Six Senses Crans-Montana resort opening in Switzerland this December, a brand IHG acquired in 2019, the hotel giant has its hands full with a host of market debuts across its luxury and lifestyle brands for the region.
The Kimpton brand is set to launch in Germany in 2024 with the opening of Kimpton Frankfurt. IHG’s first Voco in Germany opened earlier this year in Dusseldorf, and Austria’s first Hotel Indigo opened in Vienna in May, the latter being part of an agreement with Tristar GmbH.
Its 558-bedroom InterContinental Berlin is undergoing a €60 million refurbishment, with the room renovations expected to complete in Q1 2023; while the Grand Hotel Wien is also due to reopen under the Vignette Collection next year following refurbishment.
The luxury and lifestyle segment represents a growing proportion of IHG’s existing estate and future growth, making up 42% of its development pipeline.
IHG announced the extension of its multiple development agreement across Northern Europe with Tristar in May, a partnership which is set to include 60 new hotels by 2035 with developments planned in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland and Italy.
The group confirmed at the time there were already 27 pipeline properties for Germany, including those operated by Tristar, and six across Austria and Switzerland.
“We believe there is an incredible opportunity for growth and there are many markets where we can continue to grow,” said Geels.
“Despite the industry’s ongoing challenges as we move through recovery, we believe there are many markets where we can grow our diverse brand portfolio. Both in terms of domestic travel e.g., Germans rediscovering major German cities and historic landmarks – but also overseas. Travellers are continuing to embrace the ‘bleisure’ lifestyle; extending their stays by a day, a weekend or longer and guests are taking fewer but longer stays after business trips. We have the brands to lean into these trends we are seeing to ultimately meet guest needs.”
Geels added that the group’s midrange Holiday Inn Express brand was also “an interesting brand to owners, investors and developers” due to its resilience in tougher times, ease of roll-out and appeal to mass audiences, from weekend leisure guests to business customers. She said that the ongoing rollout of new room and public space designs was delivering increased guest satisfaction scores and higher revpar.
IHG has 46 Holiday Inn Express hotels in Germany, which Geels said was a “priority market” for the brand’s expansion, with a further 19 in the pipeline.