Dive Brief:
- IHG Hotels & Resorts has made its Ruby Hotels brand available for development in the U.S., the hotel company announced Tuesday.
- IHG acquired the Germany-based lifestyle flag, its 20th global brand, for approximately $116 million earlier this year, with plans to “rapidly” take it to the Americas and across Asia, CEO Elie Maalouf said in a statement at the time.
- Founded in 2013, Ruby currently has 34 open or pipeline hotels in major European cities. For owners, IHG is pitching the brand as “a versatile alternative that is ready made for urban settings often challenged by significant barriers to entry and space constraints.”
Dive Insight:
Going forward, IHG will prioritize “major U.S. urban markets” for growth, according to Tuesday’s release. IHG is positioning the brand as an option for “cost- and style-conscious travelers.”
The brand will be available via new-builds, conversions and adaptive reuse.
IHG is accelerating conversions, in particular, to boost system growth, according to the company’s second-quarter earnings report released last month.
IHG plans to expand the Ruby brand to more than 120 global hotels over the next decade and more than 250 hotels during the next 20 years, per the release.
The Ruby brand offers amenities that guests prioritize — including rainfall showers, premium fixtures, public spaces and 24/7 coffee and cocktail bars — while “eliminating unwanted extras,” per IHG.
In a statement, IHG’s CEO for the Americas region, Jolyon Bulley, said the brand “will complement our premium portfolio and offer owners a differentiated product with strong economics and scalable growth potential.”
IHG is “encouraged by the initial interest and buzz around Ruby, which reinforces our confidence in its appeal and ability to thrive in this [U.S.] market,” Bulley added.
The company said it expects the “urban micro” segment to further grow in coming years.
While IHG saw its U.S. RevPAR decline 0.9% in the second quarter, Maalouf touted the company’s development strength in an earnings call, noting that shorter-term macroeconomic uncertainties are “subsiding.”
