As touted during its third-quarter earnings call, IHG Hotels & Resorts has launched a new collection brand, Noted Collection, to capitalize on owner and guest demand in the premium segment.
The hotel company announced the upscale to upper upscale brand as part of its full-year and fourth quarter 2025 earnings report. IHG saw “excellent financial performance in 2025,” CEO Elie Maalouf said during an earnings call this week, expressing optimism about 2026.
IHG’s systemwide RevPAR was up 1.6% year over year for Q4, though U.S. RevPAR dropped 2% year over year for the period, according to the report. IHG saw weakness in the U.S. in 2025, largely due to headwinds caused by shifting tariff policies and economic uncertainty, execs previously shared.
For the full-year 2025, global RevPAR grew 1.5% year over year, "reflecting the breadth of our geographic footprint, the depth of our brands and the resilience of our operating model,” Maalouf noted on the call.
IHG also saw a record 443 hotel openings in 2025, adding more than 65,000 hotel rooms to its system — a 10% year-over-year increase. Conversions accounted for a majority of those openings, representing 52% of all room openings in 2025. Conversion signings for the year totaled 306 hotels and grew room count by 10%.
“Signings were driven by strong momentum across our brands, and our pipeline now stands at almost 2,300 hotels representing 33% future rooms growth,” Maloouf said.
Maloouf also highlighted IHG’s acquisition of German-based hotel brand Ruby Hotels in early 2025, which made its U.S. debut in Chicago earlier this year. “Ruby signings are growing,” Maloouf said in the earnings release, with the brand expected to strengthen conversion metrics, providing a cost-efficient alternative to the hefty price tag of new construction.
Established brands, including InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express, drove the majority of development activity, accounting for nearly two-thirds of openings and signings, Maalouf said on the call.
New brand rollout
To build upon the momentum in conversions, IHG announced the launch of the Noted Collection, “focused primarily on conversions in [the] upscale to upper upscale” segment. Noted Collection intends to build on the success of Vignette Collection and fast-growing conversion brands including Voco and Garner, said Maalouf
Noted Collection will initially focus on the Europe, Middle East, Asia and Africa region. It’s expected to grow to more than 150 hotels globally over the next decade, and initial conversations with hotel owners interested in joining this collection are already underway.
IHG competitors Marriott International, Hilton and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts have also rolled out collection brands in recent months.
Maalouf added the new Noted brand “fills a key space in our brand ladder” and, alongside Ruby, brings growth potential in the “critically important premium segment.”
2026 outlook
Looking ahead, Maalouf said that IHG is “confident” in its “ability to continue delivering on our strategy.”
“We're really pleased with how RevPAR is starting to shape up in Q1,” CFO Michael Glover added. In 2025, the company’s total revenue grew 5.4% year over year, reaching $5.19 billion.
Performance in 2025 — which included pipeline growth, more openings and systemwide portfolio growth — “shows that we have a lot of firepower,” Maalouf said, adding he expects 4.4% net unit growth in 2026.
“I would say there's more upside than downside to that number, but we're comfortable with it where it sits,” he said. “And we think we have even more potential to continue to accelerate that system size growth.”
Maalouf added the company is “very pleased with [its] performance in 2025 in the United States.” The 2026 FIFA World Cup will bring additional demand to IHG’s hotels, and Maalouf said government travel could improve at least from 2025, which saw the longest government shutdown in history.
