FOCUS: In Conversation with IHG

IHG was one of the first international hotel companies to enter the Chinese mainland market with the Holiday Inn Lido Beijing opening in 1984; and the Greater China market with the Holiday Inn Golden Mile opening in 1975.

As an “in China for China” business, the company has been deeply rooted in Greater China for 48 years, and now Greater China has become our second home market and growth engine worldwide.

We are committed to the China market with our purpose of True Hospitality for Good. In 2023 and beyond, we will focus on building our brands, putting our guests and owners at the heart of everything we do, creating a digital advantage and ensuring we have a positive impact on our people, the planet and the communities around us.

Hotel Indigo Guangzhou Haixinsha

Remarkable achievements in 2022:

• We welcomed the 600th open hotel and 200th franchise hotel in the Greater China market

• HUALUXE Hotels & Resorts, the world’s first-ever premium hotel brand designed specifically for the Chinese consumer, celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2022. We also announced a comprehensive upgrade of HUALUXE in November 2022, from hotel design to staff uniforms to guest experience, to meet the multi-level needs of contemporary consumer groups with diversified consumption scenarios, presenting a refreshing visual feast of Chinese culture.

• Our fully upgraded loyalty programme IHG One Rewards was officially launched, along with the new IHG One Rewards app and the WeChat mini-programme, making it easier for members to manage their benefits.

In the medium and long term, we expect that China will shift from scale-based growth to high-quality growth. In recent years, the government has put a lot of effort into to guiding the economy towards high-quality growth. This will be a long process that requires patience, but we have seen many positive signs.

Considering China’s lead over Europe and the US in the current economic cycle (China is recovering amid recessions in Europe and the US in the first half of this year), we expect global capital to flow back into China and drive the valuation recovery of Chinese stocks. Manufacturing upgrading and domestic demand recovery are the most promising directions in our view.

We believe that the commitment to and intensity of emissions reduction, especially in developed economies, should not be underestimated, and that a decline in demand for relevant equipment may not materialise next year as expected. Manufacturing upgrading is crucial for China’s entry into high-income countries and is also in line with China’s policy guidance. Domestic demand recovery mainly refers to the real estate industrial chain and consumer services, where relevant industries have just started their recovery journey with more accommodative policies.

CBBC has been supporting UK companies to enter, grow and succeed in China for over six decades through strong advisory capability and distinctive networks. In the past three years of Covid disruptions, as a CBBC member, IHG has benefited from various aspects, be it the tailor-made and pragmatic programmes and events providing us diverse engagement and advocacy opportunities with high-level Chinese and UK government leaders, or the valuable platform for like-minded companies to connect to and communicate with in light of the rapidly evolving environment. Moreover, the high-quality policy analysis and content-oriented webinars equipped us with insightful business intelligence and helped us stay informed of the latest Chinese policy trends and business landscape. CBBC is appreciated to have been acting as the bridge between UK businesses in China and both governments, and we anticipate that moving forward, it will play a greater role with the bedrock of the 50 years’ heritage amid current geopolitical complexities.

Intercontinental Shanghai Harbour City

Our “in China, for China” development strategy remains unchanged. We see lots of opportunities in the post-pandemic era with the macro-policy support and pent-up demand. This bolsters our commitment to the China market with our purpose of True Hospitality for Good. As a leading international hotel group in China, we will continue to prioritise guests and owners, closely follow the national development strategy, boost industry confidence during this recovery period, and ensure a positive impact on employees, the world and the community.

Where we are going:

• First-tier cities: We were early to identify the potential of expanding outside of First-tier cities, and have been adding hotels in emerging areas while the demand drivers are being built. In addition to new builds, conversion projects present huge opportunities as city renovation work goes on.

• Second to Fourth-tier cities: The consumption upgrade has brought opportunities to upper midscale brands such as Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express. We’re accelerating in these markets with our Franchise Plus model tailored for China. We continue to explore Tier 2 and 3 cities to meet consumer expectations.

• Government agendas creating opportunities: We are seeing great opportunities across many regions of China thanks to government initiatives like the Greater Bay Area, Hainan Free Trade Zone, Belt and Road Initiative, large-scale development in the Western region, Yangtze River Delta integration and Jing-Jin-Ji (Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei)

• Increasing demand for domestic leisure travel: We’re bringing our brands to more resort and leisure destinations and providing premium and personalised experiences. We are also continuing to drive luxury and lifestyle growth while strengthening mainstream and premium collections.

The past 50 years witnessed the economic boom of China, providing a vast and promising market for multinationals to grow and develop. For the next 50 years, we believe the China market will be increasingly prosperous, open and vibrant, and represent more exciting development opportunities for MNCs. In addition, the mutually beneficial relations forged in the past 50 years between China and UK will also help embrace those prospects in the future.

At IHG, we are very confident about the long-term outlook for our Greater China business. We will remain focused on our “in China for China” growth strategy and look forward to continuing to contribute to a prosperous shared future for the two countries in the next 50 years.

www.cbbc.org

The China-Britain Business Council (CBBC) is the UK’s national business network promoting trade and investment with China. We have been at the heart of the UK-China relationship for 68 years and are widely recognised as the independent voice of British businesses working with China. Our objective is to support the growth of British trade and investment with China and Chinese companies expanding and investing in the UK. Our diverse membership includes leading UK companies and universities, many of the UK’s most dynamic SMEs, and an ever-increasing number of Chinese companies exporting to and investing in the UK.

英中贸易协会（CBBC）是英国促进对华贸易和投资的国家级商业贸易网络。68年以来，我们一直处在行动的核心位置，积极参与两国在每个行业和地区的合作，被广泛认为是英国企业与中国合作的独立声音。我们的目标是支持英国对华贸易和投资的增长，以及中国企业在英国的扩张和投资。我们的会员包括众多英国领先的公司与知名大学、英国最具活力的中小企业，以及越来越多向英国出口和在英国投资的中国企业等。