InterContinental CEO slams rival Starwood’s Dubai move as “PR stunt”

“I’m not into PR stunts. We are a global business and have been for a very long time. I have very senior and experienced executives based around the world, and this idea that your local team aren’t competent and you have to be there is a PR stunt. We run local and domestic businesses already. We have over 300 executives in our Shanghai office, most of whom are domestic Chinese, 80 per cent of our customers there are domestic travellers and I go there a lot, I was there about six times last year. It’s what you do. Relocating the head office? It makes me smile.”

IHG CEO Richard Solomons, when asked about rival Starwood’s decision to move its headquarters to Dubai for the month of March to learn from and focus on its growth outside U.S.

Related read: Starwood’s future as a brand: own less, grow more in Middle East & South Asia