IHG CEO Warns Against Hotel Brand Bloat
Photo Credit: Skift Senior Hospitality Editor Deanna Ting, left, speaks to IHG CEO Keith Barr at Skift Forum Europe in London. Skift / Russell Harper
Skift Take
InterContinental Hotels Group has bought or created a slew of brands in recent years. But CEO Keith Barr insists it's not a step to take lightly.
As his company prepares to launch a new all-suite brand, InterContinental Hotels Group CEO Keith Barr had some frank talk for the industry.
"I think you can have too many brands," he said Tuesday during the first session of Skift Forum Europe in London. "Because I think if you have brands which don't truly mean something ... it's just a sign on a building."
Barr said he has a long list of names that his company has registered that could become new brands, but they would be pointless without a serious investment of time and research.
"You have to work harder to
