IHG CEO: Pandemic Bet on Revamping Loyalty Starts to Pay Off
Skift Take
IHG Hotels & Resorts earlier this year fully revamped its loyalty program and in July launched its largest marketing campaign in a decade to support it. Executives said Thursday that these moves will speed up overall growth for the UK-based group, which runs 6,028 hotels under brands such as Holiday Inn and Kimpton.
In the second quarter, the company overhauled IHG One Rewards and saw enrollments rise 30 percent year-over-year. It added 11 million net loyalty members year-over-year. It didn't specify the new total other than to say it had more than 100 million members.
The company said it expected ongoing gains as a result of the loyalty program overhaul.
"We're getting about 50 percent of our room nights coming through our loyalty program," CEO Keith Barr said in an interview with Skift. "We know there is more headroom in that number based on our consumer research and what our peers do."
During the pandemic, the company had to c
