InterContinental Hotels & Resorts by IHG is a British-American luxury hotel brand created in 1946 by
Pan Am
Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and more commonly known as Pan Am, was an airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States for ...
founder
Juan Trippe
Juan Terry Trippe (June 27, 1899 – April 3, 1981) was an American commercial aviation pioneer, entrepreneur and the founder of Pan American World Airways, one of the iconic airlines of the 20th century. He was involved in the introduction of t ...
.
It has been part of UK-based
InterContinental Hotels Group
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), marketed as IHG Hotels & Resorts, is a British multinational hospitality company headquartered in Windsor, Berkshire, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. It ...
since 1998.
As of January 2023, there were 208 InterContinental hotels worldwide, with 70,287 rooms.
History
Early years
In 1945, U.S. President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
and
Juan Trippe
Juan Terry Trippe (June 27, 1899 – April 3, 1981) was an American commercial aviation pioneer, entrepreneur and the founder of Pan American World Airways, one of the iconic airlines of the 20th century. He was involved in the introduction of t ...
, President of
Pan Am
Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and more commonly known as Pan Am, was an airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States for ...
, discussed their concern for Latin America's need for development funds at a White House breakfast. The two men thought that one way to attract businessmen and tourists would be to offer luxury hotels in key cities.
Trippe contacted
Statler Hotels
The Statler Hotel company was one of the United States, United States' early chains of hotels catering to traveling businessmen and tourists. It was founded by Ellsworth Milton Statler, Ellsworth Milton (E. M.) Statler in Buffalo, New York.
Earl ...
' chief executive H.B. Callis, and his company undertook a feasibility study, but the company decided the program would be too expensive. Trippe contacted multiple other US hotel chains, but none showed interest. Roosevelt requested that Pan Am take the lead in developing 5000 hotel rooms in Latin America, with a projected cost of $50,000,000. Pan Am's profit that year was only $3 million, so a $25,000,000 line of credit was arranged for Pan Am with the
Export–Import Bank of the United States
The Export–Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) is the official export credit agency (ECA) of the United States federal government. Operating as a wholly owned federal government corporation, the bank "assists in financing and facilitating ...
.
Trippe agreed to form a subsidiary company to foster the implementation of the idea. The hotels would also serve to accommodate Pan Am crews and passengers in destinations where upscale hotels were not yet present.
On 4 April 1946, the International Hotels Corporation was founded, with Pan Am owning a 100% stake.
Throughout 1946, company executives traveled to cities across Latin America on fact-finding trips to scout potential locations. In early 1947, Pan Am decided that Intercontinental Hotels Corporation would more accurately reflect the chain's eventual global goals for expansion, and the company was renamed.
The company signed its first lease that year, for the partially-completed Hotel Victoria Plaza in Montevideo, Uruguay. Construction there would end up continuing for more than five years.
Throughout 1948, more locations were scouted, and in early 1949 agreements were signed for properties in Caracas and Maracaibo, Venezuela.
On 1 May 1949, Intercontinental assumed operation of its first hotel, the 85-room Grande Hotel, in
Belém
Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará), often called Belém of Pará, is the capital and largest city of the state of Pará in the north of B ...
, Brazil, which had been constructed in the early 20th Century. On 1 January 1950, Intercontinental assumed operation of its second hotel, the
Hotel Carrera, in Santiago, Chile. Over the next three years, the company took over three more existing hotels – the Hotel del Prado in Barranquilla, Colombia; the Hotel Reforma in Mexico City and
The Princess in Hamilton, Bermuda. In 1953, Intercontinental opened three newly constructed properties – the Hotel Victoria Plaza in Montevideo, the
Hotel Tamanaco
The Hotel Tamanaco is a historic hotel located in Caracas, Venezuela, opened in 1953.
History
The Hotel Tamanaco was constructed as part of an effort by the Venezuelan government to increase tourism in the aftermath of WWII. The Intercontinental ...
in Caracas and the Hotel del Lago in Maracaibo. That same year, they also opened the
Hotel Tequendama in Bogotá, Colombia, the largest hotel in South America and the first hotel to be developed, designed and constructed completely under Intercontinental supervision.
All four properties were designed by the Chicago firm of
Holabird, Root & Burgee. In 1955, Intercontinental purchased a 47% stake in the
Hotel Nacional de Cuba
The Hotel Nacional de Cuba is a historic Spanish eclectic architecture, Spanish eclectic style hotel in Havana, Cuba, opened in 1930. Located on the sea front of Vedado district, it stands on Taganana Hill, offering commanding views of the sea an ...
, in Havana. By 1958, the chain had sixteen hotels in operation throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.
Global expansion
In 1961, Intercontinental Hotels opened its first property in the Middle East, the
Phoenicia Intercontinental Beirut, in
Lebanon
Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
. In 1962, the chain expanded to three more continents, assuming management of the
Ducor Palace Hotel in
Monrovia
Monrovia () is the administrative capital city, capital and largest city of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast and as of the 2022 census had 1,761,032 residents, home to 33.5% of Liber ...
,
Liberia
Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...
in April, opening the
Hotel Indonesia
The Hotel Indonesia Kempinski Jakarta is one of the oldest and best-known hotels in Jakarta, Indonesia. Located in Central Jakarta, it was one of the first 5-star hotels in Southeast Asia and remains a major landmark of Jakarta. Its fame is often ...
in
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
, in July, and
The Southern Cross in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
, Australia, in August. The first properties in Europe followed in May 1963, with simultaneous openings in
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, Cork and Limerick, Ireland. In 1964, Intercontinental became the first American hotel chain to operate in
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...
, when it assumed management of the
Hotel Esplanade in
Zagreb
Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...
,
Yugoslavia
, common_name = Yugoslavia
, life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation
, p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia
, flag_p ...
. The chain would continue to be unique among western hospitality companies in operating behind the "
Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain was the political and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. On the east side of the Iron Curtain were countries connected to the So ...
", opening properties in
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
,
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
,
Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
and
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
between 1968 and 1974.
The company continued constructing new luxury hotels in Pan Am destinations around the world. In its hotel designs, Intercontinental aspired to combine
Mid-century modern
Mid-century modern (MCM) is a movement in interior design, product design, graphic design, architecture and urban development that was present in all the world, but more popular in North America, Brazil and Europe from roughly 1945 to 197 ...
American luxury with decorative elements drawn from local cultures.
Between 1961 and 1985, Intercontinental's head designer, Neal Prince, designed interiors and branding for 135 hotels.
The chain was officially rebranded as Inter•Continental Hotels in 1966, with the name commonly spelled with a hyphen as Inter-Continental when typed.
In 1972, Inter-Continental started a line of moderately priced hotels, called Forum Hotels. The first Forum property was the Lee Gardens Hotel in Hong Kong. Inter-Continental opened its first hotel in the United States in 1973, when it assumed management of the
Mark Hopkins Hotel
The InterContinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco is a luxury hotel located at the top of Nob Hill, San Francisco, Nob Hill in San Francisco, California. The hotel is managed by the InterContinental Hotels Group. The chain operates over 5,000 hot ...
in San Francisco.
On 1 June 1981, Intercontinental opened it's first location in
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...
making it the first hotel to be available in the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
.
Post-Pan Am era
Facing significant financial losses, Pan Am sold their profitable Inter-Continental Hotels division to
Grand Metropolitan
Grand Metropolitan plc was a leisure, manufacturing and property conglomerate headquartered in England. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index until it merged with Guinness plc to form ...
on 19 August 1981 for $500 million. On 1 April 1982, the new owners merged their existing chain of 17 Grand Metropolitan Hotels into Inter-Continental and its sibling chain Forum Hotels.
Later in 1982, Inter-Continental formed a joint venture with Scanticon International, a Danish company that had opened a highly successful conference hotel near Princeton, New Jersey in 1981. Inter-Continental owned 80% of the business, with Scanticon controlling 20%. Additional Scanticon conference hotels were opened in Minneapolis and Denver, before InterContinental exited the joint venture in 1991.
Grand Metropolitan sold Inter-Continental Hotels to the Tokyo-based Seibu Saison Group on 1 October 1988 for $2.27 billion, for a profit of $850 million after taxes. On 20 February 1998, the Saison Group sold the chain to Bass PLC, for $2.9 billion.
In 2000, Bass sold its namesake brewing business, along with its name and red triangle trademark, to
Interbrew
Interbrew is subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV is based in Breda, Netherlands. It has one subsidiary, Ambev S.A. of São Paulo, Brazil.
Brands
Interbrew brands have historically included Budweiser, Stella Artois, Boddingtons Brewery, Boddi ...
, for £2.3 billion. On 27 June 2001, Bass renamed itself
Six Continents, focusing on its hotels and its 2000 restaurants and bars. The name Six Continents was chosen from among 10,000 staff submissions, and was already the name of the Inter-Continental Hotels loyalty club. In 2003, Six Continents demerged its bar and pubs business into a separate company,
Mitchells & Butlers
Mitchells & Butlers plc (also referred to as "M&B") runs circa 1,784 managed pubs, bars and restaurants throughout the United Kingdom. The company's headquarters are in Birmingham, England. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange an ...
, and the hospitality company was renamed
InterContinental Hotels Group
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), marketed as IHG Hotels & Resorts, is a British multinational hospitality company headquartered in Windsor, Berkshire, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. It ...
. At the same time, Inter-Continental Hotels dropped the hyphen in its name and became ''InterContinental Hotels''. The chain is one of numerous brands today within the company.
Notable properties
InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown, located within the
Wilshire Grand Center
Wilshire Grand Center is a skyscraper in the financial district of downtown Los Angeles, California, occupying the entire city block between Wilshire Boulevard and 7th, Figueroa, and Francisco streets. Completed in 2017, it is the tallest b ...
in downtown Los Angeles, is the largest InterContinental in the Americas and the
tallest building in Los Angeles.
InterContinental manages the
Willard InterContinental Hotel in
downtown Washington, D.C.
Downtown is the central business district of Washington, D.C., located in Northwest (Washington, D.C.), Northwest D.C. It is the third largest central business district in the United States. The "Traditional Downtown" has been defined as an area ...
, two blocks east of the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
. The -year-old hotel has hosted many heads of state.
InterContinental briefly operated a hotel in Lagos, but withdrew from Nigeria in 2018, after a disagreement with its local partners over the terms of how to get the property out of receivership, just four years after the hotel opened.
The
Inter-Continental Kabul opened in 1969, but ceased operation following the
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. The hotel continues to operate independently using the Inter-Continental name, but unaffiliated with the chain.
Properties
2003–2010
2011–2017
From 2018
References
External links
*
*
{{Hotel chains
Hotel chains in the United States
Hotels established in 1946
InterContinental Hotels Group brands
Franchises
Pan Am