BEIJING—IHG plans to recruit 110,000 staff to support its growth in China, which involves doubling the number of hotels in the country in the next three to five years.
Richard Solomons, CEO of IHG, said in a statement, ““China is IHG’s second largest market after the United States and is likely to surpass the U.S. to become our largest by number of rooms by 2025. Having been in China for 30 years, IHG has a deep understanding of the market and of consumers’ needs, and we are confident in its future development prospects. We are committed to continuing to grow in China.” Solomons recently joined British Prime Minister David Cameron on a trade mission to China to boost trade ties between the two countries.
With 200 hotels open and 179 hotels in the pipeline, IHG has nearly 60,000 employees working at its corporate office and hotels across over 70 cities in the country. In the first three quarters of 2013, IHG signed another 42 new hotels to its portfolio. IHG’s strategy includes deepening penetration in key cities such as Beijing and Guangzhou and targeting Tier 2, 3 and 4 cities.
In 2012, IHG launched HUALUXE Hotels & Resorts, a new hotel brand specifically designed for Chinese guests, the first of which is scheduled to open in 2014, with 21 hotels currently in the pipeline.