InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), the hotel conglomerate behind Holiday Inn brands and Candlewood Suites, will soon acquire boutique hotelier Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants for $430 million.
The U.K.-based IHG is the largest hotel group in the world by room numbers alone—which according to its website is over 670,000.
Kimpton, which was founded in the early1980s, currently operates over 60 hotels in the U.S.with another 16 in the works, according to USA Today.
“We’re buying this business because of the capability it brings, their brilliance in food and beverage and design,” Richard Solomons, CEO of IHG, told USA Today ahead of Tuesday’s announcement. “They can really add to our business and we to theirs.”
Solomons also indicated that he believes the boutique sector is the “fastest growing segment” of the hotel industry. Boutique hotels are traditionally smaller than typical hotels, located in different markets and offer niche amenities. They are also associated with a slightly younger clientele.
In 2004, IHG started the Hotel Indigo boutique chain and last year opened the first EVEN hotels, a brand “devoted to fitness and wellness.” Kimpton is a well established boutique brand and Solomons believes the new partnership will help it operated even more efficiently and “make it better.”
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