InterContinental Hotels Group acquired the Ruby Group, which operates 20 hotels across Europe under its brand, with plans to expand the concept globally.
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IHG will pay €110.5M, or about $116M, for the acquisition from operating company Ruby SARL. Munich-based Ruby Group operates more than 3,400 hotel rooms in countries such as Germany, London, Switzerland and Italy, with another 10 hotels and 2,235 rooms in its pipeline.
IHG announced the acquisition and released its full-year financial results Tuesday. The hotel group missed Wall Street expectations but still saw revenue growth last year. IHG’s revenue per available room grew 3%, and its operating profit grew 10% in 2024, according to the earnings report.
Its U.S. RevPAR saw a significant boost to end the year at 1.7% growth, accelerating from 0.6% growth in the first half to 2.6% growth in the second half and 4.1% in the fourth quarter.
“I believe 2025 in the U.S. can be as good or better than 2024. If you look at the fundamentals that drive U.S. travel … another good year for RevPAR growth [is] there,” IHG CEO Elie Maalouf said during the company’s earnings call, according to CoStar News.
IHG’s full-year RevPAR growth was 2.5% in the Americas, 6.6% in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and -4.8% in China, the report shows.
The Ruby Group plans to leverage its partnership with IHG to grow across new markets, particularly in the U.S. and Asia, according to a release. IHG said it would draw on Ruby’s experience in the “urban micro sub-segment” that is experiencing strong demand globally.
“The urban micro space is a franchise-friendly model with attractive owner economics,” Maalouf said in the release.
IHG’s integration of Ruby’s 20 open hotels will begin this year and be completed by the end of March 2026. The 10 hotels in the development pipeline are expected to open by the end of 2027.
All hotels that Ruby operates will enter into franchise agreements with IHG and pay IHG brand royalty fees. IHG expects to receive initial franchise fees of $8M from Ruby hotels in 2028, the first full year that all 30 hotels would be in IHG’s system.
