Robert Costelloe: Thank you so much for joining our series Tom. First up, tell me about your day to day. What challenges do you tackle each day?

Tom Rowntree: I struggle to think of a career more invigorating and diverse than hospitality – today I am overlooking Windsor Castle from my desk at IHG’s global HQ, but once upon a time, my career path crossed with King Charles when he visited the Sultanate of Oman where I was working during my time in the Middle East. Hospitality’s ability to foster human connection is a consistent passion of mine. Hotel operations are an artform, a careful choreography of comradery.

In my current role, I lead the exceptional team responsible for delivering IHG’s luxury and lifestyle brands. It's an exciting time – we’re realising the growth potential within our brands, fuelled by people’s inherent desire to travel and invest in experiences over objects. In the last six years, we’ve launched new brands and acquired others, building our portfolio from one brand – InterContinental Hotels & Resorts – to six brands including Six Senses, Regent Hotels & Resorts, Kimpton, Vignette Collection and Hotel Indigo. Collectively, these brands span more than 500 properties in over 70 countries, making IHG’s luxury and lifestyle portfolio one of the largest in the world.

Over the past couple of years, our attentions have been focused on the reimagining of Regent to cement the brand’s position in the minds of high net worth individuals (HNWIS) around the globe and the epitome of modern upper luxury. Several flagship openings have since ushered in a new era and there are now 11 Regents around the world with our most recent openings, Regent Santa Monica Beach and Regent Bali Canggu opening at the end of last year.

Similarly, for InterContinental – the world’s first and largest luxury and lifestyle hotel brand – we are executing a comprehensive end-to-end brand evolution which is being implemented at 227 InterContinental Hotels & Resorts in every corner of the globe. This evolution is driven by the brand’s long held belief that travel can expand minds and connect cultures and reaffirms InterContinental’s place in the heads and minds of today’s modern luxury traveller. This has been particularly exciting for me given my 25-year history with the brand – it's an honour to continue charting InterContinental’s long-lasting legacy.

From stalwarts to newcomers, Vignette Collection – a diverse family of one-of-a-kind hotels in destinations to remember, each with a unique identity but united by the brands hallmarks. The collection has grown beyond expectation, more than surpassing the halfway point in an ambitious 10-year target to reach 100 hotels that we set back in 2021. Last year some extraordinary properties became part of the collection including Shanghai Snow World, within one of the world’s most technically advanced snow and ice venues, and later this year, CIEL Tower will add the tallest hotel in the world to the portfolio. Watch this space.

RC: Is there one thing you can tell me about IHG – be it an interesting fact or piece of history that is perhaps little known out in the world?

TR: If walls could talk, hotels would have some of the very best stories to share. Although the confidentiality and discretion of hotelier’s is unbreakable! IHG hotels have set the stage for landmark occasions and hosted guests of all walks of life. For example, Martin Luther King finished his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech at InterContinental The Willard Washington D.C. in 1963 and Carlton Cannes, a Regent Hotel was where Grace Kelly met Prince Charles Rainier de Monaco in 1955 when filming Hitchcock’s ‘To Catch a Thief’.

Many also may not know that InterContinental and Pan America Airways share the same founder, Juan Trippe. He was a powerful force in the ability to travel en masse to all corners of the earth within hours rather than days or weeks. As airline travel took flight, the world began to open up like never before, and it is with this pioneering spirit that InterContinental Hotels was born back in 1946. The first InterContinental hotels were designed with the same number of rooms as seats on the Clipper Ship aeroplanes of the time.

RC: You’ve spent your career to date in the hospitality space, starting in the mid-1990s. What are some of the biggest changes you’ve seen in IHG in your tenure with the brand?

TR: The industry is incomparable to where it was when I first set foot in a hotel lobby. Advances in technology, the evolution of everyday lifestyles and the increased access to travel have driven significant step changes. But, at its core luxury hospitality is a feeling, not a product – no matter who, when, where, or why our guest checks in to one of our hotels, it’s about how we foster meaningful connections that leave a lasting impression, long cherished beyond check out.

RC: At the heart of the IHG brand is a strong and ambitious corporate purpose – “True Hospitality for Good”. How do you see this coming to life in your role as a brand and marketing leader?

TR: IHG’s purpose to provide ‘True Hospitality for Good’ inspires and informs everything we do – it shapes our culture, drives the difference we make and inspires the way we bring our brands to life for guests, owners, and colleagues. It is here that the work of my team has the most influence, from creating foundations for lifelong memories at InterContinental to philanthropic partnerships, such as Vignette Collection’s hallmark ‘A Means For Good’.

The demand for accessible travel is clear and InterContinental will make great strides in this space over the coming years. The very idea of being inclusive involves every aspect of hospitality, from service culture to communication style, but most importantly in how we design our spaces and experiences. One small but important change is to eliminate traditional barriers such as high-bulky reception desks where colleagues rarely get an opportunity to offer attentive help and care for our guests. We’re also paying close attention to those with a range of physical, cognitive, and sensory disabilities through important factors of colour, texture, and lighting selections. We will start with our built environment before looking at all brand items such as colleague attire, signage, and wayfinding as well as thoughtful operations, supplies and equipment to ensure every guest feels welcome at our hotels and resorts.

Vignette Collection’s global partnership with the World Literacy Foundation, supports the foundation’s mission to eradicate illiteracy by 2040. Meaningful initiatives hosted in the neighbourhoods of Vignette Collection hotels - including pop-up libraries and literacy programs - will champion change within the communities of the hotel’s localities and around the world. The world becomes a much smaller place without the fundamental skills to read and write. Vignette Collection’s commitment is about giving people the passport to reach their full potential. Our aim is to support those in the communities of our hotels to access vital education to broaden their horizons and reach their full potential.

RC: You have a massive remit – encompassing brand strategy and execution across the portfolio of IHG luxury brands. What do you see as your biggest challenge when overseeing a portfolio of this size and global reach?

TR: Rather than a challenge, I see it as a distinct responsibility and privilege to support over 80,000 incredible colleagues in our hotels around the world. It is these fabulous teams and individuals who bring the magic of our brands to life in ways that ensure they stand out amongst the 130+ luxury hotel brands within the industry. The strength of our brands is powerful and still with so much potential to be realised. We continue to build on the foundations we have set to deliver exceptional every day. It’s about a seamless consistency that achieve and exceeds the expectations of our guests. I have so much respect for the commitment, tenacity, and dedication it takes to deliver on each of our brand’s promise with an exceptional guest experience every day of the year.

RC: The hospitality sector continues to see such strong growth. How does IHG stay competitive and relevant to audiences, be it in Japan or globally?

TR: My own career with InterContinental began during a chapter under Japanese ownership. Today, Japan is a priority market for IHG and we began our journey here in 1964 – the year Tokyo hosted its first Olympic Games, the Year of the Wood Dragon (a renowned symbol of growth and development), the year of the first bullet train ride, and the dawn of InterContinental Hotels & Resorts in the land of the rising sun. Many more milestones have followed including our landmark venture with ANA, Japan’s largest airline, in 2006. Since then, we’ve leveraged the scale of IHG One Rewards and ANA Mileage Club and welcomed more than 30 co-branded hotels to the portfolio.

RC: What do you see as some of the more cutting-edge developments happening in the industry? Where are the future opportunities but also the challenges in the years ahead?

TR: AI seems to be at the forefront of everyone’s minds right now. Whilst we won’t be replacing human interaction with ChatGPT, there are ways for us to harness this intelligence to personalise the guest experience in meaningful ways.

Unique to the industry, IHG One Rewards for example now allows guests to select the Milestone Rewards that are important to them, including the ability to choose between benefits like Food & Beverage Rewards, Confirmable Suite Upgrades, Annual Lounge Access, and bonus points.

We have also started using automatic translation technology throughout guest messaging. This functionality automatically translates between languages, allowing each user to communicate in their native tongue, removing barriers and fostering easy interactions. This not only drives guest satisfaction but increases revenues and reaffirms loyalty with IHG.

RC: What do you feel you achieved with IHG in 2024? And do you have a vision for what you want to achieve in 2025?

TR: I can honestly say I’ve never been more excited about the future of our luxury and lifestyle brands at IHG. Ours brands are each on their own exciting trajectory as IHG’s luxury and lifestyle brands continues to drive high-value growth at pace. The coming years will see InterContinental debut in Sapporo in Japan, Nepal and Cape Town whilst also expanding its resort presence in the Red Sea and Halong Bay. Kimpton’s global expansion continues to move at pace seeing the brand cross the 100 hotels milestone and debut its first all-inclusive property in Mexico: Kimpton Hacienda Tres Ríos Resort, Spa & Nature Park and so much more to come from Vignette Collection, Six Senses and Hotel Indigo. Stay tuned.