IHG® Hotels & Resorts is one of the world’s leading and largest hotel companies — with a long standing history of innovation and passion towards building Great Hotels, Guests Love. Travel is one of the largest industries in the world — and IHG® Hotels & Resorts is one of the largest players in that industry, beginning with the iconic Holiday Inn® brand of hotels in 1952.
IHG® Hotels & Resorts is a global enterprise: meaning that your prospects are global. For travel. For service. For experience.
Working for IHG® Hotels & Resorts, your career possibilities are endless, your travel options are exciting, and your opportunities for service are satisfying as you help us deliver...
Use our scale and expertise to create the exceptional guest experiences and owner returns needed to grow our brands in the industry’s most valuable markets and segments. Delivered through a culture that attracts the best people and has a positive impact on the world around us.
We deliver stronger returns on investment by focusing on the fundamentals of our business, thoroughly embedding initiatives, and improving operational efficiency.
We will deliver a great guest experience across our family of brands.
We will deliver a great guest experience across our family of brands.
Our brands will be tailored to meet the needs of our guests, whatever the occasion.
Our brands will be tailored to meet the needs of our guests, whatever the occasion.
This means industry-leading returns on investment — and compelling opportunities for existing and prospective owners.
We will continue to innovate and develop our brands, and strive for them to be consistently preferred.
We will continue to innovate and develop our brands, and strive for them to be consistently preferred..
Our evolved priorities put our brands at the heart of our business, and our owners and guests at the heart of our thinking. They recognise the crucial role of a sophisticated, well-invested digital approach, and ensure we meet our growing responsibility to care for our people and make a positive difference to our communities and planet.
These are the behaviors we champion, and the purpose that guides us. Listening to stakeholders, we’ve evaluated what’s most important, not just to IHG’s growth, but how we grow, taking into account all we’ve learnt from dealing with COVID-19 and planning for a strong recovery over time.
Despite a very challenging environment we faced across the industry due to COVID-19, IHG® Hotels & Resorts still managed to open one hotel a day on average. Today, we have over 6,000 hotels and 888,147 guest rooms1 in more than 100 countries.
When we win, We all win.
IHG® Hotels & Resorts lives and breathes our values everyday. This means we are able to create a dynamic culture where our people feel valued and appreciated for who they are. Our larger efforts have been recognized across the industry and remain a key priority.
We keep our promises and we don’t let people down. We make decisions...even when they’re difficult.
We treat people as individuals. We look and listen for the little things that make a difference.
Scan here to learn more about how we support our employees and our communities.
Do the right thing Show we care
IHG® Hotels & Resorts is ambitious to win in the hotel marketplace by investing in people — encouraging people — and showing employees Ways to Win in the market, and in their careers. This is how our Winning Ways came about.
We put our hearts into learning new things. We always look for ways to improve.
We are respectful of all cultures. We look to learn from others. We play an active role in the communities in which we operate.
We work hard to develop excellent working relationships.
We think about what we do and how it might affect others.
Put simply: we solve travel problems, in real time, for travelers all over the world.
People are occasionally surprised that call or contact centers still exist. The rapid growth of the web, the mass appeal of social media platforms, and smart phones being capable of more tasks than ever before it would seem that necessity for a voice driven platform would be declining considerably. However the voice platform continues to be a powerful one, especially for IHG® Hotels & Resorts as you can see from the statistics listed here.
Reservations and Customer Care is no different. Our mission statement also defines our value proposition to our stakeholders. It is what we aim to do and strive to accomplish. All of our contact centre colleagues each day play a vital role in support our mission by providing excellent service to our most valued guests.
Jolie Fleming SVP, Guest Products & Platforms IHG Remote - Chicago
Cole Global Transformation Lead Guest Contact Centres - IHG Denham
- IHG Manila
Most lodging is now booked through the Internet, so an effective voice channel needs to offer something more than just a pair of hands typing on a keyboard.
A great hotel is the happy solution to a travel problem: “Where will I stay when I get there?”
By conducting sales conversations, you are part of that solution. Even though there are many ways to book a room using modern technology, as long as people still want to talk to people, the voice channel for hotel booking will remain relevant.
More than just booking hotel rooms, you are part of creating customers for life. You’ll be part of a team deepening loyalty through IHG One Rewards, optimizing customer experiences and profit for our hotel partners in Sales — or ensuring customer retention and satisfaction through Guest Relations.
Scan here to learn more about how IHG® Hotels & Resorts works to create rewarding relationships for life.
You’re a part of the journey.
The Guest Journey has five stages: DREAM, PLAN, BOOK, STAY, AND SHARE.
Everyone who has done trip planning — no matter how long the journey, or how far — understands the calculus of putting together a successful trip away from home.
Guests will usually greet you at the Book stage and often this is easy. Although, some may still be planning in trying to determine the right hotel, in the right location, and at the right price. While capturing the basics covered on the next pages is essential, it is also important remember that travel is always tied to emotions. Being able to sense and recognize how your guest is feeling about their impending stay will allow you to form a deeper connection with them. A connection that builds trust in you as travel professional and leads the way to a completed reservation and possibly a lifelong guest.
The vast majority of your callers will want to be close to a popular destination. Hotel owners know this, so hotels tend to cluster around places which are popular.
This is the kind of competition that hotel companies face every day.
We always hope IHG® Hotels & Resorts properties are always at the top of your caller’s list— and you are always making strong arguments for why an IHG hotel is the best option.
You have to be aware of the details of the calendar.
Strange little details: like the fact that, in most years, the days of the week for each numerical date are the same in February and in March. This makes booking errors for these months especially easy.
Hotels which cater to business travelers often decrease room rates during weekends — and increase them again during weekdays.
Rates can also vary according to season. If a hotel is on the beach, room rates will be higher in summer than in winter. Rooms will be more expensive during Chinese New Year or Spring Break than they will be at Thanksgiving or Christmas.
People traveling to a familiar or unfamiliar place always need a place
This means that — on every call — you are doing your best to solve the you are talking to. This is where you ability to start the conversation
place to stay. the “Where to Stay” part of the travel equation for the traveler with the right probing questions is key.
Do you have rooms big enough for the number of people who want to stay in the same space?
You always have to ask. And it is probable that a hotel charges a little extra if a room is occupied by more than two people.
Getting back to competition between hotels: it is fierce, and getting worse. As always, strong competition will tend to drive prices down — even while you are trying to book room rates that allow a hotel to pay its bills — and make a profit.
What you are offering in response to the question “How Much?” is Confidence and Value — the travelers’ perception that they are on their way to a great hotel experience at a rate that makes sense to them.
Not the “rock bottom” price but a hotel in the right place, with the right amenities that rises to meet the needs of the traveler.
What you are offering is a guaranteed great hotel experience and that is something every traveler wants and values.
Here are some types of travelers you will grow to recognize.
The longer you do the job of a Sales Specialist, the more recognizable these “segments” will be.
Looking through the IHG® Hotels & Resorts brands, in the following pages, you will be able to see how the logic of the brands aligns with these different marketing “segments”.
These people travel as part of their jobs. They know hotels because they have stayed in a lot of them.
When a flight attendant finishes work, she will typically be far away from home: in a hotel. The airline pays a discounted “crew” rate for her stay. We call this an Industry rate — a discounted price for people working in the travel industry.
A music executive stays in luxury hotels, as a perk of his job. He tends to stay in places that give him extra special treatment such as complimentary breakfast or other inclusions as part of a Corporate rate or locally negotiated rate.
A corporate trainer may be in an unfamiliar city for weeks — or even months. She wants a hotel that is more like an efficiency apartment: where she can do some of her own cooking, and where the living area is distinct from the bedroom.
Maybe a guy just starts off with a backpack...a dream...and not much cash. Leisure travelers are always paying for lodging out of their own pockets — so they tend to respond strongly to the idea of Value — and Consistency. Everything else about their journey is unfamiliar: so they like a recognized brand at a price that seems “right.”
The same can be said of families: who are also looking for Value. In addition, they appreciate kid-friendly environments and family friendly amenties.
Hotels depend on groups, special events, and meetings for a lot of their revenue.
The dates are set — the facilities are booked — and the rooms set aside in advance: so these travelers have been told what kind of rooms are available, and the nightly rates they should be getting. These groups could be as small as 10 rooms and as large as 200 rooms. The types of groups you will deal with will vary from a group of rooms for wedding attendees to a large citywide convention.
With all these different needs in mind, each of the major hotel companies creates a brand spectrum.
As you might expect, as the room-rate-per-night increases (the Price) the number of amenities or services (Level of Offerings) also increases — most travelers understand that “you get what you pay for”.
Because IHG® Hotels and Resorts brands always offer value, and consistency which customers expect and appreciate.
While each brand is great in its own way, you will learn each brand is focused on appealing to the needs of specific target guests. Luckily, we have many options to suit a variety of guests and their needs.
We have a family of 18 hotel brands, including the world’s largest luxury hotel brand, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, and our Holiday Inn Brand Family, one of the world’s most recognized and loved brands.
Offer a differentiated promise and hospitality experience designed to inspire and attract different types of guests, owners, and colleagues. From long stays to city escapes and beach breaks. From business bookings to everyday essentials. A collection of welcoming experiences await.
Timeless legacy bound together by distinctive design and unforgettable service. Making every journey a celebration of extraordinary experiences.
Making travel personal and purposeful. Giving guests a sense of belonging and wellbeing, with thoughtful details to make every trip matter.
Always there, always just what you need. With the warmth and trusted experience which has come to define true hospitality.
When you’re not at home, be here. We invite guests to settle in for longer stays, knowing the comforts of home are always within reach.
We are all consumers: so we all understand how a business — large or small — earns our loyalty. “Loyalty” is an emotion, and much of consumer loyalty is associated with emotional touchpoints:
“This brand of hotel is the same as the first hotel I ever stayed at when I was traveling with my family....”
“This brand is the same as the hotel where we spent our honeymoon....”
“This hotel is my first choice when I go to Chicago on business....”
“This hotel always treats me like I’m someone important....”
Of course, consumer loyalty is also associated with practical things:
“The hotel is in a good area. I never feel anxious going into the neighborhood....”
“The rooms are always clean and wellequipped....”
“It’s the fastest Internet I’ve had in a hotel....”
“I always get the same rate. I can depend on it....”
“There’s no extra charge for having my dog in the room....”
“The loyalty program is administered fairly, and I see tangible benefits from it....”
Ultimately, customers come back because of the experience - and that starts with you!
The industry’s first loyalty program reinvents itself –empowering members with more choice, value, and richer rewards than ever before.
From epic summer vacations to much-needed family reunions, people are making up for lost time and memories. IHG Hotels & Resorts is here for it –debuting a new global loyalty program: IHG® One Rewards, as it welcomes guests to the next chapter of travel.
IHG® One Rewards will offer industry-leading value and relevant benefits for members to enhance their stays. Review the membership summary on the following page to learn more.
Click on the link below, or scan the code, to go to the IHG® One Rewards web site: where you can establish a membership for yourself — complete with a unique, 9-digit membership number that you will need when you start the first day of class.
Just click on the word Join in the teal bar at the top of the page to enroll for free.
