IHG acquires 'lean luxury' hotel brand with locations in European hotspots
Over the last few years, lifestyle hotel acquisitions have been all the rage for some of the world's biggest hotel companies, including Hyatt and Hilton. Now, IHG is joining the fray with the acquisition of the "premium urban lifestyle" Ruby hotel brand from Germany-based Ruby SARL (Ruby Group).
Already quite popular in Europe, with 20 hotels open in Germany, the U.K., Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Ireland and the Netherlands — plus 10 more in the pipeline — Ruby is a hotel brand touted to offer a "stylish yet relaxed charm" and "lean luxury," or all of the things that make a great stay (think: comfortable beds and trendy cocktail bars) alongside cost-saving efficiencies like automated check-in. For comparison's sake, look at Moxy or CitizenM.
In the deal, IHG will acquire Ruby's brand and franchise business for an initial purchase consideration of about $116 million, while Ruby Group will continue to operate the original Ruby-branded hotels that are open, as well as the current pipeline hotels scheduled in the next three years for Edinburgh, Marseille, Rome and Stockholm.
IHG appears to see Ruby as a brand that's great for travelers and hotel developers, claiming that it's a great fit for new build locations and adaptive reuse projects and conversions, according to a statement from the company. IHG plans to roll out the brand for U.S. development by the end of the year and, by utilizing IHG's global hotel loyalty network, grow Ruby to over 120 hotels within 10 years and more than 250 hotels around the world in 20 years.
"We are delighted with the acquisition of Ruby, which further enriches our portfolio with an exciting, distinct and high-quality offer for both guests and owners in popular city destinations," Elie Maalouf, IHG Hotels & Resorts CEO, said. "This acquisition demonstrates our focus on building our presence in large, attractive industry segments and using our experience of integrating and growing brands and hotel portfolios."
IHG will begin to incorporate the currently open Ruby hotels into the IHG One Rewards system later in 2025, with an expected completion date of March 21, 2026. The current remaining pipeline hotels are all expected to be open by the end of 2027.
IHG's Ruby takeover comes on the heels of other major lifestyle-focused acquisitions. Last year, Hilton took a majority stake in the parent company behind NoMad and announced it had plans to beef the brand up to 100 hotels. Hyatt, in recent years, took over the edgier lifestyle brand Standard International as well as Dreams Hotel Group.
But IHG isn't wading into unfamiliar territory; the company took a majority stake in the luxury brand Regent back in 2018 and has since opened a flagship property in Santa Monica. More than a decade ago, IHG acquired the Kimpton brand, a move that shored up IHG's spot as a major player in the lifestyle segment.
Ruby marks the 20th brand under the IHG umbrella.
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