- 🏨 197 hotels opened · 31,500 rooms in the first half of 2026, a record for the group
- 🌍 1,049,000 rooms · the global portfolio surpasses one million, spread across 7,109 hotels
- 📈 RevPAR up 4.1% · Americas 4.8%, EMEAA 3.0%, Greater China 3.1%
- 💰 $665m operating profit · up 10% year-on-year
- 🔮 348,000 rooms in pipeline · representing 33% of the current portfolio size
IHG Hotels & Resorts has published its results for the first six months of 2026, and the figure that stands out is not financial: the British group opened 197 hotels in a half-year, its fastest pace of development since its creation. In doing so, the portfolio surpasses the symbolic milestone of one million rooms.
An unprecedented half-year of development
The 197 openings represent 31,500 rooms brought into service between January and June, up 8% year-on-year on an organic basis. Over the same period, the group signed 352 new hotels, representing 49,200 rooms, also up 8%.
The global portfolio now reaches 1,049,000 rooms across 7,109 properties, a net growth of 5% over twelve months. Elie Maalouf, the group’s Chief Executive Officer, highlighted these “record performances with nearly 200 hotel openings in the first half”.
Key figures for the half-year
- Rooms opened · 31,500, in 197 hotels
- Rooms signed · 49,200, in 352 hotels
- Total portfolio · 1,049,000 rooms, 7,109 hotels
- Pipeline · 348,000 rooms, 2,385 hotels
- RevPAR · up 4.1% globally
- Reportable segment revenue · $1,255m, compared to $1,175m a year earlier
- Operating profit · $665m, compared to $604m
- Adjusted earnings per share · 274.7 cents, up 13%
- Interim dividend · 64.5 cents per share, up 10%
- 2026 share buyback · $950m programme, 42% completed as of 30 June
Growth that no longer costs capital
The interesting takeaway lies beyond commercial performance. With a fee margin rising from 64.7% to 65.9%, IHG confirms a model where growth comes from the brand rather than the bricks: the group signs franchise and management agreements, collects fees, and leaves the financing of the properties to the owners.
The pipeline, at 348,000 rooms, is equivalent to a third of the portfolio already in operation, providing rare visibility in the hotel industry over the next five to seven years. The $1.2 billion announced in shareholder returns for 2026 stems directly from this capital-light model.
IHG compared to its competitors
The comparison with Hyatt’s second quarter highlights the scale. Hyatt reported a record pipeline of 154,000 rooms; IHG’s stands at 348,000, more than double. The gap says nothing about the quality of the two portfolios, but a lot about their positioning: Hyatt plays on scarcity in the high-end segment, while IHG focuses on volume across the entire brand pyramid, from midscale to luxury.
It is this breadth of range that explains the group’s consistency: when one segment slows down, another absorbs the shock, which a mono-positioned player cannot do.
What this says about the market
The RevPAR growth of 4.1% remains solid without being spectacular, and its geographical balance is worth noting: Greater China, long the weak spot for international groups, grew by 3.1%, a pace now comparable to that of the Europe, Middle East, Asia and Africa region.
For the traveller, this race for openings translates primarily into the rise of collection brands, those flexible brands that allow independent hotels to join a group without giving up their identity. This is the segment on which IHG is focusing an increasing share of its development, as illustrated by the announcement on the same day of the arrival of the three The Hari hotels within Vignette Collection.
