IHG Announces Robert Morse as Americas Chief Operating Officer

ATLANTA, Jan. 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) (LON: IHG; NYSE: IHG (ADRs)) today announces that Robert "Bob" Morse has been appointed senior vice president and chief operating officer for the Americas region, succeeding Angela Brav who is now president of IHG's Europe region.  In his new role with IHG, he will lead the operations activities for franchised and managed hotels across all of IHG's brands in the Americas region.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120125/NY41658) 

"Bob is a tremendous addition to our leadership team in the Americas region," said Kirk Kinsell, president, the Americas, IHG.  "He has had a significant presence in our industry for 35 years and his operations, franchise and management expertise covers all aspects of running a successful hotel and brings an owner's perspective to this position.  Bob will lead a key component in driving the performance of our brands and hotels for our owners.  His focused attention on the operations of the managed and franchised hotels in our portfolio will help us to fulfill our core purpose of creating Great Hotels Guests Love."

"I'm looking forward to working alongside the great people at IHG, from the senior leadership team to the people who bring their hotels to life," said Morse, the incoming chief operating officer, the Americas, IHG.  "IHG's focus on people, their strong brands and global strength within the industry are all big draws for me.  I've watched IHG become a global force within the industry and am excited to be a part of the leadership team."

Morse will join IHG in February from Noble Investment Group, a leading lodging and hospitality investment organization, where he most recently served as managing principal and chief operating officer.  For the past seven years, he was responsible for Noble's hotel management group, which prior to its October 2011 merger with Interstate Hotels & Resorts, operated more than 60 properties including full and select service hotels with annual management revenues of approximately $350 million.  His responsibilities at Noble included hotel operations, sales and marketing, human resources, information technology and hotel accounting.

Prior to joining Noble, Morse was the chief operating officer for Interstate Hotels & Resorts, Inc.  During his tenure there he was responsible for directing a portfolio of more than 300 hotels and resorts with more than $2.3 billion in annual revenue.  Additionally, he has served in senior management positions for Millennium and Copthorne Hotels PLC, Homestead Suites, and with ITT Sheraton Hotels & Resorts where he oversaw the worldwide franchise organization for the Sheraton and Four Points brands.

Morse will be based in Atlanta and will be on the Regional Operating Committee for the Americas reporting directly to Kirk Kinsell, president for the Americas.

Notes to Editors:
IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) (LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)) is a global organization operating seven hotel brands including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites® and Candlewood Suites® . IHG also manages Priority Club® Rewards, the world's first and largest hotel loyalty program with over 61 million members worldwide.

IHG is the world's largest hotel group by number of rooms and franchises, leases, manages or owns over 4,500 hotels and more than 666,000 guest rooms in 100 countries and territories, and has more than 1,100 hotels in its development pipeline. 

IHG is committed to gender balance throughout its business. We aspire to continue retaining a minimum of 25% female representation on the Board.

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group's holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.

Visit www.ihg.com for hotel information and reservations and www.priorityclub.com for more on Priority Club Rewards. For our latest news, visit www.ihg.com/media, www.twitter.com/ihgplc or www.youtube.com/ihgplc.

SOURCE IHG Hotels & Resorts