Amith Khanna, Head of Franchise, India, Middle East & Africa at IHG Hotels & Resorts, highlights how IHG is accelerating regional growth through a strong focus on franchising, with 100% of its 2024 UAE signings under franchise agreements. The model’s success reflects both the market’s maturity and IHG’s global expertise, offering franchisees advanced tools, technology, and localised support. With 60 franchised hotels currently operating across MEA and 30 more in the pipeline, IHG is partnering with experienced owners and third-party operators to ensure scalability and brand consistency. As markets such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Africa evolve, Amith expects franchising to become an increasingly dynamic, flexible, and strategic driver of sustainable growth for the region.

BTN - IHG has made significant strides in franchising across the UAE. What’s driving this success and how does it align with your wider regional growth strategy?

In the UAE, 100% of our new hotels signings in 2024 were franchise agreements. This reflects both the maturity of the market and the strength of IHG’s franchise model, which provides owners with tools, resources, systems, brand equity and personalized support to achieve exceptional performance. Ciel Dubai Marina, Vignette Collection by IHG – the tallest hotel tower in the world feature 1000 + rooms and the signing of an integrated resort on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi under our portfolio with Aldar, are great examples of how we are leveraging the model to expand our footprint. These properties demonstrate how IHG is moving with agility, scalability, alignment and the right business model with experienced local partners, while ensuring we maintain the brand standards and guest experiences we are known for.

BTN - In what ways does IHG leverage its global reach while maintaining a strong local presence in franchise operations?

Given that more than 80% of IHG-branded hotels, globally, operate under franchise agreements, we have industry leading experience and expertise to offer franchisees including our global support network, integrated distribution, technology resources and marketing initiatives that are equally leveraged locally.

IMEA is part of the Europe, Middle East, Asia & Africa (EMEAA) operating region which is headquartered in the UK. This gives us ease of access to the franchise Centre of Excellence in the UK which has established tools and resources to maximize performance of franchise hotels in our portfolio.

Moreover, we have a dedicated franchise support structure for IMEA which provides hands on support to our franchise owners and ensure owner returns across our entire franchise estate in the region.

BTN - Can you provide an overview of the current size and scope of IHG’s franchise estate in the MEA region?

Currently, we have 60 hotels in our franchise portfolio across MEA which is 30% of our entire estate in the region. We also have 30 franchise hotels in our pipeline which are due to open in the next 2-3 years.

As we sign and open more franchise hotels in the coming months and years, we expect these numbers to increase notably.

BTN - How do you see the franchise model evolving in the Middle East and Africa?

As the region’s hospitality industry matures, especially in markets as such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia, the franchise model is emerging as a strategic growth avenue for both hotel operators and owners. This model offers operators such as IHG a streamlined approach to expand our reach and scale brand visibility.

While the traditional franchise model often works best in mature markets where owners have the necessary experience and resources, IHG has effectively established innovative approaches to adapt this model to emerging markets. We are able to offer flexible and customized franchise agreements that support our partners’ unique needs. While maintaining our rigorous brand standards and delivering exceptional guest experiences remain paramount, we are open to exploring modifications where appropriate.

In markets like Africa, where the hospitality sector is still developing, we’re strategically focusing on partnerships with experienced third-party management companies. These partnerships enable us to tap into local expertise and expand our footprint in regions where we may not have a strong presence.

Looking ahead, we anticipate the franchise model in the Middle East and Africa region becoming even more dynamic and responsive to local market trends.