While IHG executives think of the company as an innovator, there are technology companies that admittedly have more resources. IHG operates a small portion of its portfolio, but it’s not the company’s first priority.

　　While InterContinental Hotels Group executives think of the company as an innovator, there are technology companies that admittedly have more resources. IHG operates a small portion of its portfolio, but it’s not the company’s first priority. And executives threw the towel in on owning assets about 10 years ago.

　　But there is one area in which IHG is arguably unparalleled: building and defining global hotel brands.

　　Company executives spoke during the 2013 IHG Americas Investors and Leadership Conference this week about the goal to develop “preferred brands” and the importance of IHG matching each of its brands with specific, targeted segments of guests.

　　Heavy research and many resources are spent understanding a target customer for each of IHG’s brands. More important than understanding the guest is understanding “a target occasion,” said Kirk Kinsell, president of the Americas region for IHG.

　　"When people are away from home they’re on an occasion,” he said. “And when they’re on that occasion they have a specific set of needs.”

　　Crowne Plaza refresh

　　Identifying the target occasion at Crowne Plaza, a brand that executives said can be inconsistent in its offerings across the globe, is one of IHG’s top priorities.

　　Over the past two years, Crowne Plaza has been undergoing the first of a three-phase "refresh.” With the first stage, “Freshen Up,” wrapping, franchisees are now propelling into the next phase, "Move Up.”

　　Underperforming assets will continue to be eliminated from the system to ensure a quality brand experience across the portfolio.

　　For Crowne Plaza, the target consumer is “a person who’s traveling for success,” Kinsell said.

　　"Traveling for success means the hotel has to engage that person and support that person to be successful, to feel successful,” he said. “In our case, it was putting the enhancement of the brand around our traveler so they have the tools that the hotel can support in terms of them being on the road—oftentimes on business—so we need to make sure they have a positive connection to the hotel.”

　　Kinsell said the research findings from the Freshen Up phase were common to all brands: Hotels must deliver the basics every time and those basics have to work great.