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We have all stayed in hotels. Whether it was the big one where you and your parents stayed during that family vacation so long ago or that small one you spent a night in for that business trip last year, we all have taken refuge under another man’s roof. Some hotels are cheap while the rates of others even cost more than your house for just a night’s stay. So how much did the10 biggest luxury hotel chains earnin 2011? Here’s who and how much.
10. Home Inns – $0.63 billion
With its English slogan "your home away from home"Home Inn is first and largest budget hotel chain in China. It was founded by Ji Qui in 2001 and started expansion a year later. In 2007 it purchased Top Star, bringing it total number of hotels to 250 the following year. The company now has plans to expand to other Asian countries.Its headquarters are in the Xuhui District in Shanghai.
9. Choice Hotels International – $0.64 billion
The company that would be later known as Choice Hotels International was founded in 1939 in Maryland as Quality Courts United. The name would later be changed when it bought three economy hotel chains in 1990. It now has over 7,000 hotels nationwide under its brands Ascend Collection, Cambria Suites, Clarion Hotels, Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Econo Lodge, Mainstay Suites, Quality Inn/Hotel, Rodeway Inn, Sleep Inn and Suburban Extended Stay Hotel.
8. The Rezidor Hotel Group – $1.12B
Previously known as Rezidor SAS, its first hotel opened in 1960 in Copenhagen and was touted the world’s first designer hotel. In 2001 the Rezidor SAS was renamed the Rezidor SAS Hospitality ahead of its expansion to include a variety of brands. In 2006 the company went public and it was renamed again, this time to Rezidor Hotel Group.
Now the ninth largest hotel group in the world, it has over 1,319 hotels with 209,000 rooms in 81 countries across the globe. Its brands include Radisson, Radisson Blu, Country Inns & Suites, Hotel Missoni, Park Inn andPark Plaza.
7. Hyatt Hotels – $3.70B
Based in the US, the Hyatt Hotels Corp. now has over 490 hotels across the globe. Its brands include the Park Hyatt, its luxury brand; the Andaz, upscale locale-inspired properties; Grand Hyatt, large urban center hotels; Hyatt Regency, for convention attendees or business travelers; Hyatt Place, ideal for families and business travelers;Hyatt House, residential-style hotels and upscale properties; and Hyatt Resorts and the Hyatt Vacation Club
6. Wyndham Hotel Group – $4.25 billion
Originally named the Wyndham Hotel Corp. it was founded in 1981 in Dallas, Texas, by Trammell Crow, who allegedly named it after a friend of his. It continued to grow into the 1990s acquiring the Summerfield Hotel Corp. and expanding to more hotels but soon got into trouble before the decade was over as it had technically overextended itself. It later agreed to a $1-billion restructuring plan from a consortium of private firms and struggled to keep afloat from 1999 to 2004, selling off hotels it could no longer afford to run. In June 2005 Wyndham International was bought by the Blackstone Group for $3.24 billion. Brands under Wyndham Worldwide include Baymont Inn & Suites, Microtel Inns and Travelodge.
5. Starwood Hotels and Resorts – $5.60 billion
Starwood Lodging was originally formed when US real estate investment firm Starwood Capital wanted to take advantage of a tax break. It eventually grew to own several hotels in the US, but all under different brand names. Since 2005 the company has been pushing to venture into business hotels and now its brands include the Westin, Sheraton, the Luxury Collection, W Hotels and St. Regis. A part of the Luxury Collection, the Royal Penthouse Suite, at Hotel President Wilson in Geneva, Switzerland, is listed on top of the world’s most expensive hotel suites. The cost? Only US$65,000 per night.
4. Accor – $7.90 billion
The Accor Hotel Group can trace its founding roots to the 1960s when Paul Dubrule and Gerard Pelisson opened their first US-style hotel in Lille, Northern France. Two decades later their company bought out the Jacques Borel International and was renamed the Accor Group. The group continued to expand, invading the US where it acquired Motel 6 and the Westin Hotels and Red Roof Inn chains which it later resold. The brand also started running casinos in the 1990s. It now has the most number of economy- to high-class hotels in France and over 1,600 properties worldwide under one of its brands called Ibis.
3. Hilton Worldwide – $8 billion
Formerly the Hilton Hotels Corp.the brand name started with a single hotel in Cisco, Texas, the Mobley, built by Conrad Hilton. From there the company grew. A funny story in the Hilton history happened when their international branch separated was bought and rebranded several times before being named Hilton Group. After much confusion both the local and International Hilton groups got into a joint agreement to adopt the same logos, promote each other and never directly compete. As of August 2012 the Hilton Worldwide now has over 642,000 rooms in 3,897 hotels in 91 countries across the world. Its brand names include Waldorf Astoria Hotels and Resorts, Conrad Hotels and Resorts, Embassy Suite Hotels and Hampton Inn.
2. Marriott International – $12.30 billion
The idea behind the Marriott business was founded in Washington DC in the summer 1927 when J. Willard Marriott opened a root beer stand to take sell drinks to quench the thirst of people sweltering in the heat. This business later expanded to a chain of restaurants and hotels. Marriott International was created in 1993 when the Marriott Corp. split off; one branch was to handle the local business and the other to focus overseas expansion. Nowthe company has almost 4,000 properties in 74 countries across the globe. It has under its brands Marriott Hotels and Resorts, JW Marriott Hotels and Resorts, the Ritz-Carlton and Bulgari Hotels and Resorts.
1. InterContinental Hotels Group – $20.20 billion
The world’s biggest hotel company earned the most in 2011. The IHG has over 646,000 rooms in over 45,000 hotels in over 100 countries across the globe as of January 2010. The company can trace is roots back to 1777 when William Bass founded in Bass Brewery. The brewery business later branched into the small hotel business, but the modern company as we know it today was not founded until 2003. The IHG group has brands including Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Candlewood Suites, Hotel Indigo and Staybridge Suites to name a few. It franchises almost 4,000 of its hotel.
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