IHG® Trends Report Challenges Brands to Build 'Trust Capital'

London (ots/PRNewswire) -

'Trust Capital' is now the '4th C' of organisational value -
alongside Human, Financial and Intellectual Capital - and a key
factor for consumers in making brand

choices

InterContinental(R) Hotels Group [http://www.ihg.com ] (IHG) today
launched its 2015 Trends Report [http://www.ihgplc.com/trends_report
], Trust Capital: The new business imperative in the Kinship Economy,
which identifies the growing importance for companies to build both
brand and organisational trust. IHG is publishing its report during
the World Economic Forum (WEF), in Davos, which highlights the
erosion of trust in public and private sector institutions as one of
its key trends.

Many companies focus on the 3Cs of organisational wealth:
Financial Capital, Intellectual Capital and Human Capital. Today,
corporations must add a fourth 'C': generating, gathering and growing
Trust Capital which represents the confidence consumers have in the
credibility, integrity, leadership and responsibility of an
organisation and its brands.

IHG's 2015 Trends Report [http://www.ihgplc.com/trends_report ]
focuses on how organisations can build Trust Capital, unveiling a
blueprint that organisations can follow to build trust with different
demographics and across different geographies.

This insight is based on a series of related studies spanning a
three-year period and involving nearly 40,000 interviews with
international travellers worldwide. It is the third in a series of
reports focusing on consumer insights impacting the hospitality
industry and business in general. In 2013, IHG published 'The New
Kinship Economy' [http://library.the-group.net/ihg/client_upload/file
/The_new_kinship_economy.pdf ], which highlighted a transition from
brand experiences to brand relationships in the hospitality sector.
The 2014 report, 'Creating Moments of Trust - the key to building
successful brand relationships in the Kinship Economy'
[http://www.ihgplc.com/index.asp?pageid=938 ] built on this work and
suggested that to win guest loyalty in the future, hotels need to
deliver a global, local and personalised experience.

Richard Solomons, Chief Executive Officer, IHG, said:

"As we look around us, there are so many shifts taking place. In a
digital, 24/7 world, where personalisation is increasing and
consumers have a new definition of value, the trust that people have
in both brands and the organisation behind them is more important
than ever.

"Our research has shown that building 'Trust Capital' plays a
critical role in delivering sustainable, high quality revenue growth.
To build trust, organisations must ensure they adopt a trust agenda,
focus on personalisation whilst being aware of the boundaries and
develop a deep understanding of how guest needs are changing by
demographic and by geography.

"For IHG [http://www.ihg.com ], maintaining our focus in these
areas will help us to continue to build genuine guest loyalty and
rewarding relationships between our guests and our brands, now and
into the future."

Key Insight: Changing Demographics

The report provides some important insights into our changing
world that are having a direct impact on the way consumers build
Trust Capital. One key trend is that consumers are getting older and
younger all at the same time but not in all the same places. The
demographic picture shows a large group of Boomers (born 1946-1964)
and a large group of Millennials (born 1982-2000).

These two groups have very different mind-sets, world-views,
different desires when travelling, and different approaches to brands
and trust. The real opportunity for brands is strategically managing
both of these groups at the same time. According to the research:

- Millennials prefer close, experiential relationships with brands whereas
Boomers look for brand relationships that go smoothly, with no hitches or glitches:
- 23% of Millennials say they want to stay in hotels that say something
about them, versus 11 % of Boomers
- Millennials are more apt to be 'invisible Travellers' than Boomers -
people who can move through the guest journey without caring for people-enabled
contact:
- 67% of Boomers say they would prefer to call a hotel and speak with 'real'
people on-site for information, versus 56% of Millennials
- Millennials and Boomers have different desires when travelling as a
family. Millennials look for places that have family-centric activities where their
children will be well taken care of and will have fun. Boomers prefer everyone to be
together in a multi-generational way.

The report argues that the changing nature of the family is also
impacting how the consumer builds trust. It reveals that the Kinship
Economy now has two kinds of kinship: kin, those who are our true
family and kindred spirits. Appealing to a person's two "networks" in
relevant and differentiating manners is a positive (and
cost-effective) way to gain and retain consumers.

For more information on IHG's 2015 Trends Report please visit
http://www.ihgplc.com/trends_report

Notes to Editors:

About IHG

IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is
a global organisation with a broad portfolio of nine hotel brands,
including InterContinental(R) Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo(R),
Crowne Plaza(R) Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn(R) Hotels & Resorts,
Holiday Inn Express(R), Staybridge Suites(R), Candlewood Suites(R),
EVEN(TM) Hotels and HUALUXE(R) Hotels and Resorts.

IHG manages IHG(R) Rewards Club, the world's first and largest
hotel loyalty programme with over 82 million members worldwide. The
programme was relaunched in July 2013, offering enhanced benefits for
members including free internet across all hotels, globally.

IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns over 4,700 hotels and
697,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries, with almost 1,200 hotels
in its development pipeline.

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

Visit http://www.ihg.com for hotel information and reservations
and http://www.ihgrewardsclub.com for more on IHG Rewards Club. For
our latest news, visit: http://www.ihg.com/media,
http://www.twitter.com/ihg, http://www.facebook.com/ihg or
http://www.youtube.com/ihgplc

The IHG Blueprint for generating Trust Capital:

1) Adopt a Trust Agenda within the organisation, led by the CEO, or 'Chief
Trust Officer'.
2) Recognise that trust is not the same as reputation - both are equally
important and should be treated so.
3) Focus on personalisation, but know your limits.
4) Acknowledge that every consumer is value conscious and that consumers
determine value, not companies.
5) Focus on the consumer's new way of assessing brand value.
6) Focus on building value through 'one-think decision-making'.
7) Distinguish repeat behaviour from real brand loyalty.

ots Originaltext: InterContinental Hotels Group
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
Enquiries: Jovana Lakcevic - jovana.lakcevic@ihg.com -
+441895512864. Jo Vaughton - jo.vaughton@ihg.com - +441895516618.