IHG Hotels & Resorts has reached a significant development milestone with Garner, its midscale conversion brand, hitting 100 open hotels globally – less than two years after its August 2023 launch. The achievement makes Garner the fastest brand in IHG’s history to reach that threshold, and the company is moving quickly to build on the momentum.
With a pipeline of almost 80 additional hotels across 12 countries, the brand is on course to nearly double its current footprint. Garner properties are either open or in development across the US, Mexico, the UK, Italy, Germany, Türkiye, Japan, Thailand and India, with Greater China entry confirmed for later in 2026.
Why conversion brands are winning
The pace of Garner’s growth reflects a structural shift in how major hotel groups are expanding. Conversions – the repositioning of existing hotel assets under a new brand flag – accounted for 52 per cent of all IHG room openings in 2025. For owners, the model offers a faster route to market, lower capital requirements and quicker access to IHG’s global distribution and loyalty infrastructure.
Some Garner conversions have been completed in little more than a month between signing and opening – a turnaround speed that new-build development cannot match. A competitive cost-per-key ratio and flexible design standards make the brand accessible to a wide range of existing hotel assets, from legacy roadside properties to mid-rise city hotels.
Karen Gilbride, Global Vice President for Garner Hotels at IHG, attributed the brand’s success to the alignment between owner economics and guest demand. “Garner’s flexible development model allows the brand to more quickly enter new global markets and deliver returns for owners,” she said, adding that the group is “just starting to tap into Garner’s full growth potential.”
Regional momentum
In the Americas, Garner recorded 32 signings and 23 openings in 2025 – the third-highest totals of any IHG brand in the region. Notable milestones included the brand’s first property in Mexico, Garner Hotel Mazatlán Beach, along with new openings in Butte, Montana and near Arizona’s Lake Powell. In 2026, the brand has already entered suburban Boston and the greater New York City area.
Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa accounted for the strongest volume performance, with Garner opening more hotels in that region than any other IHG brand in 2025. The EMEAA push was anchored by a 2024 agreement with NOVUM Hospitality, one of Germany’s largest private operators, which is transitioning 56 open and pipeline hotels to Garner.
Beyond Germany, 2025 saw Garner’s debut in Italy, Türkiye and the UK. Japan followed with three openings in Osaka and a fourth in Kyoto, while the brand made its first Southeast Asian appearance with Garner Hotel Pattaya Central in Thailand. India saw its first five signings.
The brand’s operating philosophy
Garner targets travellers who prioritise comfort and reliability at an accessible price point, with a brand identity that Garner describes as “easy-going stays that get you on your way.” Each property’s design acknowledges the character of its home city, while the amenity set focuses on the fundamentals that consistently drive guest satisfaction: quality bedding, a reliable night’s sleep and a hot breakfast.
Public and in-room workspaces serve the blended business-and-leisure traveller segment, which has proven resilient across market conditions. Owners, in return, gain access to IHG’s central reservations infrastructure, revenue management tools and the IHG One Rewards loyalty programme – a distribution advantage that independent midscale properties would be hard-pressed to replicate on their own.
Part of a broader conversion strategy
Garner does not sit in isolation within IHG’s portfolio. The group has built a suite of conversion-oriented brands across multiple segments: voco in the premium tier, Vignette Collection at the luxury and lifestyle end, and Ruby, acquired in 2024, targeting urban lifestyle and adaptive reuse opportunities.
Taken together, these brands form a conversion playbook that IHG is deploying across different price points and geographies. IHG’s Q3 2025 trading update noted that more than 50 per cent of openings in that period were “quick-to-open conversions,” underscoring how central the model has become to the group’s growth algorithm.
IHG has separately signalled its intention to launch a further collection brand in the upscale to upper-upscale segment, an indication that conversion-led growth is far from reaching its ceiling within the group’s strategy.
What the milestone signals for the industry
Garner’s trajectory matters beyond IHG’s own portfolio. It validates the broader case that conversion brands, when well-structured, can scale at a speed that challenges traditional assumptions about brand development timelines. It also reflects the commercial pressure on independent midscale operators: as global chains offer faster on-ramps, lower conversion costs and proven distribution, the gap between branded and unbranded performance in the midscale segment continues to widen.
With Greater China entry on the 2026 agenda and India pipeline building, Garner’s next phase of growth will test whether the conversion model translates as effectively in more complex regulatory and real estate environments as it has in North America, Germany and Japan. The early indicators, at least, point firmly in one direction.
