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Elie Maalouf

Chief Executive Officer, InterContinental Hotels Group PLC

Search every verified Elie Maalouf interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. At the WTTC Global Summit 2026 in Valletta, Malta, Elie Maalouf, Global CEO of IHG Hotels & Resorts, discussed the evolving preferences of high-value travelers and the factors driving industry growth. He noted that today’s travelers are better informed, more demanding, less loyal, and increasingly motivated by live experiences, which he said have become more valuable due to their scarcity compared to digital alternatives. Maalouf also highlighted generational shifts, including wealthier young people and more active older travelers, as new forces expanding travel demand alongside traditional GDP and middle-class growth. Maalouf addressed the role of loyalty programs, stating that IHG launched the first hotel loyalty program with Holiday Inn decades ago and now has 165 million IHG One Rewards members, with trust as a fundamental requirement. He mentioned that IHG is exploring brand extensions into cruising, citing requests from customers and a small experiment in Vietnam, while emphasizing that the company takes time to ensure such ventures are successful for partners. He also pointed to expanding airline networks and the appeal of new experiences as drivers of geographic growth in travel.

Recent appearances

Notable quotes

“It used to be our industry grew because GDP grew and the middle class grows, right? And that continues. But today there are three other forces that are growing our business. Number one, experiences matter more than ever before. Live experiences. Not digital experiences. Why? Because digital experiences have no scarcity. You can produce an infinite amount. So what becomes scarce, what becomes valuable, is a live exper”

“When we think about loyalty, let's start with the origin of it. The first hotel loyalty program was launched by IHG 65, 70 years ago with the first Holiday Inn. We started hotel loyalty, and that was a different generation. Where are we today? Today, we are with 165 million IHG One Rewards members around the world. But their fundamental requirement is trust. Every night 1 million people stay in one of our hotels arou”

“The percentage growth, the rates of growth have moved east from the Middle East to Southeast Asia to Central Asia to the Far East. That is a long-term structural trend. The populations are younger. Average age in India is 26, 27. It's 40 in Europe and in the US right so GDP is growing faster six seven eight percent in India you know one two three percent in the west... India's business sector is growing rapidly, GDP ”

“Despite being 6,700 hotels, 80 years in the industry, we have only 4% of the global share of existing rooms. Only 4%. We have 10% of the pipeline. So we're consolidating growth into the future, but the headroom is very, very high.”

“We're not embarrassed to say that one of our main purposes is delivering results for our investors. I start with that because it's usually not where purposes start when CEOs are talking about their businesses, but I'm also not ashamed to say that we are very trusted by the families, individuals that invested in IHG.”

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