Mark Carrier, SVP of the B.F. Saul Co. Hotel Division and chairman of IAHI, the owners' association of InterContinental Hotels Group franchisees and owners, made a bold statement at the New York University International Hotel Investment Conference in early June.
"We gained greater strategic alignment with IHG than may have been in past times," he said.
Carrier specifically pointed to IHG CEO Andy Cosslett's tenure since 2005 as a catalyst for improving synergies between the hotel company and its owners' association.
Carrier holds his chairman role until this fall, when the job passes to Bill DeForrest, president and CEO of Lane Hospitality.
"The test of any relationship is what happens in tough times," DeForrest said.
He credited IHG with tackling business growth head-on during the recession, especially sticking with its major relaunch of Holiday Inn.
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