IHG Hotels & Resorts is one of the world's leading hotel companies. They represent some of the most iconic hospitality brands, including Holiday Inn, Intercontinental Hotels & Resorts, and more. The organization takes great pride in providing exemplary, award-winning service that fosters exceptional customer loyalty.

However, managing online listings and maintaining a consistent customer experience across 6,500 properties is challenging, requiring thousands of personnel hours to ensure accuracy. As Natalie Gulden, IHG's Director of Customer Engagement puts it: "We have a huge, complex business. There are thousands of listings to manage, and our customer and IHG needs are constantly evolving."

The company needed a partner to help manage listings efficiently and identify opportunities for growth and improvement. Yext is that partner.

IHG uses Yext Listings to ensure that property information is continuously updated, accurate, and quickly found via search engine listings. Details are pulled from IHG's central database and aggregated, synced, and distributed to Yext's vast publisher network, which accounts for roughly 332,000 IHG listings across 176 publishers.

Jason Losover, IHG's Senior Manager of Search Engine Optimization, cites the benefits of a Yext partnership. "We don't have to manually manage 6,500 different hotels across all those platforms, so there's a significant time savings. But then, from a user standpoint, we're able to make sure our data is consistent across all those different platforms, which is huge. That obviously plays into SEO–making sure there's consistency with names, addresses, and phone numbers – but also the user experience. When a guest looks at our profile on Google versus TripAdvisor versus our website, it's all consistent."

It's not just existing customers who benefit. Yext Listings help hotels attract new customers by making them easier to find and touting their unique attributes. For example, listings can easily be customized based on people's needs (like "free shuttles available" or "complimentary breakfast").

Yext also provides recommendations on how to grow IHG's online presence beyond traditional channels. "We were one of the first hotel chains to participate with Apple Business Connect," Losover says.

The Apple Business Connect recommendation came from Yext's Concierge Services team, which provides IHG with direct access to local marketing experts and consultants. The team helps IHG manage issues as they arise and furnishes IHG with analytic and competitive insights.

"It's good to see how we're benchmarked against competitors in the space," Losover says, adding, "There is a ton of value that Yext brings to the table."

With Yext, IHG has a one-stop shop for updating and managing listings across its entire hotel portfolio. Teams can easily sign into the Yext Platform and update listings as needed without having to log into individual accounts — massive time savings. They can also easily access reports by region and brand, create video-centric posts, and more.

These and other features have contributed to more impressions and clicks. Since becoming a Yext customer, IHG has achieved:

• 13% growth in listings impressions (11% higher than the hospitality industry average)

• 4% growth in listings actions year-over-year (6% higher than the industry average)

• 8% growth in unbranded search

• More than 1 billion impressions via Google listings (up 5% versus 2023), resulting in more than 20 million actions

And they're not done. The IHG team is looking toward the future with Yext.

"Together with Yext, I want us to constantly optimize and drive things forward. This includes a lot of testing and exploring new opportunities to see what brings the highest ROI," Gulden says. "Given the focus and expertise Yext has in this space, we have high expectations the company will continue sharing compelling ideas that make an impact on our business."

So, begin planning your next trip by exploring IHG's hotels and destinations! And, while researching, know that all information you see is accurate, up-to-date, and complete with relevant information – all thanks to the IHG and Yext partnership.