Intercontinental Hotels names top marketer as redundancies loom

Intercontinental Hotels Group has named David Hughes as its top marketer and is preparing to cut a number of marketing jobs.

The beleaguered hotels group, formed from the demerger of Six Continents earlier this month, is restructuring its marketing teams from the top down.

Hughes is now senior vice-president of sales, marketing and commerce for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). He was previously EMEA vice-president of strategy. The group’s main brands are Intercontinental, Crown Plaza and Holiday Inn.

Former EMEA senior vice-president of marketing and sales Robin Wicks has become senior vice-president of franchise business. The group has stated that it intends to concentrate on franchising in future.

Senior marketers awaiting decisions on their future include EMEA vice-president of brand marketing Rob Hancock; Intercontinental Europe vice-president of marketing David Danby; Intercontinental Europe marketing director Mark Hodson; and Holiday Inn brand director Simon Stringer.

Intercontinental Hotels is planning to axe 800 jobs from a global workforce of 2,600, with 30 per cent of senior management positions expected to go. The hotel sector has seen a collapse in business travel since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US, while the war in Iraq and the Sars scare have deepened the crisis.

A spokeswoman declined to divulge the number of people currently employed in marketing. Personnel are now going through a 90-day consultation period over redundancy and job redeployment.