Holiday Inn 2015 Annual Report Download - page 63

Regular Board meetings in 2015
The matters of strategic and operational importance considered
by the Board in 2015 included:
• progress against the development of our next-generation
Guest Reservation System;
• the delivery of our asset-light strategy with the sale of
InterContinental Hong Kong and InterContinental Paris – Le Grand
this year;
• the trends that are shaping the industry, including how technology
is giving guests greater control over their stays as well as offering
them a broader range of lodging providers (further information
can be found in the Strategic Report on pages 10 and 11);
• in-depth brand reviews for Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express,
InterContinental and Crowne Plaza;
• an update on the work being conducted on how The Americas region
is transforming the way in which we support franchised hotels; and
• the progress made on the careful integration of the Kimpton Hotels
& Restaurants business with IHG to ensure we preserve the
uniqueness and ethos of the brand and its people.
In addition, the Board reviewed the following routine business matters.
Governance
• Quarterly corporate governance and regulatory updates, including
a review of regulatory developments and any upcoming legislative
Annual strategy meeting 2015
This year, we held our strategy meeting in China, one of our priority
markets, giving the Board the opportunity to see first-hand the
growing Chinese market and the progress we are making in
building brand awareness. While China has experienced some
short-term macroeconomic challenges, there is still a growing
appetite for domestic and international travel observed in this
region. This is mainly being driven by an increase in disposable
income, a trend that is set to continue in the future. More details
of this and more key trends affecting our industry can be found
on pages 10 and 11.
The Board members each received a full briefing in advance of the
visit to familiarise them with the cities and hotels that they were
changes affecting our business, our Board and/or, its Committees
across all relevant areas, including corporate reporting,
governance guidelines and institutional investor reports;
• internal controls and risk management processes including
the principal risk review, a risk management effectiveness review
and updates on our global insurance programme;
• the composition and succession planning of the Board and
its Committees, including the appointment of Anne Busquet,
our new Non-Executive Director;
• the 2015 Board performance evaluation, and the action plan
for 2016; and
• updates on the deliberations of each of the Board Committees
(see the individual Committee Reports on key activities and
priorities during 2015).
Investor relations and communications
• The review and approval of shareholder returns strategies for 2015;
• a discussion of reports on investor perceptions and shareholder
relations, and considering analysts’ reports and media updates; and
• our share register movements during 2015, share price performance,
relative share price performance and the investor road show
(including investor feedback).
visiting and the specifics of, and recent developments in, the
Chinese market, including an overview of the key macroeconomic
figures, trends (including technology), and our key international
competitors’ business in Greater China.
The Board spent time in both Guangzhou and Shenzhen to learn
about Chinese consumers, hospitality players and industry trends.
Together with senior executives in the region, the Board met with
market experts and advisors and visited IHG and competitor hotels.
Following these meetings, the Board spent time discussing their
observations and the opportunities and challenges that we face in the
current market, as well as considering the broader strategic agenda.
Board engagement with shareholders
• attendance at key institutional investor conferences; and
• a programme of one-to-one meetings with major institutional
shareholders.
To enable as many shareholders as possible to access conferences and
presentations, telephone dial-in facilities are made available in advance
and live audio webcasts are made available after presentations,
together with associated data and documentation. These can be found
at www.ihgplc.com/investors under financial library. Around 25
sell-side research analysts publish research on the Group; their details
are available at www.ihgplc.com/investors under analysts’ details.
AGM
The AGM is an opportunity for shareholders to vote on certain aspects
of Group business. The Board values this as it provides a useful forum
for one-to-one communication with private shareholders. At the AGM,
shareholders receive presentations on the Company’s performance
and may ask questions of the Board.
The 2016 AGM will be held at 11:00am on Friday 6 May 2016. The
notice convening this meeting will be sent to shareholders and will
be available at www.ihgplc.com/investors under financial library.
The Board takes its responsibility to represent and promote the
interests of its shareholders seriously and believes in the importance
of shareholder engagement. A formal external review of investor
perceptions is presented to the Board on an annual basis and both
the Executive Committee and the Board receive regular updates
on shareholder relations.
Engagement during the year
The Board’s engagement with shareholders in 2015 included:
• meeting shareholders at the AGM;
• half-year and full-year formal reporting and telephone
conferences after the release of the first- and third-quarter
interim management statements;
• presentations by Richard Solomons and Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson
to institutional investors, analysts and the media following
results announcements;
• a development strategy presentation and hotel tours with major
institutional shareholders in New York;
• seeking feedback via an annual investor perception survey,
facilitated by our capital market advisers;
• an investor and media breakfast hosted by the Corporate
Responsibility Committee;
STRATEGIC REPORT GOVERNANCE GROUP FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPARENT COMPANY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
61IHG Annual Report and Form 20-F 2015