Former Hotelier of the Year David Taylor leaves IHG

David Taylor, Hotelier of the Year 2018, is to step down from his role as vice president – UK operations at InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) at the end of the month.

He intends to take a break from work for a couple of months before confirming his next career move.

Described as being “a visionary” and “one of the dynamic hoteliers of the moment” on winning the UK hotel industry’s highest honour, Taylor is renowned for being at the helm of a number of ground-breaking hotel brands.

He first came to the industry’s attention as general manager of the Hoxton hotel in London when it was owned by founder Sinclair Beecham, before going on to play an instrumental role in the creation of the London Edition for Marriott International and the Principal brand of iconic, city-centre properties.

After the 13-strong Principal brand was sold to IHG by its owner Starwood Capital to French investor Covivio in a £858m deal in May 2018, Taylor was appointed to his current role and tasked to oversee the integration of the properties into IHG and their reflagging under various brands including Kimpton, InterContinental and Voco.

Taylor, who was also named Manager of the Year at Cateys 2015, told The Caterer: “I’ve had an incredible year and a half at IHG and I’m grateful for the opportunity to lead the team that integrated the Principal estate into the business. I’m confident the hotels are integrated into the IHG culture and I leave them in a great place.”

A spokesperson for IHG added: “David Taylor joined IHG as part of the Principal deal in 2018 to lead the integration. 18 months on, David has done an incredible job to bring those hotels into the IHG family and we’re very grateful for all his hard work. Now that the integration is complete, David has chosen to move on to his next challenge, outside IHG.”