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57-891: InterContinental Hotels Group ( IHG ), marketed as IHG Hotels & Resorts , is a British multinational hospitality company headquartered in Windsor, Berkshire , England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange . It is also a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index . The origins of the business may be traced to 1777 when William Bass established the Bass Brewery in Burton-upon-Trent . The company later changed its name to Bass Charrington. Its first entry into

114-614: A boutique hotel brand with 62 managed properties, for $ 430 million. In February 2021, IHG announced an annual loss of $ 153 million caused by restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the company expected that the Holiday Inn Express brand would help in the recovery process. In 2024, IHG signed an expansive cooperation and franchise agreement with German hotel operator Novum Hospitality, rebranding and partially refurbishing all of their current properties (namely

171-420: A DBA must be registered with a local or state government, or both, depending on the jurisdiction. For example, California, Texas and Virginia require a DBA to be registered with each county (or independent city in the case of Virginia) where the owner does business. Maryland and Colorado have DBAs registered with a state agency. Virginia also requires corporations and LLCs to file a copy of their registration with

228-467: A DBA statement, though names including the first and last name of the owner may be accepted. This also reduces the possibility of two local businesses operating under the same name, although some jurisdictions do not provide exclusivity for a name, or may allow more than one party to register the same name. Note, though, that this is not a substitute for filing a trademark application. A DBA filing carries no legal weight in establishing trademark rights. In

285-408: A breach of the rules on sales promotions rules. There has been no clear definition of what a sales promotion is for the purpose of the code, but examples include: Not all offers that give the consumer something free with a particular purchase may be considered sales promotion. For example, a mobile phone deal that offers a free Bluetooth headset may be considered as part of a package deal rather than

342-516: A businessperson writes a trade name on a contract, invoice, or cheque, they must also add the legal name of the business. Numbered companies will very often operate as something other than their legal name, which is unrecognizable to the public. In Chile , a trade name is known as a nombre de fantasía ('fantasy' or 'fiction' name), and the legal name of business is called a razón social (social name). In Ireland , businesses are legally required to register business names where these differ from

399-578: A loyalty program. IHG One Rewards average a value of 0.68 ¢ per point. Trade name In a number of countries, the phrase " trading as " (abbreviated to t/a ) is used to designate a trade name. In the United States , the phrase " doing business as " (abbreviated to DBA , dba , d.b.a. , or d/b/a ) is used, among others, such as assumed business name or fictitious business name . In Canada , " operating as " (abbreviated to o/a ) and " trading as " are used, although " doing business as "

456-471: A marketer's database. Even in these cases the ASA can reveal details only with the express permission of the complainant. If the complaint comes from a competitor or someone with a trade or vested interest with the advertiser about which they are complaining, the ASA requires the company to agree to be named. This, according to the ASA, limits the number of petty or retaliatory complaints. The ASA proceeds only with

513-429: A marketing communication for publication, marketers must hold documentary evidence to prove all claims, whether direct or implied, that are capable of objective substantiation" and that "no marketing communication should mislead, or be likely to mislead, by inaccuracy, ambiguity, exaggeration, omission or otherwise". The agency has also restricted ads featuring scantily clad women. Guy Parker has been chief executive of

570-458: A registered legal name and a fictitious business name, or trade name, is important because fictitious business names do not always identify the entity that is legally responsible . Legal agreements (such as contracts ) are normally made using the registered legal name of the business. If a corporation fails to consistently adhere to such important legal formalities like using its registered legal name in contracts, it may be subject to piercing of

627-494: A sales promotion. The ASA typically considered only advertisements that have appeared within the previous three months, although there are some exceptions to this rule, namely in cases where it was not possible for the complainant to know that the advertisement was misleading at the time it appeared, such as an advertisement for a long-term investment. The ASA is governed by its board of directors, appointed upon recommendation of an independent appointments committee. The ASA Council

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684-454: Is also sometimes used. A company typically uses a trade name to conduct business using a simpler name rather than using their formal and often lengthier name. Trade names are also used when a preferred name cannot be registered, often because it may already be registered or is too similar to a name that is already registered. Using one or more fictitious business names does not create additional separate legal entities. The distinction between

741-417: Is appointed by the board. The Broadcast Advertising Standards Board Of Finance (BASBOF) collects a voluntary levy on advertising costs, typically 0.1% on display advertising costs (e.g. 0.1% of the cost of placing a television advertisement). BASBOF passes the funds on to the ASA anonymously to ensure that the ASA are unaware of who has contributed to its funding. This avoids the question of money influencing

798-478: Is called a razón social . Advertising Standards Authority (United Kingdom) The Advertising Standards Authority ( ASA ) is the self-regulatory organisation of the advertising industry in the United Kingdom. The ASA is a non-statutory organisation and so cannot interpret or enforce legislation. However, its code of advertising practice broadly reflects legislation in many instances. The ASA

855-466: Is illegal under United Kingdom copyright law. In January 2013, 3GA was also found to be in non-compliance in another set of ads for the JB7 which promoted an optional dock for attaching an MP3 player such as an iPod . The ASA found that their advertisements did not make clear that the dock was not included with the JB7, and did not adequately mention that it is only compatible with older iPod models (such as

912-506: Is in place and control over the content of the advertorial lies with the advertiser. If the editor of the publication maintains control over the advertorial, however, the piece is likely to be seen as editorial rather than advertising. In November 2004, control of the regulation of broadcast advertising, formerly undertaken by state bodies, was handed over to the ASA on a provisional two-year contract. Sponsorship credits are considered to be part of programming content and therefore fall outside

969-526: Is not funded by the British government , but by a levy on the advertising industry. Its role is to "regulate the content of advertisements, sales promotions and direct marketing in the UK" by investigating "complaints made about ads, sales promotions or direct marketing", and deciding whether such advertising complies with its advertising standards codes. These codes stipulate that "before distributing or submitting

1026-477: Is subsequently posted on the ASA's website, and made available to the press and the general public. If there are grounds for an appeal against an adjudication, the case is reviewed by the Independent Reviewer. A request for an independent review must be made within 21 days of the adjudication, and in writing direct to the independent reviewer, stating the grounds for appeal. Only the advertiser or

1083-568: The Office of Fair Trading alleged that IHG had broken competition law by preventing online travel agents from discounting the price of room-only hotel accommodations. In February 2014, IHG agreed to end the practice of price fixing. In May 2012, the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) warned IHG that it must include VAT in its advertised prices. In August 2012, a report by Which? magazine showed that IHG

1140-466: The United Kingdom , there is no filing requirement for a "business name", defined as "any name under which someone carries on business" that, for a company or limited liability partnership, "is not its registered name", but there are requirements for disclosure of the owner's true name and some restrictions on the use of certain names. A minority of U.S. states, including Washington , still use

1197-547: The iPod Classic ) formatted for use on Windows and could not be used with newer Apple devices such as the iPod Touch and iPhone . In September 2011, the ASA launched a formal investigation into TripAdvisor after receiving a complaint submitted by online investigations company KwikChex and two hotels, that its claims to provide trustworthy and honest reviews from travellers are false. The ASA found that TripAdvisor "should not claim or imply that all its reviews were from real travellers, or were honest, real or trusted", and as

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1254-488: The ASA about the shopping channel Auction World.tv , the ASA referred the matter to Ofcom, which found the company in breach of its licence and fined it. Auction World.tv ended up in administration and went out of business. Apple has been involved in two major rulings by the ASA; its claim to be selling "the world's fastest personal computer" in 2004, its Power Mac G5 system, was judged to be unsubstantiated. The complaints against two other claims made in advertising for

1311-546: The ASA can publish their details for up to three months and run its own targeted adverts on social media to make users aware of this. The ASA can order advertisers not to advertise unless the CAP Copy Advice team has seen the advertisement first and allowed the advertisement to go ahead. For example, the ASA told French Connection UK Ltd , which makes the FCUK branded clothing, to have all its advertisements pre-vetted by

1368-786: The ASA since June 2009. In 1961 the Advertising Association established the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) to draft the British Code of Advertising Practice (the CAP Code ). In 1962 the industry set up the Advertising Standards Authority (so named even though it is not a public authority in the usual sense) to adjudicate on complaints that advertisements had breached the new Code. The ASA operated under an independent chairman who

1425-513: The ASA's decision in its rulings. The ASA needs the full name and address of the complainant to ensure that the complaint is legitimate. These details are never disclosed without the complainant's permission, in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 . The only cases where the ASA might ask the complainant for their permission to be named relate to complaints that a consumer has not yet received goods or wishes to be removed from

1482-409: The ASA's remit. Claims on shopping channels can generally be considered by the ASA, but complaints about non-delivery of items are unlikely to be taken up by the ASA unless there is evidence that the shopping channel has misled people or that the non-delivery is a widespread problem. Direct mailings , circulars , leaflets , unsolicited emails , brochures and catalogues are all typically within

1539-464: The ASA's remit. Items such as timetables and price lists are, however, usually outside its remit. Private correspondence, such as a doctor's letter or a bill , is also outside its remit, though a leaflet included with the private correspondence would be covered if it promotes a new or different product. The ASA's remit has since March 2011 covered claims that appear on a company's own website, as well as covering claims that appear in paid-for spaces on

1596-571: The Atheist Bus Campaign broke the advertising code on the grounds of substantiation and truthfulness. The ASA said that the British Humanist Association 's campaign did not breach the advertising code or mislead consumers and that it therefore would not launch an investigation. The ASA subsequently closed the case. "The ASA council concluded that the ad was an expression of the advertiser's opinion and that

1653-559: The Bass name, and Bass Hotels & Resorts became Six Continents Hotels. Six Continents announced in October 2002 that it would split itself in two, with one company holding its pubs and restaurants, and the other holding its hotel and soft drink businesses. The split was completed on 15 April 2003, establishing InterContinental Hotels Group as an independent company, alongside the pub company, Mitchells & Butlers . IHG's hotel portfolio at

1710-718: The CAP Copy Advice team has pre-vetted the advertisements. The ASA can, as a last resort, refer advertisers to Trading Standards when they’re unwilling or unable to follow its rules. Trading Standards officers have statutory powers to apply a wide range of sanctions, including prosecution or other legal action. The ASA can also refer problematic broadcast advertisers to Ofcom , as well as video-on-demand providers and video-sharing platforms. Broadcasters have ultimate responsibility for advertisements shown on their channels and are therefore directly answerable to Ofcom, their licensing authority. Ofcom has powers to fine or revoke licences. For example, following more than 1,000 complaints to

1767-429: The CAP Copy Advice team. The CAP Compliance Team is the enforcement arm of the ASA and CAP. The Compliance Team works to ensure that advertisers remove their problematic claims. The Compliance Team does not report back to complainants, nor does it publish the results of its work. However, part of its work does involve contacting media owners and telling them not to take any advertisements from problematic advertisers until

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1824-550: The Holiday Inn chain. Bass expanded its hotel business again in 1998, acquiring the luxury Inter-Continental hotel chain, which had been founded by Juan Trippe , from the Saison Group . The hotel division was then renamed from Holiday Hospitality to Bass Hotels & Resorts, to reflect its expansion beyond the Holiday Inn brand. Bass changed its name to Six Continents in 2001, after having sold its brewing assets and

1881-494: The Internet, including pop up ads , banner ads and sponsored links. The non-geographical nature of the Internet can make it hard to determine whether the ASA's remit applies. Online sales promotions (see below) are within the ASA's remit as long as they appear in "British web space". The Institute of Sales Promotion (ISP), working to the same code as the ASA, can refer complaints to the ASA when it believes that there has been

1938-418: The U.S., trademark rights are acquired by use in commerce, but there can be substantial benefits to filing a trademark application. Sole proprietors are the most common users of DBAs. Sole proprietors are individual business owners who run their businesses themselves. Since most people in these circumstances use a business name other than their own name, it is often necessary for them to get DBAs. Generally,

1995-438: The claims in it were not capable of objective substantiation," said the ASA. "Although the ASA acknowledges that the content of the ad would be at odds with the beliefs of many, it concluded that it was unlikely to mislead or to cause serious or widespread offence." In July 2009, the ASA banned an Israeli tourism poster following complaints. Palestine Solidarity Campaign , Jews for Justice for Palestinians and 442 members of

2052-661: The company sold around 200 hotels for a total of almost $ 8 billion, leaving only 7 owned or leased properties in the portfolio. In 2004, IHG acquired the Candlewood Suites brand, a midscale extended stay hotel brand with 108 franchised properties in the United States, for $ 15 million. IHG divested its soft drink holdings in 2005, selling its 48 percent stake in Britvic for £371 million through an initial public offering . In 2015, IHG acquired Kimpton Hotels ,

2109-484: The corporate veil . In English , trade names are generally treated as proper nouns . In Argentina , a trade name is known as a nombre de fantasía ('fantasy' or 'fiction' name), and the legal name of business is called a razón social (social name). In Brazil , a trade name is known as a nome fantasia ('fantasy' or 'fiction' name), and the legal name of business is called razão social (social name). In some Canadian jurisdictions , such as Ontario , when

2166-534: The county or city to be registered with the State Corporation Commission. DBA statements are often used in conjunction with a franchise . The franchisee will have a legal name under which it may sue and be sued, but will conduct business under the franchiser's brand name (which the public would recognize). A typical real-world example can be found in a well-known pricing mistake case, Donovan v. RRL Corp. , 26 Cal. 4th 261 (2001), where

2223-451: The effect that could be achieved by using the mascara on natural lashes ". In 2011, two additional makeup ads for L'Oréal 's were banned after British Liberal Democrat politician Jo Swinson lodged complaints about ads for foundation products made by L'Oréal-owned brands, Lancôme and Maybelline , featuring actress Julia Roberts and supermodel Christy Turlington . The 2011 complaints stated that L'Oréal ads were not representative of

2280-414: The express permission of the complainant for their organisation to be named. The ASA begins an investigation by contacting the advertiser for its views on the advertisement and, where appropriate, substantiation of claims made in it. The ASA may on occasion seek advice from industry experts on more complex issues. Once the investigation is complete, a draft recommendation is sent to both the advertiser and

2337-402: The law is to protect the public from fraud, by compelling the business owner to first file or register his fictitious business name with the county clerk, and then making a further public record of it by publishing it in a newspaper. Several other states, such as Illinois , require print notices as well. In Uruguay , a trade name is known as a nombre fantasía , and the legal name of business

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2394-554: The lodging sector came with acquisition of tied public houses. In 1969, it launched the Crest Hotels chain. In 1988, after the British government limited the number of pubs that brewers could directly own, Bass further invested in the expansion of its hotel business with the purchase of Holiday Inn International from shareholders. Bass sold off the bulk of Crest Hotels in 1990, and the few remaining properties were absorbed into

2451-461: The named defendant, RRL Corporation, was a Lexus car dealership doing business as " Lexus of Westminster ", but remaining a separate legal entity from Lexus, a division of Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. . In California , filing a DBA statement also requires that a notice of the fictitious name be published in local newspapers for some set period of time to inform the public of the owner's intent to operate under an assumed name . The intention of

2508-559: The niu , Yggotel , Novum Hotels , Select Hotels and acora living the city ) into IHG brands Holiday Inn , Holiday Inn Express , Candlewood Suites and Garner in the upcoming years. This will increase IHG's portfolio in Germany by over 100 hotels. The company's worldwide headquarters and European offices are located in Windsor, Berkshire , England. IHG maintains regional offices in Atlanta , Singapore and Shanghai . In July 2012,

2565-419: The original complainant for any comments, with a request to keep this confidential until publication of the final report. The draft recommendation is then submitted to the independent Advertising Standards Authority Council, which adjudicates on ASA investigations. The ASA Council then discusses the complaint and the draft recommendation, and votes on whether to uphold the complaint or not. The adjudication in full

2622-502: The original complainant may request an appeal. There are two grounds upon which an appeal can be lodged: The Independent Reviewer's decision as to whether or not to accept an appeal is final. Similarly, the ASA Council's adjudication on a reviewed case is also final. The ASA publishes weekly adjudications on its website every Wednesday. For social media influencers who routinely fail to clearly disclose when they are advertising,

2679-469: The product were not upheld. Later, in August 2008, an advertisement for the iPhone was banned because of false claims that it could access "all of the Internet"—due to its lack of support of major plug-ins such as Flash . On 21 January 2009, the ASA ruled that an advert campaign, stating "There is probably no God", did not breach the code. Religious groups including Christian Voice had complained that

2736-538: The public complained about how the map on the poster displayed the West Bank , Gaza Strip , and the Golan Heights as part of Israel . The Israeli tourism ministry responded to the criticism, saying the map was a "general, schematic tourism and travel information map" and was not meant to be a political statement. L'Oréal 's claims in a mascara advertisement featuring actress Penélope Cruz "exaggerated

2793-595: The results that the products can actually achieve. ASA confirmed that both ads were misleading, without the aid of before and after shots. It ruled that the two ads breached advertising standards code for exaggeration and for being misleading, and banned them from future publication. In March 2011, 3GA's advertisements for a digital jukebox known as the Brennan JB7, which can import content from CDs and cassette tapes , were found to be in violation of ASA guidelines for glorifying illegal acts, because it implied that it

2850-426: The satisfactory working of the ASA and the maintaining of acceptable standards. Typically, advertisements that fall in paid-for spaces in newspapers (both national and regional) and magazines published in the UK fall within the ASA's remit. This category covers reciprocal arrangements not involving actual payments of money. Advertorials are also within the bodies remit as long as a reciprocal arrangement of some kind

2907-459: The surname(s) of the sole trader or partners, or the legal name of a company. The Companies Registration Office publishes a searchable register of such business names. In Japan , the word yagō ( 屋号 ) is used. In Colonial Nigeria , certain tribes had members that used a variety of trading names to conduct business with the Europeans. Two examples were King Perekule VII of Bonny , who

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2964-469: The term trade name to refer to "doing business as" (DBA) names. In most U.S. states now, however, DBAs are officially referred to using other terms. Almost half of the states, including New York and Oregon , use the terms assumed business name or assumed name ; nearly as many, including Pennsylvania , use the term fictitious name . For consumer protection purposes, many U.S. jurisdictions require businesses operating with fictitious names to file

3021-423: The time comprised 3,325 properties, primarily under the Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza , and InterContinental brands. Of those, 190 were owned or leased by the company, with the remainder under management or franchise agreements. After the separation from Six Continents, IHG began an asset disposal program, selling off hotels to move towards an "asset-light" model focused on franchising and management. From 2003 to 2015,

3078-436: Was acceptable to rip music, since "[it] repeatedly made reference to the benefits of the product being able to copy music but did not make clear that it was illegal to do so without the permission of the copyright owner". 3GA denied the claims, stating that the copies of music stored on the device were intended to improve accessibility, and are incidental copies without economical significance. Making private copies of audio CDs

3135-509: Was continuing to violate VAT rules. In November 2017, London mayor Sadiq Khan accused IHG of failing to fulfil a commitment to pay a living wage . As of 2024, IHG has 19 brands marketed under five segments: In 2012, IHG claimed more than 5,400 hotels, with 4,433 operated under franchise agreements, 907 managed by the company but separately owned and eight directly owned. As of 31 March 2019, IHG has 842,759 guest rooms and 5,656 hotels across nearly 100 countries. IHG Hotels & Resorts has

3192-553: Was known as Captain Pepple in trade matters, and King Jubo Jubogha of Opobo , who bore the pseudonym Captain Jaja . Both Pepple and Jaja would bequeath their trade names to their royal descendants as official surnames upon their deaths. In Singapore , there is no filing requirement for a "trading as" name, but there are requirements for disclosure of the underlying business or company's registered name and unique entity number. In

3249-503: Was to have no vested interest within the industry. Not long after the inception of the ASA the Molony Committee considered but rejected proposals to introduce a system to regulate the advertising industry by statute. The Committee reported that it was satisfied that the industry could be regulated effectively from within by the ASA. A guarded comment within the report, however, warned that the self-regulatory system depended upon

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