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US: Ruby Group will develop and operate a hotel in downtown Chicago under a 30-year franchise agreement with IHG Hotels & Resorts.
The market debut of the Ruby brand comes nearly a year after IHG acquired the boutique hotel platform for €110.5 million in 2025. At the time, plans were revealed to have the Ruby brand “ready for development” in the US by the end of that year.
Now, housed in the former Inn of Chicago, Ruby will collaborate with Orange County-based Berk Properties to transform the site into 22-storey Ruby hotel. Plans call for 412 rooms, a reimagined lobby space, and a rooftop terrace and bar.
Jolyon Bulley, CEO for the Americas at IHG Hotels & Resorts, said: “We’re incredibly excited to bring our first US Ruby Hotel to Chicago, an iconic city with a deep architectural and cultural legacy. This flagship signing underscores the brand’s strong growth potential and momentum in key locations across the Americas and around the world.”
Michael Struck, founder and CEO, Ruby Group, said: “This project marks a significant milestone for Ruby Group and its international growth. In partnership with IHG and alongside experienced development partner Berk Properties, we are bringing Ruby’s design-led and efficient hotel concept to the US market for the first time.
“Ruby Group’s operating platform will also now be launching in North America, offering extraordinary operating efficiency to investors with a unique operating set-up that utilises both centralisation and automatisation to drive margins while lowering operating risks,” Struck added.
IHG aims to grow Ruby Hotels to more than 120 properties worldwide during the next decade, and more than 250 during the next 20 years.
Highlights:
- Ruby Group has signed its first US property, located in downtown Chicago
- The hotel will operate under a long-term 30-year franchise agreement with IHG Hotels & Resorts
- It will be developed within the former Inn of Chicago in partnership with Berk Properties
- Plans call for a 22-storey hotel with 412 rooms, a redesigned lobby, and a rooftop terrace and bar
- IHG aims to grow the Ruby Hotels brand to more than 120 properties worldwide over the next decade and more than 250 properties over the next 20 years
