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Enterprise · Sales Interview Guide

Interview language: English

How to Pass the IHG Hotels & Resorts Sales Interview in 2026

The IHG Hotels & Resorts DNA (TL;DR)

The "Winning Ways" principles, especially "Show we care" and "Make a difference," are central to IHG's interview evaluation. Interviewers gauge how candidates have previously elevated guest experiences and contributed to brand success across IHG's diverse hotel portfolio, such as Crowne Plaza or Hotel Indigo.

The IHG Hotels & Resorts Interview Loop

Your onsite loop will typically consist of 5 rounds.

  1. 1

    Round 1

    Recruiter Screen
    Motivation, territory fit, logistics.
  2. 2

    Round 2

    Sales Pitch / Demo
    Pitching the company's product to a mock prospect.
  3. 3

    Round 3

    Deal Strategy
    Pipeline management, multi-stakeholder navigation, MEDDIC qualification.
  4. 4

    Round 4

    Customer Discovery
    Asking diagnostic questions, surfacing pain, qualifying.
  5. 5

    Round 5

    Behavioral / Leadership
    Past evidence of ownership, influence, resolving conflict.

The Danger Zone: Top Reasons Candidates Fail

Based on our database of IHG Hotels & Resorts interview outcomes, avoid these common traps:

  • Giving a generic answer about liking travel without connecting it to IHG's specific brands or market position.
  • Confusing persuasion with coercion or simply stating facts.
  • Lacking a structured approach to pipeline management, relying on memory or intuition.
  • Inability to articulate the specific 'pain' beyond surface-level inconveniences.

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Test Yourself: Real IHG Hotels & Resorts Questions

Three real prompts pulled from our database.

Type · pipeline management

Describe your process for managing a sales pipeline. How do you prioritize leads, forecast revenue, and ensure you're consistently moving deals forward, especially in a complex B2B environment like corporate hospitality?

Type · qualifying

How do you determine if a prospect is a good fit for IHG's services, beyond just having a need? What criteria do you use to qualify them as a viable opportunity?

Type · ownership

Tell me about a time you took initiative to improve a sales process or strategy within your team or for a client, even though it wasn't explicitly part of your job description.

+ many more questions, signals, and worked examples

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IHG Hotels & Resorts Interview Question Bank

A sample from our database, grouped by round. Sign up to see the full set.

9 of 13 questions shown

1

Recruiter Screen

1
  1. 1

    Type · motivation

    What specifically about IHG Hotels & Resorts and the travel industry excites you most, and how does that align with your career aspirations in sales?
2

Sales Pitch / Demo

2
  1. 2

    Type · pitch

    Imagine you're speaking to a corporate travel manager for a mid-sized tech company. Pitch them IHG's corporate loyalty program and how it can benefit their business travelers and reduce their travel spend.
  2. 3

    Type · objection handling

    During your pitch for IHG's services, a potential client says, 'We're happy with our current hotel partner, and the switching costs seem too high.' How would you respond to this objection?
3

Deal Strategy

4
  1. 4

    Type · pipeline management

    Describe your process for managing a sales pipeline. How do you prioritize leads, forecast revenue, and ensure you're consistently moving deals forward, especially in a complex B2B environment like corporate hospitality?
  2. 5

    Type · multi-stakeholder navigation

    Tell me about a time you had to navigate a complex deal involving multiple stakeholders with potentially competing interests (e.g., procurement, department heads, IT). How did you align them and ultimately close the deal?
  3. + 2 more questions in this round (sign up to unlock)
4

Customer Discovery

3
  1. 6

    Type · diagnostic questions

    You've just been introduced to a potential client who manages corporate travel for a global organization. What are the first 3-5 diagnostic questions you would ask to understand their current travel program and identify potential areas where IHG could add value?
  2. 7

    Type · surfacing pain

    Describe a situation where a client initially believed their current travel solution was adequate, but through your discovery process, you uncovered significant underlying pain points they weren't fully aware of. What was the pain, and how did you uncover it?
  3. + 1 more questions in this round (sign up to unlock)
5

Behavioral / Leadership

3
  1. 8

    Type · ownership

    Tell me about a time you took initiative to improve a sales process or strategy within your team or for a client, even though it wasn't explicitly part of your job description.
  2. 9

    Type · influence

    Describe a situation where you had to persuade a reluctant client or internal stakeholder to adopt your recommended solution or approach. What was your strategy, and what was the outcome?
  3. + 1 more questions in this round (sign up to unlock)

Unlock all 13 IHG Hotels & Resorts questions, free

No credit card. Every question with its framework, the grading signals interviewers score against, and a worked answer for each.

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Interview tracks at IHG Hotels & Resorts

How IHG Hotels & Resorts's DNA translates across functions. Pick your role.

Compare IHG Hotels & Resorts with similar employers

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Practice IHG Hotels & Resorts interviews end-to-end

Sample answers

What a strong answer to these IHG Hotels & Resorts interview questions shows.

Describe your process for managing a sales pipeline. How do you prioritize leads, forecast revenue, and ensure you're consistently moving deals forward, especially in a complex B2B environment like corporate hospitality?

A strong answer shows: Utilizes CRM tools effectively.; Demonstrates a clear understanding of sales stages and conversion metrics.; Provides a realistic and data-driven approach to forecasting..

How do you determine if a prospect is a good fit for IHG's services, beyond just having a need? What criteria do you use to qualify them as a viable opportunity?

A strong answer shows: Considers factors like strategic alignment with IHG's target market, potential for expansion, and decision-making authority.; Has a clear, repeatable process for qualifying leads.; Can articulate why certain prospects might *not* be a good fit..

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