The final battle between the Aegis Media and Publicis Groupe agency networks will be led from the US and has emerged following a late withdrawal from Havas Media's MPG.
Despite MPG being the incumbent for some of IHG's European business, including the Holiday Inn Staybridge Suites, the agency has pulled out of the review process amid concerns over conflicts with Acor Hotels in Europe and Choice Hotels in the US.
According to figures from The Nielsen Company, the group, which includes the InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo and Holiday Inn brands, spent £5.5m on media in the UK.
Carat has been the European incumbent for Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Express by Holiday Inn since 2006, an account previously held by Starcom's sister agency ZenithOptimedia.
Last year, IHG appointed McCann Erickson to handle its integrated creative business across Europe.
IHG claims to have more guest rooms than any other hotel company in the world, with more than 600,000 rooms across 4,100 hotels.
The group announced an ambitious expansion plan in 2005, with the aim of increasing the number of rooms by 50,000 to 60,000 on an organic basis.
This was reported to have been achieved last September and the group is now concentrating on raising the quality of hotels across its brands.
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