For our IHG® Army Hotels guests, “travel” often means something different. A stay might be tied to training, a deployment cycle, a graduation, a temporary duty assignment, or a permanent change of station. Schedules move, plans shift, and it is our duty to make the stay easier through dependable hospitality.
That’s why our mission is rooted in continuous improvement, upgrading our hotels and sharpening our service so every stay feels easier, more comfortable, and more reliable.
Since the Privatization of Army Lodging (PAL) program began in 2009, IHG Army Hotels has worked to bring the trusted standards of IHG brands on base, creating a portfolio that now spans more than 13,000 rooms across 40 U.S. Army installations. What began as a vision to modernize Army lodging has grown into an ongoing commitment: delivering dependable hospitality that supports service members, families, retirees, civilians, and contractors wherever duty takes them.
Like every IHG hospitality portfolio, maintaining that standard requires ongoing investment. Operational expectations change. Facilities must adapt to support longer stays, modern work and training demands, and the realities of military life today.
Over the past 16 years, that commitment has taken shape through two critical focus areas: physical enhancements across the portfolio and excellence in service delivery. Together, these efforts reflect a shared goal: to improve the daily experience of military travelers by strengthening both the spaces they stay in and the service they receive.
Renovations that reflect our mission
Renovations are about more than just refreshed finishes. They are about function, ensuring each hotel supports the realities of military travel. Early mornings, long training days, families navigating transitions, and extended stays all shape how guests experience a property. Every enhancement is designed with those moments in mind, creating environments that feel dependable, comfortable, and ready when guests arrive.
In 2025, alongside owner and developer Centinel, IHG Army Hotels continued the next phase of improvements across several key hotels—work made possible through a strong partnership and a shared commitment to modernizing on-post lodging.
These projects highlight how those investments come to life across the installations, directly improving the overall guest stay experience.
Fort Polk, Louisiana — Holiday Inn Express Magnolia House & Cypress Inn
There’s a reason this location is meaningful: Magnolia House and Cypress Inn were the first IHG Army Hotels properties to become a Holiday Inn Express branded hotel, the early proof-point that PAL could deliver a higher standard of lodging for military communities.
In 2025, these buildings underwent a multi-million-dollar renovation that included comprehensive interior and exterior updates, plus new room configurations designed specifically to better support guests. The upgrades resulted in a 98-room hotel, featuring spacious guest rooms with kitchenettes designed to provide comfort and functionality for both short and extended stays.
Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri — Holiday Inn Express Foster Lodge
At Holiday Inn Express Foster Lodge on Fort Leonard Wood, recent renovations focused on flexibility and everyday convenience. All 66 guest rooms were updated with kitchenettes to better accommodate both short visits and extended stays, while refreshed communal spaces, including a redesigned lobby and covered outdoor patio, create welcoming areas for connection and downtime.
Additional upgrades such as energy-efficient lighting, updated furnishings, improved HVAC systems, a new Suite Shop, enhanced fitness center, renovated laundry facilities, and new elevators help deliver a modern stay experience designed around comfort, functionality, and reliability.
White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico — Organ Mountains Inn – Historia Collection
IHG Army Hotels renovations also support broader organizational goals, including energy modernization and sustainability. A strong example is the transformation of Organ Mountains Inn on White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, now the 16th property in the IHG Army Hotels Historia Collection, recognizing locations with unique historical significance.
Originally built in 1951, the hotel blends its military heritage with modern, sustainable upgrades, including a new climate system, motion-sensing LED lighting, Energy Star-certified appliances, and refreshed public spaces and guest rooms. The result is an updated 58-room property that preserves its historic character while delivering a more efficient, elevated and comfortable stay experience for today’s travelers.
Renovations are only half the story
Physical upgrades matter because they directly impact comfort, usability, and consistency. But renovations alone don’t create great stays, service does, and one of the clearest ways we track how we’re doing is also one of the simplest: we ask.
Across IHG Army Hotels, guest feedback is not taken lightly; it’s a tool.
Our post-stay email surveys are a key part of how we measure performance, identify patterns, and respond quickly when something isn’t meeting expectations. It’s also how we reinforce what’s working.
Guest feedback provides one of the clearest indicators of whether those efforts are working.
For fiscal year 2025, the results were a meaningful reflection of both the improvements we’re making and the standards our teams deliver every day: 69.11% of all survey respondents rated their stay a 5 out of 5 and our average Guest Satisfaction score was 4.45 out of 5.
Just as importantly, feedback helps keep us honest. If a guest tells us something wasn’t right, we don’t want that to disappear into a spreadsheet. We want it to become action, whether that means addressing a maintenance issue faster, improving how we communicate during check-in, or making sure the room setup better matches how guests live during longer stays.
The people behind the stay
If you’ve stayed at an IHG® Army Hotels property, you already know this part: the experience is shaped by people.
Many of our colleagues come from military backgrounds—veterans, military spouses, retirees—who understand the realities of on-post life and military travel because they’ve lived it. In fact, the IHG® Army Hotels blog has shared that nearly a quarter of hotel colleagues across the portfolio are veterans, military spouses, or retirees.
We also have colleagues who’ve been with us since the PAL transition in 2009, bringing deep institutional knowledge from the Army Lodging era into today’s IHG® Army Hotels experience. That sense of community and knowledge is important. It’s one of the reasons we can modernize quickly while still staying grounded in what military guests have always needed most: consistency, respect, and reliability.
The impact of that service is best reflected in the voices of our guests:
“I want to give my sincere appreciation and leave a great review for Gina and Sunny… They were exceptionally helpful, professional, and friendly every step of the way and helped us accomplish the mission.” — 1 Lieutenant Tom Knight
“Thank you for providing outstanding customer service during my recent visit to Fort Stewart. Your dedication to providing superb customer service is appreciated” — Lieutenant General Christopher T. Donahue
These reflections underscore the role IHG Army Hotels colleagues play in supporting readiness and improving the overall travel experience for guests.
A special shoutout to a special General Manager
There are many colleagues who deserve recognition, and one colleague whose career reflects the spirit of this portfolio is Sandy VanBibber, General Manager of IHG Army Hotels on Fort Hood.
Sandy has been part of the IHG® Army Hotels portfolio for the full 16+ years of its life, and, because IHG bridged her years of service from Army Lodging through the PAL transition, she’s reached an incredible milestone: 44 total years with IHG.
That kind of commitment doesn’t just happen. It’s built through daily leadership, care for guests, and care for teams. Sandy represents the best of what makes this portfolio strong: experience, stability, and a genuine understanding of who we serve.
Looking ahead
In 2026, we expect to see additional planned renovations underway or continuing, along with the grand opening of the newly constructed Candlewood Suites on Fort Bragg, scheduled to begin welcoming guests in late March.
As the portfolio continues to evolve, the purpose remains clear:
- create spaces that support service members and families during real-life transitions
- deliver consistent, high-quality stays on post
- keep listening, keep improving, and keep raising the standard
To every guest who completes a survey, shares feedback, or takes the time to recognize a colleague, thank you. You’re not just rating a stay. You’re helping us build a better one for the next person who walks through the door.
Thank you for choosing IHG Army Hotels. We look forward to serving you again soon.
Charles “Chuck” Sourbeer is Vice President of Operations for IHG Army Hotels. He has been with IHG since 1994 and part of the IHG Army Hotels estate since its inception in 2009.
(c) 2026 IHG Hotels & Resorts. All rights reserved. IHG Army Hotels properties are independently owned by Rest Easy LLC, a Centinel Public Partnerships company, and operated by an affiliate of IHG. No DoD, US Army or federal government endorsement implied. For information on Centinel, visit CentinelUS.com.