As the travel industry has ebbed, with many consumers watching their pocketbooks more carefully, the luxury end of the hotel market saw growth more robust than the rest of the industry.

A recent report from Grand View Research and CoStar predicts that the global luxury hotel market — characterized in the industry as hotels with the four- and five-star rating — will grow from $103.93 billion in 2024 to $156.80 billion in 2030 at a CAGR of 7.2%.

The total number of hotel rooms at such luxury properties around the world will grow from approximately 1.6 million in 2023 to 1.9 million by 2030.

Ruby Hotels to open first U.S. property in Chicago

And with travelers increasingly seeking off-the-beaten-path destinations, hotel developers have increasingly set their sights on countries such as Saudi Arabia and Taiwan with a large number of hotel openings. In the case of the latter South Asian island nation, hotel giants such as Hilton, Hyatt, and Capella are all developing new luxury hotel projects set to open in the coming years.

The latest luxury hotel announcement comes from Munich-based luxury group Ruby Hotels, with a new property slated for a 1920s-era landmark building in Chicago.

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Founded in 2013 by Michael Struck, the Ruby Group quickly expanded its “lean luxury” principle of sleek and tech-driven style, rather than overt extravagance, to the current 34 properties across European cities including Düsseldorf, Zürich, Amsterdam, Vienna, and London, among others.

After the hotel group was acquired by IHG Hotels & Resorts at the end of 2025, this will be the first Ruby Group property in the U.S. and outside of Europe. It will develop the new 22-story and 412-room hotel in a historic building just east of Michigan Avenue’s Magnificent Mile.

A rendering shows what the new Ruby Group hotel in Chicago is expected to look like when it opens in 2027.

Ruby Group

Ruby Group’s entry into U.S. market offers “operating efficiency to investors,” CEO says

“In partnership with IHG and alongside experienced development partner Berk Properties, we are bringing Ruby’s design-led and efficient hotel concept to the U.S. market for the first time,” founder and CEO Michael Struck said in a statement.

“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 utilizes both centralization and automatization to drive margins while lowering operating risks.”

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The current timeline expects building renovation to begin in the second half of 2026, with doors opening to guests by 2027.

While it has released very few details about the property, Ruby Group promises something that “blends soulful design with [Chicago’s] storied past.” The property will also feature a rooftop terrace overlooking the Chicago skyline and classic city buildings, such as the Tribune Tower and Marina City.

The 30-year franchise agreement with IHG was envisioned with plans to grow the Ruby hotel portfolio to 120 properties around the world by 2036 and 250 in two decades.

This is an ambitious goal whose feasibility will become clearer, as the Chicago property will offer insight into U.S. markets and as more properties open in different parts of the world.

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