Of the four major chains' employee rate programs, IHG's One Pass is the only one priced as a fixed percentage off the property's Average Daily Rate (ADR) rather than the published rate at booking time. The mechanic is unusual, and worth understanding if you're trying to predict what you'd actually pay at a specific hotel.
What is ADR?
Average Daily Rate is exactly what it sounds like — the average price a hotel actually charged per night across a recent rolling period (typically the trailing 12 months). It's a backward-looking smoothed average, so it's much less volatile than the published BAR you see on IHG.com today.
An InterContinental in a major city might have an ADR around $450 even if its published BAR ranges from $300 on a slow Tuesday to $900 on a peak Friday. The ADR captures the "true average."
How the One Pass rate is calculated
IHG sets each property's One Pass rate as a fixed amount that's approximately 70–80% off ADR. So:
- A property at ~$130 ADR (Holiday Inn Express) has a One Pass rate around $35/night
- A property at ~$220 ADR (voco, Holiday Inn) has a One Pass rate around $60/night
- A property at ~$320 ADR (Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo) has a One Pass rate around $90/night
- A property at ~$520 ADR (InterContinental, Kimpton) has a One Pass rate around $145/night
- A property at ~$1,100 ADR (Regent, Six Senses) has a One Pass rate around $295/night
Once set, the rate is locked for the period. It doesn't move with seasonality, weekday vs. weekend, demand, or occupancy. A Six Senses at $295 One Pass in peak August is the same $295 in shoulder February.
The catch: presence requirement
Here's the rule that limits abuse and is the main reason this rate hasn't been heavily resold: the IHG colleague (the "pass holder") must show ID at check-in and be physically present for the entire stay.
You can't send a friend or family member to use the rate solo. The colleague has to actually be there, sharing the room or in an adjacent one. The annual cap is 30 nights per year shared between the colleague and their designated "Plus One" — which gets allocated tight.
This is why services like Hotel Insider typically book the One Pass Flex rate (Tier 2) for non-employee guests, not One Pass Rate (Tier 1). Flex is 35–50% off best flexible rate with no presence requirement — less deep, but actually bookable for solo travelers.
What's still included on the deeper tier
If you can book the top-tier One Pass rate (you're an IHG colleague's Plus One, or traveling with one), you get:
- The locked-by-ADR rate (typically 70–80% off published BAR)
- 50% off food and beverage at participating IHG hotel restaurants and bars during the stay
- Full IHG One Rewards earning — base points, bonus points, elite night credit
- Existing elite benefits apply normally
The 50% F&B discount is unique to IHG among the four chains. At a property where you'd otherwise eat $200/day at hotel restaurants, the F&B benefit alone can rival or exceed the room savings.
Should you try to book it?
If you're traveling with an IHG colleague, yes — the One Pass rate is the deepest authorized discount any major chain offers, and the dining benefit compounds it. If you're traveling solo or with non-IHG-colleague companions, the Flex tier is the realistic option: still 35–50% off, still includes 50% dining, no presence requirement.