InterContinental looks east to emerging markets

World No 1 hotelier InterContinental Hotels is looking to emerging markets and especially China to drive growth after a recovery in the United States and a string of new Chinese hotel openings helped push 2011 profits up 26%.

The hotelier, home to Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn as well as the InterContinental brand, said business was improving in the US, led by a healthier economy and job creation in a region which makes well over half the group’s profit.

Greater China, which was reporting numbers as a separate region for the first time, saw the group’s highest growth rate as it opened over 8,000 new rooms in the year, while over a quarter of the group’s new global hotel pipeline is in China.