Holiday Inn owner flags tentative hotels recovery

The company, whose brands include Holiday Inn, the Crowne Plaza, Regent and Hualuxe hotel chains, posted a 53.4% fall in third-quarter revenue per available room (RevPAR), compared to the 75% drop reported in the previous quarter.

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has signalled recovery from pandemic lows with rising occupancy levels and improving hotel room revenues, as the international travel and hospitality industry faces renewed pressure from new lockdowns and restrictions.

The company, whose brands include Holiday Inn, the Crowne Plaza, Regent and Hualuxe hotel chains, posted a 53.4% fall in third-quarter revenue per available room (RevPAR), compared to the 75% drop reported in the previous quarter.

Occupancy also improved to 44% from 25% in the second-quarter.

“Progress will continue to vary by region as restrictions come and go, and the potential for further improvement in trading in the near term remains uncertain,” said Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson, chief financial officer at IHG.

The hospitality industry has been hit by a plunge in tourist numbers due to coronavirus-led travel restrictions, which led IHG and rivals, including Europe's biggest hotel group Accor and Premier Inn owner Whitbread, to cut costs and lower their workforce this year.

Hotel operators are now set to bear the brunt from a second wave of coronavirus infections, which has forced countries to introduce new travel curbs.

IHG said capital spending is expected to be around $150m (€127m) in 2020, about a $100m lower when compared to 2019.

The group opened 82 new hotels in the third quarter - despite its revenue fall - with those mainly being in the Americas.

- Reuters