(Reuters) – InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), owner of Holiday Inn, said on Friday its revenue per available room (RevPAR) rose 28% in the third quarter from the same period in 2021 and exceeded pre-pandemic, supported by strong demand for leisure and business travel and rising room rates.
Hotel operators are taking advantage of people spending more on travel and booking longer hotel stays, driving up occupancy rates and prices, though they face the risks of stubborn inflation and to the rise in the cost of living which dampens demand for the winter season.
The British hotel group has also announced that its chief financial officer, Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson, will step down in six months to become chief financial officer of sports betting operator Flutter Entertainment.
IHG, which also operates the Crowne Plaza, Regent and Hualuxe hotel chains, said its quarterly RevPAR – a key indicator of hotel industry performance – came in 2.7% higher than the same period in 2019, before the health crisis caused by COVID-19.
Occupancy levels in the quarter, however, remained lower than in 2019, but the average daily rate, which measures the income earned for one occupied room per day, increased by 11% compared to 2019, the British group said. .
(Written by Radhika Anilkumar in Bangalore; French version Diana Mandiá, editing by Kate Entringer)
Copyright © 2022 Thomson Reuters