InterContinental Hotels Group Plc, the owner of the Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza brands, reported revenue per room that beat analysts’ estimates as its US outlets had their best quarterly performance in eight years.
Revenue per available room, an industry measure of occupancy and rates known as revpar, increased by 7 per cent in the third quarter from a year earlier, the Denham, England-based company said in a statement today. Analysts predicted growth of 6.2 per cent, the average of 12 estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
InterContinental has been reducing its property holdings over the last decade to focus on operating hotels rather than owning them. In September, the company was chosen to run the hotel in the $1.1 billion Wilshire Grand Skyscraper being built in downtown Los Angeles.
“The US had a stellar quarter,” Chief Financial Officer Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson said on a conference call today. A high level of demand and a lack of hotels in the pipeline of competitors will fuel growth in the months ahead, he said.
Revpar for the US increased by 8.7 per cent. That fuelled an 8.4 per cent gain for the Americas, compared with the average estimate of 7.8 per cent. In Europe, the measure rose 6.1 per cent, beating estimates of 5 per cent.
“Whilst some of markets face heightened uncertainty and risks, we continue to see strong momentum in the business and remain encouraged by current trading and positive booking trends,” Chief Executive Officer Richard Solomons said in the statement.
Bloomberg News, edited by Hospitality Ireland