Subscribe
Login
Coronavirus

IHG Declares Recovery Already Here: Behind Some Optimistic Numbers

Matthew Parsons

Photo Credit: The Voco hotel in Dubai. Parent company IHG has added a humber of new brands in recent times. IHG

Skift Take

Going by InterContinental Hotels Group's first quarter earnings update, there's good news coming out of the U.S. and China. But how Europe, the Middle East, and Africa respond to coronavirus over the next quarter will be critical to keeping that optimism alive.

There were no major shocks during InterContinental Hotels Group's first quarter earnings update on Thursday; unexpected, though, was CEO Keith Barr’s high level of confidence. Revenue per available room, or RevPAR, the hotel industry’s key performance metric, was down 24.9 percent year-on-year — a similar story to other brands, including Marriott. March RevPAR was down 55 percent, with April expected to be down around 80 percent.

Get the Latest on Coronavirus and the Travel Industry on Skift's Liveblog

The group has clearly been affected, with the downbeat numbers following a $150 million cost cutting exercise, announced at the end of last month. But Barr pointed out several “bright spots” on Thursday’s earnings call. Open For Business In the U.S. — IHG's biggest market with 3,750 mainstream hotels of its 5,900-strong portfolio — 90 percent of its properties are open. There was good news from its other strongholds. "We are in a net reopening environment," declared Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson, chief financial

Hotel coverage is exclusive for Skift Pro subscribers.

Subscribe for full access to all Skift coverage for as low as $55 a month.
See the latest hotel headlines.

Apple Pay, Google Pay, Paypal, VISA, Mastercard, Discover, American Express

Already a subscriber? Login