Intercontinental Hotel Group’s Americas operation surpassed pre-pandemic levels of business in the first half, as the unwinding of Covid-19 restrictions accelerated the rebound in leisure and business travel.
The owner of Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn, which has more than two-thirds of its 6,000-strong global estate in the Americas, said on Tuesday that revenue per available room (revpar), the industry’s chosen metric, was up 3.5 per cent in the Americas in the three months to June 30, compared with the same period in 2019.
The group also posted operating profit in the region of $351mn in the six months to June 30, up 2.6 per cent on the comparable period in 2019.
Across IHG’s global operations, revpar was down 10.5 per cent on 2019 levels in the first half of the year. The group posted operating profit globally of $377mn, down 8 per cent on the $410mn profit booked in the first half of 2019.
“Alongside leisure stays, the return of business and group travel demand continued to build over the period,” said Keith Barr, IHG’s chief executive.
He added that the group’s strategy had allowed it to “emerge from the pandemic a stronger and more resilient company”.
IHG announced it would return $500mn of capital to investors via a share buyback programme, as well as issuing an interim dividend at 43.9 cents per share, 10 per cent higher than the 2019 payment.
“Whilst the economic outlook faces uncertainties as central banks and governments take action to manage inflation, we remain confident in our business model,” said Barr.
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