© Bloomberg
Intercontinental Hotel Group’s operation in the Americas surpassed pre-pandemic business levels in the first half as the easing of Covid-19 restrictions accelerated the recovery in leisure and business travel.
The Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn owner, which has more than two-thirds of its 6,000 global properties in the Americas, said on Tuesday that revenue per available room (revpar), the industry’s metric of choice, rose a 3.5 percent in the Americas in the three months to June 30, compared to the same period in 2019.
The group also made an operating profit of $351 million in the six months to June 30, up 2.6 percent on the comparable period in 2019.
Across IHG’s global operations, revpar was down 10.5% from 2019 levels in the first half of the year. The group posted an overall operating profit of $377 million, down 8% from the $410 million profit recorded in the first half of 2019.
“Along with leisure stays, the return of demand for business and group travel continued to increase during the period,” said Keith Barr, chief executive of IHG.
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 $500 million of capital to investors through a share buyback program, as well as issue an interim dividend of 43.9 cents per share, a 10% increase on the 2019 payout.
“While the economic outlook faces uncertainties as central banks and governments take steps to manage inflation, we remain confident in our business model,” Barr said.