Holiday Inn parent InterContinental Hotels Group today confirmed that summer demand almost recovered to pre-pandemic levels.
The disclosure came in a third quarter trading update for the period to September 30 which saw a continuing improvement in the key measure of revenue per available room (revpar).
Group revpar was up 10% over the same period last year and 13% up on 2019, representing the fifth quarter of sequential improvement exceeding pre-pandemic highs, chief executive Elie Maalouf disclosed.
Maalouf, who took the helm of IHG in July, said: “Travel demand remained very healthy during the quarter.”
He added: “Greater China continued its excellent rebound with revpar now above 2019, which the Americas achieved in the second quarter of last year and EMEAA in the fourth quarter.
“Group-wide occupancy was 72%, just one percentage point behind 2019 which further confirms the near-complete return to pre‑Covid levels of demand.
“Pricing remained very robust. As well as year‑on‑year revpar growth in each of our three regions, it was also pleasing to see rooms revenue growth for each of leisure, business and group travel.”
The group, with 19 global hotel brands, opened almost 8,000 rooms across 50 hotels in the quarter, and added 17,000 rooms to its pipeline across 123 properties.
Maalouf said: “Looking further ahead, whilst there are macro-economic uncertainties and some short-term financing challenges holding back new hotel development, I am excited about the future for IHG and the attractive, long-term demand drivers for our markets.
“As such, we’re confident in the strengths of IHG’s business model, scale and in our strategic priorities to capture sustainable, profitable growth.”