InterContinental posts strong growth
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InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), owner of brands including Holiday Inn, Hotel Indigo and Crowne Plaza, has posted a 6% jump in full year revenue.
IHG attributes its performance for the year to 31 December to “brand delivery and scale advantage”.
Total revenue came in at $1,628m (£1,011m) and operating profit at $444m (£275.9m), up 22%. year on year.
Chief executive Andrew Cosslett says: “After a slow start to the year, the industry staged the sharpest recovery in its history, exceeding all expectations. By focusing on our brands and using our scale, we delivered 6% growth in revenue per available room (RevPAR).”
He adds that the group’s priority now is to increase market share and improve margins “in an industry set for strong growth over the next few years.”
IHG has been focusing on growth in China and grew its number of rooms by 12% last year. Greater China delivered the strongest RevPAR growth, up 25.8% for the year.
The group has also refreshed its Holiday Inn brand and is working on an overhaul of the Crowne Plaza offering.
Holiday Inn and Express by Holiday Inn are tier three sponsors of the London 2012 Olympics and will be leveraging the connection via brand ambassadors and promotions.
YouGov Insight:
Holidaying
· Two thirds of consumers have taken short breaks in the UK over the past year.
· However, the recession and its aftermath have taken a heavy toll on short haul, short breaks. Just over one fifth of adults have taken a European short break over the past year.
· Those who have continued to take European short breaks are most likely to be young single men under 25: essentially, confident travelers who have been less affected by the recession than older consumers.
· 1 in 4 young men between the ages of 16 and 24 have taken short breaks in Europe in the last year. This is well above the average of 15% across all demographics.
· 1 in 4 YouGov respondents said that having friends or relative in the area had a bearing on the choice of destination for their last short break.
· Half of ABC1s said that they just don’t like lying on the beach, while only 37% of C2DEs feel the same.
Click herefor more information on this YouGov market report
