By Janet Harmer.
London hotels within the InterContinental Hotels (IHG) portfolio bucked the global fall in revenue per available room (revpar), according to the group’s third quarter 2019 trading update.
Demand from overseas travellers helped drive up revpar in the capital by 3%. With revpar flat across hotels outside London, the figure across the UK from July to September increased by 1%.
Globally, IHG reported a revpar decline of 0.8% during the third quarter and a flat figure for the year to date.
Keith Barr, chief executive of IHG said that the strategic focus on growth enabled the group to open around 13,000 rooms during the period, taking its total portfolio up to 865,000 rooms. The company is on track to achieve a 5% expansion for the full year 2019.
“Despite the weaker revpar environment, and the challenges some of our markets are currently experiencing, we remain confident in our financial outcome for the rest of the year,” he said.
“Our broad geographical spread combined with the resilience of our asset-light, cash generative model, our disciplined approach to cost management and the continued execution against our strategic initiatives, positions us well for the future.”