ATLANTA—IHG’s strategic focus on driving net rooms growth is delivering strong results, according to its first quarter earnings results. The hotel company’s net system size up 5.4% year-over-year, 12,000 rooms opened—88 hotels, nearly one per day—bringing total system size to 843,000 rooms (5,656 hotels).
“Our strategic focus on driving industry leading net rooms growth is delivering strong results, with our net system size increasing 5.4% in the first quarter and our highest number of signings in 12 years,” said Keith Barr, CEO, InterContinental Hotels Group PLC. “Global RevPAR increased 0.3% against strong prior year results, with good growth in the US where we outperformed the industry segments where we compete, and continued market share gains in China.”
Among the highlights:
IHG also reached its highest number of signings in 12 years, with 24,000 rooms signed—173 hotels, nearly two per day—bringing total pipeline size to 279,000 rooms (1,916 hotels).
Global Q1 comparable RevPAR was up 0.3%, and Americas RevPAR up 0.8% with good growth in the U.S. (up 0.6%, outperforming the industry segments where the brand competes.
In addition, IHG continues to expand its brand portfolio into high-opportunity segments and markets. There were more than 180 Avid Hotels signed, including 12 hotels signed in Q1; there are nearly 50 Avid Hotels currently under construction or with planning approved. The company is also set launch its all-suites upper-midscale brand in the U.S. later this month.
“Our highest first quarter hotel openings in a decade included our 400th hotel in Greater China. More than 60% of openings globally were in the Holiday Inn Brand Family, driven by our focus on innovative design and service enhancements which is leading to improved guest satisfaction across our highly preferred portfolio of global brands,” said Barr. “We have continued to expand our brand portfolio into high-opportunity segments and markets. In mainstream, we now have over 180 Avid hotels signed and will launch our all-suites upper-midscale brand in the U.S. later this month. Our upscale conversion brand Voco, is seeing strong owner interest with five hotels now open and a further 12 signed since launch last year. Our recent acquisition of Six Senses rounds out our offer in the top tier of luxury.”
A Look at the Brands
Holiday Inn: Continued roll out of new “Open Lobby” public space in Europe with its 100th Holiday Inn Open Lobby hotel recently opened in Belfast.
Avid Hotels: More than 180 Avid hotels now signed, including 12 hotels signed in Q1 2019, one of which was in Germany. With 46 Avid Hotels currently under construction or with planning approved, it is expected the openings will gather momentum through the year.
New ‘all-suites’ upper-midscale brand: On track for launch later this month at the Americas owners conference.
Crowne Plaza: Strong momentum behind Plaza Workspaces with new modern design and dynamic meeting space launched in the company’s Atlanta flagship hotel.
Hotel Indigo: Signed eight hotels including four in the Americas, taking the total pipeline to 99 hotels.
Voco: Launched brand in June 2018, primarily for conversion opportunities. Five hotels now open including a flagship property in Dubai. A further 12 hotels have been signed to date.
Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants: Following the opening of the U.K. flagship, the Kimpton Fitzroy London, we expanded our presence across the U.K. with the opening of the company’s first Kimpton Hotel in Scotland. We also opened the first Kimpton Hotel in Asia-Pacific, the Kimpton Da An Hotel, Taipei.
Regent Hotels & Resorts: The company has seen strong owner interest, with signings in Chengdu and Bali during the quarter.
Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas: Completed acquisition of 16 hotels and resorts, with 18 management contracts signed into its pipeline, and more than 50 further deals under discussion. Since acquisition, we have opened Six Senses Hotels in Bhutan and Cambodia.
“The investments we are making to enable this acceleration in growth are funded through our efficiency program, which is on track to deliver $125 million of annual savings by 2020,” said Barr. “While macro-economic and geopolitical uncertainties remain in some markets, the strong fundamentals of our business give us confidence for the balance of the year.”
