InterContinental sees no sign of U.S. downturn
The world’s largest hotelier, InterContinental Hotels Group Plc (IHG.L: Quote, Profile, Research), says forward booking and room cancellation rates in the United States show no signs of a downturn, and its big pipeline of new hotel openings would shelter it from any slowdown.
The British-based owner of InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn hotels earns nearly 70 percent of its profit from the U.S., and says it is trading resiliently despite some of its competitors trimming U.S. growth forecasts for 2008.
“We have not really seen a marked deterioration in our U.S. trading,” said Chief Executive Andrew Cosslett in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday. He added U.S. three-month forward bookings were on a par with last year, while room cancellations were running slightly lower than last year.
“In the case of a U.S. downturn, if it happens, we are well positioned in terms of our business model, our branded sites and our skew towards mid-scale hotels,” he added.
InterContinental’s shares jumped to a high of 777 pence from around 756p after Cosslett’s comments, and ended up 0.6 percent at 766-1/2p in a lower overall London stock market fast cash advance loan.
Last month, one of InterContinental’s biggest rivals, Marriott International (MAR.N: Quote, Profile, Research), cut its North American 2008 forecast for growth in revenue per available room (RevPar), a key industry measure that accounts for room rate and occupancy levels, to 3-5 percent from 5-7 percent.
Cosslett said his company did not make RevPar forecasts after reporting its Americas region saw RevPar growth of 6.1 percent in 2007 and 3.8 percent in January 2008, but he noted that industry data pointed towards 3-5 percent growth in 2008 and that InterContinental generally outperformed the industry.
“For 2008 we are not going to see the frothy levels of 2006 and 2007, but there will still be solid growth in RevPar in the U.S.,” he added.