Intercontinental Hotels Q1 revenue per room up 1.5%

First quarter revenue per available room at Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) rose 1.5% at constant exchange rates against a background of weak oil markets and earlier Easter which impacted hard in the Americas and Europe.

IHG said it expected to reverse the Easter effect in the second quarter. The stronger dollar meant revenue per room fell 0.7% on an actual currency basis.

Net system size was up 2.7% year on year to 742,000 rooms across 5,028 hotels. More than 5,000 rooms, or 38 hotels, opened in the first quarter, which is historically Intercontinental's slowest quarter for openings.

The company removed 8,000 rooms, or 42 hotels, and expected removals to trend back to within the 2-3% range for the full year.

It signed 15,000 new rooms, the highest first quarter since 2008, including 11,000 in the Americas where signings were up almost 20% on the first quarter last year, and in Greater China where room signings were up almost 10%.

IHG's pipeline increased to 220,000 rooms, with 90% in its 10 priority markets and approximately 45% under construction.
Chief executive Richard Solomons said despite economic and political uncertainty in some markets, “current trading trends and the momentum behind our brands give us confidence for the rest of the year".