WINDSOR, ENGLAND IHG reported an 8% increase in RevPAR for the fourth quarter and 6.2% improvement for the full year 2010. The world’s largest hotel company is preparing to embark on a relaunch of its Crowne Plaza brand.
The company also announces plans to sell its iconic InterContinental Barclay. It is on the market as of today.
Total gross revenue from hotels in IHG’s system reached US$18.7 billion in 2010, up 11%.
“2010 was an excellent year for IHG,” says CEO Andy Cosslett. “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 RevPAR. We signed more rooms into our pipeline than in 2009 and despite the planned exceptional number of removals to drive up quality; we grew the number of rooms in our system, led by a 12% increase in China.”
More than 3,000 Holiday Inn properties—91% of the portfolio—are now operating under the new brand standards. RevPAR growth for hotels relaunched for more than one year is 5 percentage points higher than non-relaunched properties.
“The US$1 billion Holiday Inn relaunch is almost complete, delivering RevPAR outperformance and improved guest satisfaction,” Cosslett says. “We are now working with our hotel owners to refresh Crowne Plaza, already the fourth largest upscale hotel brand in the world, and one with great future potential.”
The company portfolio grew just 0.1% year over year, to 647,161 guestrooms across 4,437 hotels. Although IHG added 259 properties in 2010, there were 260 properties that left the system. IHG remains the world’s largest hotel company by number of rooms.
IHG’s total pipeline is at 204,859 guestrooms across 1,275 hotels, half of which are outside the Americas; 75,000 guestrooms are currently under construction. Net system growth in 2011 is expected to be modest as remaining Holiday Inn relaunch exits are completed. After this year, IHG expects medium-term net system growth of 3% to 5% per year.