IHG’s 2Q report: InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) on Tuesday reported a pretax profit of US$377 million through June of 2014, down from GBP462 million a year earlier, as revenue declined to US$908 million, from US$936 million. Its underlying operating profit rose in the Americas, but declined in Europe due mainly to the renovation of the InterContinental Paris-Le Grand. In Asia, IHG cited ongoing investment and weak trading in Thailand. Operating profit rose to US$301 million from US$284 million as RevPAR grew 5.8%, driven by 6.6% growth in the U.S. The company highlighted the growth of its Indigo brand with nine signings so far in 2014, as well as a 46% increase in mobile bookings.
St. Regis’ new deal: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide on Tuesday announced that it will debut the St. Regis brand in Kazakhstan’s capital city with the opening of the 120-room St. Regis Astana and 50 Residences at The St. Regis Astana. Developed by MG Development, the project is scheduled to open in 2017.
Atlific grows with Temple: Atlific Hotels, Toronto, has assumed management of Hilton Garden Inn Toronto Airport West/Mississauga. Atlific also said it has taken management of TownePlace Suites by Marriot Sudbury in Ontario, Canada. Both properties were recently acquired by Temple Hotels Inc.
Big Marriott has new management: Evolution Hospitality has assumed operational responsibility for the 474-room Warner Center Marriott Woodland Hills in California. The California-based hotel management company was selected to operate the asset by new owner Laurus Corp., a private real estate investment and development firm based in Los Angeles.
Peruvians and timeshare: Findings by Interval International about active leisure travelers residing in Peru revealed that 97% find condominium-style accommodations an appealing alternative to traditional resorts, hotels, or motels. Fully, 92% plan to take more or the same number of overnight leisure trips in the next 12 months than they did last year. And, more than 75% are not familiar with traditional timesharing.