Business travel revenue in the first quarter at IHG Hotels
& Resorts properties fell flat year over year and declined in the Americas
region, executives said on a Friday conference call. Still, overall revenue per
available room increased, and executives suggested business revenue picked up
April.
“Business revenue was flat,” said IHG CEO Elie
Maalouf on the call, “but that reflects the timing of Easter being in
March this year compared to April last year, as the week leading up to Easter
always experiences a lull in business travel.”
Business revenue in IHG’s Americas region declined about 2
percent year over year, according to IHG CFO Michael Glover, and overall
Americas RevPAR was down 0.3 percent, dragged down by a 1.9 percent decline in
the United States. Glover, though, suggested a subsequent upswing.
“When we look at the last eight weeks’ rolling
performance, which smooths out the shift of Easter that impacts not just
leisure travel but also the timing of business travel, our U.S. RevPAR in
aggregate over last eight weeks was ahead of last year,” Glover said.
IHG systemwide first-quarter RevPAR increased 2.6 percent
year over year to $77.32, while ADR increased 2.3 percent to $123.95 and
occupancy increased 0.2 percentage points to 62.3 percent.
