InterContinental Hotel Group's (IHG) balance sheet for 2009 reported a 19% decrease in profits compared to last year's year and 2008, and also showed a 34% reduction in operating profit. The RevPar measure fell 14.7% for the year, down 10.9% in the fourth quarter of 2009. RevPar in January 2010 fell by only 3% worldwide; The Americas recorded a decrease of 7.2%, EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) of 3.1%, while asia Pacific was positive with 11.1%.
Last year IHG added 26,828 new rooms to its global offer (252 hotels), already with 646,679 rooms, a growth of 4% year-on-year, although the addition of rooms was lower than in 2008; however, by 2010 the group plans to open about 37,000 rooms, about half of the 75,000 under construction.
Despite the results, Andrew Cosslett, CEO of InterContinental Hotels Group, said that although 2009 was a difficult year for the industry, occupancy has stabilized and the stay of business travelers is expected to return and in greater numbers.
