22nd Oct 2026 09:20
(Alliance News) - InterContinental Hotels Group PLC on Thursday said revenue per available room accelerated in the third quarter despite a slowdown in China.
The Windsor, England-based hotel operator said RevPAR rose 5.3% in the third quarter, with growth in the Americas of 6.8%, and Europe, Middle East, Asia & Africa of 5.0%, offset by a decline in Greater China of 3.3%.
It represented the best quarterly growth rate of the year after IHG reported RevPAR rose 3.5% in the second quarter and 4.4% in the first.
In China, weather events impacted travel in July and August and changes to public holiday timings supported more international outbound leisure travel in late September, IHG said.
For the first nine months of 2026, the Holiday Inn owner said RevPAR rose 4.6%, with growth in the Americas of 5.6%, Europe, Middle East, Asia & Africa of 3.7%, and Greater China of 1.0%.
Gross system growth in the quarter was 6.3% year-on-year, with net system growth 4.9% on-year.
"Our US performance was very strong, with growth across all brands. There was very good growth in EMEAA, most notably in Continental Europe and East Asia & Pacific, which included an increase in inbound travel from China. This growth more than offset a broadly flat performance in the Middle East and an easing of RevPAR in Greater China where adverse weather and changes to public holiday timings impacted demand," observed Chief Executive Elie Maalouf.
The CEO noted IHG opened 92 hotels in the quarter and signed almost twice as many, with 164 properties added to the pipeline.
Maalouf said the strong performance to date and continued positive outlook for demand "gives us confidence" in achieving consensus expectations for 2026.
"This would mark the third consecutive year of delivering adjusted EPS growth around the top end of our growth algorithm target of 12-15% annually on average over the medium to long term. This is driven by the power of IHG’s enterprise platform and the ability to capitalise further on our scale, leading positions and the attractive long-term demand drivers for travel and hospitality globally," the CEO added.
Shares in IHG were down 3.1% at 165.10 pence each in London on Thursday.
By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter
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