Intercontinental Hotels sales in Hong Kong drop on protests
Intercontinental Hotels has reported a slight dip in revenue per room in 2019, with the Holiday Inn-owner hit by a fall in bookings in Hong Kong due to the unrest in the territory.
The hotel group, which operates 443 hotels in Greater China under various brands, said comparable revenue per available room (revpar) dipped 0.3 per cent globally, and fell 4.5 per cent in Greater China.
Intercontinental cited unrest in the Middle East and weaker corporate demand in the UK as factors behind the global slowdown.
Revpar in Hong Kong tumbled 27 per cent for the year, with a 63 per cent drop in the fourth quarter, as ongoing protests in the city impacted travel.
Intercontinental, one of the five largest hotel groups in the world, is also bracing for the impact of the current Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak on its business.
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This morning’s update, which covered results for the year ending 31 December, did not indicate what effect the coronavirus was likely to have on its results.
“Given the ongoing impact of coronavirus following the outbreak in China, our top priority remains the health and safety of our colleagues, guests and our partners on the ground, and we are doing all we can to support them at this difficult time,” said chief executive Keith Barr.
Intercontinental said it had opened a total of 65,220 rooms during 2019, and that overall revenues for the year rose eight per cent to $2bn (£1.5bn).
The ground announced a 10 per cent increase in the dividend for the year to 126 cents per share.
Intercontinental’s shares were down 1.76 per cent in morning trading.