Intercontinental Hotels Group PLC (LSE:IHG) reported a solid start to the year, as strong demand in Europe and the Middle East offset a decline in China.
The owner of the Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza hotel brands said that it is "on track" to meet current full-year 2025 consensus profit expectations.
Global revenue per available room (revPAR) grew 3.3% for the first quarter of 2025, compared to 3.0% over the whole of last year.
RevPAR rose 3.5% in the Americas and 5.0% in EMEAA (Europe, Middle East, Asia & Africa), but was down 3.5% in Greater China, similar to the preceding quarter. Growth in EMEAA enjoyed increased levels of inbound leisure travel from Greater China.
IHG’s average daily rate rose by 2.2%, and occupancy increased by 0.6 percentage points.
"We had strong trading performance and development activity for our world-class brands in Q1, despite increased volatility in the macro environment," said CEO Elie Maalouf.
He said the growth in revPAR reflected a globally diverse footprint and increases across each of the business, leisure and group travel sectors.
The company opened 14,600 rooms across 86 hotels, more than double the same period last year, and signed 25,800 rooms across 158 hotels, a substantial increase over the previous year’s first quarter.
IHG also said it has completed $324 million of its planned $900 million share buyback.