InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (LON:IHG) said its hotels were around 20-25% full with around 85% of them having been reopened by the end of last month.
Publishing results for the first quarter, the Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza owner said revenue per available room (revpar) is expected to have slumped 80% in April, having been down 55% in March and 24.9% lower for the whole of the first quarter.
But chief executive officer Keith Barr pointed to some relative positions of strength: “In the US, our biggest market, our franchise portfolio of 3,750 mainstream hotels has seen lower levels of revpar decline than the industry”.
The estate is weighted towards non-urban markets that are less reliant on international inbound travel and large group meetings and events, which he said provides a level of resilience during the pandemic.
Barr said costs were being cut and cash preserved as the board was “focused on managing the business appropriately through this unique period while also positioning IHG to emerge strongly when our markets recover”.
Even in the crisis, the group expects to open a large hotel in Shanghai later this month and launch further franchises for its low and mid-cost brands.
Some US$2bn of liquidity was said to be at the disposal of the FTSE 100 hotels group, with a syndicated bank facility extended until September 2023 and a £600mln funding issued via the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility.
IHG shares were little moved at 3,421p in early trading on Thursday morning.