| Master Investor Magazine
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The price of shares in FTSE 100 firm Intercontinental Hotels Group (LON:IHG) has dropped by 3.31% to 4,580p (as of 15:00 BST) after it published an update for the third quarter. Revenues per available room dropped in the Americas and China region, but climbed slightly in Europe.
CEO Keith Barr commented: “Our continued strategic focus on driving net rooms growth enabled us to deliver a 4.7% increase in net system size despite a strong comparable. This will accelerate in the coming quarter and we are on track to deliver industry leading net system growth over the medium term. Third quarter Group RevPAR was down 0.8%, impacted by tougher trading conditions in the US and China, and ongoing unrest in the Hong Kong SAR.
We have made further progress executing against our strategic initiatives, with the first franchise applications already received for Atwell Suites, our new upper midscale brand which was launched for franchise sales at the end of the quarter. We also strengthened our loyalty offer through an exclusive partnership with world-renowned travel club and boutique hotel specialists, Mr & Mrs Smith. This will more than double our luxury and boutique offering to IHG Rewards Club members in new and iconic locations and enhance the loyalty member value proposition.
Despite the weaker RevPAR environment, and the challenges some of our markets are currently experiencing, we remain confident in our financial outcome for the rest of the year. Our broad geographical spread combined with the resilience of our asset-light, cash generative model, our disciplined approach to cost management and the continued execution against our strategic initiatives, positions us well for the future“.