The rash of hotels built for the London Olympics and the economic downturn in the eurozone caused a rare drop in revenues per room across Europe at the world’s largest hotel group InterContinental.
The owner of the Holiday Inns, Crowne Plaza and InterContinental brands saw worldwide growth of 3.1% over the first three months of the year, driven by strong demand in the Americas and Asia.
But European revenues per room fell by 2.2% with the UK down even more at 2.4%. Finance director Tom Singer said: “Europe was hit by the timing of Easter, which fell in March. That always causes a lull in business and group activity which is not fully offset by leisure demand.
“In London, the industry is still absorbing the extra room capacity which was built for the Olympics and that could take another couple of quarters to work through.”
IHG completed the $469 million (£302 million) sale of the InterContinental on Park Lane at the start of this month and has now moved on to seeking a buyer for its Barclay Hotel in New York. It withdrew the sale of the $300 million hotel last year after the buyer failed to complete. Now it has put it back on the market.
