Franchisees welcome Holiday Inn re-brand

InterContinental Hotels Group’s (IHG) planned global re-brand of Holiday Inn has been received well by franchisees, the hotel group said today.

Unveiling good third quarter results with strong performances across all its brands, the company reported positive feedback on the $1bn (£479m) re-brand, which was announced last month.

Andrew Cosslett, IHG chief executive said: “Last month's announcement has been well received by our hotel owners and we look forward to opening our first re-branded hotel in spring next year. Our outlook for the rest of the year remains positive.”

For the quarter ended September 30, the company reported continuing operating profit of £66m, a 31% rise over the previous year.

Pre-tax profit for the period came in at £56m compared to £50m last year as continuing revenues grew to £224m, up 20%.

Global revenue per available room saw a growth of 6.1%, with the strongest growth coming from Asia Pacific, up 8.6%, driven by rate increases.

Cosslett said the global credit crunch has had no impact on IHG’s three and a half year target to open 50,000 to 60,000 net new rooms by the end of 2008.

"We haven't seen any impact (of financial market trouble) on our pipeline,” he told reporters. “The mood is cautiously optimistic and our business remains unaffected by any wider economic issues.”

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By Daniel Thomas

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