Coronavirus dents bookings for Holiday Inn owner IHG

Reuters: InterContinental Hotels (IHG) warned on Tuesday that fewer travellers are booking its rooms in China because of the coronavirus outbreak.

The owner of the Holiday Inn chain has been highlighted by analysts as among the European companies most directly exposed to the epidemic.

The group had begun to see an impact on bookings in late January and has now closed or partially closed 160 of its 470 hotels in Greater China, it said on Tuesday.

The company’s annual results on Tuesday showed that revenue per available room (RevPAR) had already declined by 4.5% last year in Greater China while performance in European and US markets was little changed.

Based on current disruption the impact equates to about $5 million a month for IHG’s mainland China business, Chief Executive Keith Barr said on an analysts call, describing the decline as “a short-term blip”.

Barr added that the region contributes less than 10% of group profit.

IHG last month said that up to Feb. 3 it would allow customers to change or cancel stays in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan at no additional cost. Rival Airbnb last week extended its suspension of bookings in Beijing until April 30.