“With thanks to our teams we delivered a very strong Q1 trading performance, benefiting from our diverse global footprint and better-than-expected demand in most regions around the world,” said Elie Maalouf, CEO, IHG Hotels & Resorts. “Global RevPAR grew 4.4%, with notable strength in the U.S. on top of good growth this time last year, and further acceleration in Greater China following a return to growth in the prior quarter. Our diverse EMEAA region also performed well despite challenges from the conflict in the Middle East, where we continue to do all we can to support our guests, teams and owners.”
He continued, “We are proud to have reached the milestone of more than 7,000 hotels, having opened 82 properties during Q1. Strong pipeline momentum continued with the signing of 163 hotels, which was ahead of 2025. This included the first signing for our new premium brand, Noted Collection, in EMEAA and the arrival of our Essentials conversion brand, Garner, into Greater China. Demand for quick-to-market conversions to IHG’s brands and enterprise platform continues to be high, representing 35% of rooms opened and 53% of signings in the quarter.”
Q1 highlights:
- Q1 global rooms revenue on a comparable basis was strongest for groups (+7%) and business (+6%), with leisure up 1%
- ADR increased 2.% and occupancy was up 1.5%
- Gross system size growth 6.6% year-over-year (YOY), +1.4% YTD; opened 14,900 rooms (82 hotels) in Q1, 2% more than the same period last year
- Net system size growth of 5% YOY, and 0.9% year-to-date; global system of 1,036,000 rooms (7,014 hotels)
- Signed 21,400 rooms (163 hotels) in Q1, 6% more than the same period last year when excluding the Ruby brand acquisition in the comparable period; global pipeline of 343,000 rooms (2,347 hotels), up 3% YOY
“Looking ahead, our comparable on-the-books global revenue for Q2 indicates continued growth, with the impact of the Middle East conflict and some wider disruption to international travel flows expected to be more than offset by increases in demand elsewhere,” said Maalouf. “Our business model is strategically diversified and resilient in capturing demand across geographies, chain scales and the different stay occasions of business, leisure and groups travel, as well as being heavily weighted to domestic and intra-regional travel. While still early, our confidence in achieving full-year consensus growth forecasts and profit expectations is underpinned by the strength of our performance year-to-date. We are delivering on our strategic priorities and growth algorithm, which capitalizes on the scale and capabilities of IHG’s platform, our leading positions and the attractive long-term structural growth drivers for both demand and supply across our markets.”
