IHG connects more than 1,000 hotels to new Concerto booking platform

IHG connects more than 1,000 hotels to new Concerto booking platform

Holiday Inn parent on track to save $125m in efficiency programme Continue reading

More than 1,000 properties have been connected to InterContinental Hotels’ new booking platform.

The company expects to complete the roll-out of IHG Concerto, including a new guest reservation system, by early next year.

The disclosure came as the Holiday Inn parent said it was on track to make $125 million in annual savings through an efficiency programme.

This came as IHG reported a 3.5% increase in global revenue per available room (revpar) in the first quarter of the year over the same period in 2017.

IHG is to rebrand 13 hotels in the UK with the introduction of the Kimpton brand.

Quarterly revpar at UK hotels was fell by 1% – London down 3%, and provinces up 1% – due to strong prior year comparables and the shift in the timing of Easter, according to the company.

The hotel giant added 8,000 rooms in the three months to bring the total up to 800,000, with a further 20,000 rooms signed led by new brand avid hotels.

The level represented the strongest first quarter growth in 11 years, the company revealed in a trading statement this morning.

IHG chief executive Keith Barr said: “In the first quarter we delivered revpar growth of 3.5%, net system size growth of 4.3% and our best signings pace for 11 years.

“This strong performance reflects our focus on driving industry leading net rooms growth over the medium term, underpinned by our new strategic initiatives.”

“There continues to be strong momentum across the business. We have made excellent progress against our initiative to expand our footprint in the $60 billion luxury segment, announcing the acquisition of a 51% stake in Regent Hotels & Resorts in March.

“In addition, this week we entered into an agreement to rebrand and operate a high-quality portfolio of 13 hotels in the UK.

“This will establish IHG as the leading luxury operator in this market, launch our luxury boutique brand Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants in the UK, and establish a position for our new upscale brand, principally focused on conversion opportunities.

“Signings for our new mainstream brand, avid hotels, continue to exceed our expectations, and now total more than 100 hotels, one every other day since launch.”

Barr added: “Our roll out of IHG Concerto, incorporating our new Guest Reservation System, continues at pace, with more than 1,000 hotels now using the platform, and we are on-track to complete roll-out by the end of 2018-early 2019.

“The fundamentals for our industry remain strong, we have the right strategy, and we are confident in the outlook for the year ahead.”