Excerpt from CNBC
Pent-up travel demand - which drove global travel recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic - is over, said Intercontinental Hotels Group CEO Elie Maalouf.
“People started traveling really by the end of 2020 as restrictions started to lift,” he said. “So we’re really past revenge travel — even in China.”
The company’s latest quarterly update showed travel demand remained strong during the close of the summer travel season.
“We think we’re in a sustainable place,” Maalouf said. “Our bookings for groups and meetings going into 2024 and beyond are the strongest we’ve seen in a very long time.”
“We’re pleased with the demand that we’re seeing from travelers ... and hope it continues,” he added.
Occupancy levels in the third quarter at IHG hotels was 72% — just 1% shy of pre-pandemic levels, according to the quarterly update. But average room rates have jumped well above 2019 levels — up nearly 6% in Greater China, 15% in the Americas, and 24% in Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) and Asia.
But rising rates are barely keeping up with inflation, said Maalouf.
“Room rates have not really exceeded inflation in any of our markets,” he said. “I think people’s willingness to travel is exhibited by the fact they’re willing to pay.”
Click here to read complete article at CNBC.