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London's top hotels are escaping the worst of the recession as well-heeled visitors continue to flock to the capital.
InterContinental Hotels said today that London, where it has 49 hotels, is a rare “bright spot” in an otherwise tough market. Profits tumbled in the first quarter by 44% to $69 million (£45.5 million).
The InterContinental in Park Lane is doing particularly well because a number of rival 5-star hotels are shut for refurbishment. The G20 was also a boon to London's hoteliers.
“It's been a challenging start to the year but London is holding up,” said finance director Richard Solomons.
Revenue across the globe fell 24% to $342 million, raising some concern from analysts that the half-year dividend may need to be cut.
The company held its dividend at the full year and insists it is financially strong, while making no comment today about future payments to shareholders.
RevPAR — sales per room — fell 13.6%, though Intercontinental says this is a better result that others in the industry.
The world's biggest hotel group is relaunching its budget offering, the Holiday Inn, to compete with the likes of Premier Inn.
Intercontinental has 90,000 rooms under construction, of which nearly 40,000 are due to open this year. The shares started off the day as a big winner adding 31p to 689½p.
