IHG Hotels & Resorts' systemwide first-quarter business transient revenue per available room grew 6 percent year on year, driven by a 2 percent increase in average daily rate, executives said during an earnings call on Thursday.
RevPAR from group bookings also rose 7 percent compared to the previous year, while revenue from leisure travel saw a marginal 1 percent increase. Global RevPAR grew by 4.4 percent, while systemwide occupancy was also up 1.5 percentage points to 62.7 percent.
IHG hotel RevPAR in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia increased 5.6 percent year on year despite "significant disruption" to operations in the Middle East from the start of March, which resulted in a 2 percent year-on-year decline in Middle East RevPAR for the quarter.
Moving into Q2, RevPAR from the Middle East is expected to be 50 percent below 2025 figures, but IHG CEO Elie Maalouf said the group "remains confident in the ensuring appeal of the region for both business and leisure travel, and we expect trading activity to bounce back when the conflict ends, and flight capacity is restored."
Elsewhere in the EMEAA region, RevPAR was up 3 percent year over year in the UK and 5.4 percent in Continental Europe, while East Asia and the Pacific reported an uptick of 11 percent.
Maalouf added that global bookings for Q2 indicate "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.
"While still early, our confidence of achieving full year consensus growth forecasts and profit expectations is underpinned by the strength of our performance year-to-date," he said.
In the Americas, where the U.S. is "by far our largest market," Maalouf said "the underlying fundamentals for the industry remain robust," with a 6 percent year-on-year increase in business transient revenue in Q1 and a 9 percent increase in RevPAR from group bookings. Leisure bookings remained flat compared with 2025, while overall Q1 RevPAR was up 3.6 percent for the region.
IHG chief financial officer Michael Glover said business demand drivers across the U.S. remain "strong" despite higher fuel prices and that the group "has not seen any indication of a slowdown" in business travel demand as a result of rising fuel costs. Government travel in the U.S. is also expected to "inch up" in Q2 and Q3.
Maalouf said U.S. government travel has become "a tailwind of sorts," but represents just 5 percent of the group's overall business in the U.S. "We're not expecting [U.S. government travel] to get back to pre-cutback levels this year, but it will build up over time," he said, adding that the "strongest tailwind in the U.S. are the economic fundamentals," which are driving business travel.
In Greater China, meanwhile, IHG reported a 5.7 percent year-on-year RevPAR increase for the first quarter, supported by "strong" leisure demand during the Chinese New Year period and "an improvement in business travel."
IHG opened 82 hotels or 14,900 rooms in the first quarter and signed a further 163 properties, representing an additional 21,400 rooms.
As of 31 March, IHG's global pipeline stood at 2,347 properties or 343,000 rooms, a 3 percent year-on-year increase.