Shares of IHG, owner of Holiday Inn, fall as CFO checks

Oct 21 (Reuters) – Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson, the chief financial officer of Holiday Inn owner IHG (IHG.L), is leaving to join bookmaker Flutter Entertainment (FLTRF.L), the hotel group said on Friday, disappointing investors who had praised his performance during the pandemic.

IHG shares fell 3.7% at 0755 GMT, with Citi analysts calling Edgecliffe-Johnson’s departure after eight years as chief financial officer “disappointing”.

Edgecliffe-Johnson, 50, who has worked for IHG for nearly two decades and led the group through the worst of the pandemic, will join Flutter Entertainment in early 2023.

London-listed shares of Flutter rose slightly.

News of his release overshadowed IHG’s third-quarter results, which showed group room revenue (RevPAR) in July-September exceeded pre-pandemic levels for the first time, jumping 28% compared to a year earlier and 2.7% more than the same period in 2019.

IHG, which also owns Crowne Plaza, Regent and Hualuxe, said occupancy levels remained below 2019 levels during the quarter, but the average daily rate rose 11% from 2019.

Hoteliers are benefiting as people spend more on travel and book longer hotel stays, driving up occupancy rates and prices, though they face the risks of continued inflation and crisis the cost of living, which dampens winter demand.

“The sector is experiencing a decline in new hotel opening activity, and with particular impact from restrictions in China,” chief executive Keith Barr said in a statement.

Third-quarter RevPAR in China was down 20% from 2019 levels, while the UK was up 7% over the same period and the Americas, its largest regions, up 6%. 8%.

London Heathrow Airport warned of a possible slowdown in travel demand this winter, while major airlines said travel demand was holding up.

Hotel prices will continue to rise in 2023 in most key cities for business events around the world, but at a slower pace due to the deteriorating economic outlook, American Express Global Business Travel said earlier. this month.

Reporting by Radhika Anilkumar in Bengaluru; additional reporting by Amna Karimi; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Susan Fenton

Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.