His successor , Maalouf , who joined IHG in 2015 and lives in the Washington , D . C ., area , is now charged with taking the company forward amid a nebulous and rocky macro-economic picture . “ I am extremely proud to be appointed CEO ... on what will be an important new chapter for IHG ,” said Maloouf , who in the interim will carry the name of CEO Designate . “ Working closely with Keith , and as an Executive Committee , we ’ ve made a number of critical strategic investments in recent years that position us with exciting opportunities to realize IHG ’ s full industry leading potential .”
Added Deanna Oppenheimer , chair of IHG and founder of CameoWorks , an advisory firm to CEOs of early-stage technology companies : “ Starting in our hotels in the U . S . before moving into corporate roles that have seen him work across international markets , Keith has used all his experience to lead a true transformation of IHG in his six years as CEO . He has rallied a business around a clear strategy with hotel owners and guests at its heart , strengthened IHG ’ s enterprise platform and placed the business on a path to long-term sustainable growth and to continue an excellent track record of shareholder value creation .”
Her statement also alluded to the notion that Barr ' s departure was not a rash decision but something the Board knew about for some time and a succession decision had been in the works . “ Succession planning has been a hallmark of the business for many years and Elie ’ s appointment is the result of a rigorous process and a commitment to invest in the development of our leaders ,” she said . “ His significant industry experience and deep understanding of our business makes him extremely well placed to take on the role of CEO and ensure we continue to progress and execute against our successful strategy .”
Q1 DISPLAY Amid the Barr announcement , IHG also had its Q1 numbers to report — and they were strong . RevPAR growth eclipsed its 2019 level , up 6.8 % over the same period and up 33 % over the same period in 2022 . The only blip was Greater China , where RevPAR in the quarter was 9.1 % lower than the same time in 2019 . ( China ' s dip at the beginning of the pandemic was not as pronounced as other regions .)
ADR was up 11 % on 2022 and 10 % on 2019 , while occupancy was up 10 percentage points on 2022 but down 2 percentage points on 2019 . RevPAR growth in the wake of the pandemic has been rate led .
“ The guest appeal of our brands has continued to support pricing , with rate up 10 % versus 2019 and occupancy now almost back to pre-Covid levels ,” Barr said .
IHG signed more than 16,000 rooms across 108 hotels in the quarter , with a third of all signings across its six luxury and lifestyle brands , “ as we accelerate our growth in the segment ,” Barr said .
In the quarter , IHG opened 8,000 rooms across 45 hotels , despite financing difficulties , which remain . “ While financing challenges for the wider commercial real estate industry are holding back new hotel development and opening activity fully returning to normal , we anticipate improving levels as the year progresses ,” Barr said , adding that , similar to what other hotel companies have reported , there has been an uptick in conversions , which increased to be over a third of both openings and signings in the period for IHG .
I ’ M EXCITED FOR WHAT LIES AHEAD FOR IHG AND HAVING WORKED SO CLOSELY TOGETHER , TO SEE ELIE LEAD THE BUSINESS AND BUILD ON ALL HE HAS ACHIEVED IN THE AMERICAS AS
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– KEITH BARR R , OUTGOING CEO , IHG
Current CEO of the Americas Elie Maalouf will take over as group CEO .
June 2023 hotelsmag . com 31