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nterContinental Hotels Group says it is certain to beat its target of adding 50,000 to 60,000 rooms to the business - already the largest hotel network in the world - by the end of 2008. InterContinental's chief executive, Andy Cosslett, declined to put up a revised target, but analysts expect the number of IHG rooms worldwide to rise by 70,000 to 75,000 in three and a half years, taking the likely total to 613,000 by the end of next year. The target excluded new sites replacing poorer-performing hotels, many under the Holiday Inn banner in the US. "We are opening a hotel a day somewhere in the world and signing two hotels a day into our pipeline," Mr Cosslett said. New signings are agreements entered into by outside investors to build and operate hotels under IHG's brands. It typically takes close to two years before pipeline hotels are ready to start taking guests from IHG's worldwide booking systems. In the first six months of this year outside investors signed up to provide 54,200 rooms - a record number for IHG - leaving the group with 188,000 rooms in its pipeline. More than half of the hotels signed up in the half-year were in the US, which accounts for about 75% of group profits. A focus on fast-growing regions of China led to signings for two InterContinentals, 15 Crowne Plazas, six Holiday Inns and nine Holiday Inn Expresses. Hotel openings in the first half added 7,400 net new rooms - double the level for the previous year but "below the pace we wanted to get to", Mr Cosslett said. He noted recent studies had shown a 6% decline in the number of US visitor numbers to the UK for the three months to June, with London believed to be particular badly hit by "Heathrow hassle" and a strong pound. Mr Cosslett said any fall had not affected IHG, which posted an 11% first-half increase in revenue per available room - a key measure for hoteliers. Visitors from Russia, the Middle East, China and Japan are believed to be taking the place of US travellers. IHG said it would continue to mull a possible sale of four strategic hotel properties it owns in the "gateway" cities of London, Paris, New York and Hong Kong. Mr Cosslett said any disposal would be "years, not months, away". source: The Guardian | Daily Extras! Eclat Me | Success Tip of the Day| 1DailyDiversion| Eclat Web - Must Visit Websites! A Beautiful Pic Every Day! Word of the Day| Quotation of the Day| Make Money! Immigration News! Desire- WOW Stuff! Stock Mkt Updates |
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