Holiday Inn owner IHG banks on World Cup for US recovery

By Raechel Thankam Job and Yadarisa Shabong

Feb 17 (Reuters) - InterContinental Hotels Group IHG.L is banking on the soccer World Cup to revive U.S. travel in 2026 after a third straight quarterly drop in room revenues there, though European and Asian demand helped it beat fourth-quarter expectations overall.

Leisure travel trends have softened in the U.S., the Holiday Inn owner said on Tuesday, as cost-conscious consumers rein in spending amid rising prices and tariff uncertainty.

U.S. revenue per available room (RevPAR) fell 2% in the three months to the end of December, underperforming rivals Hilton HLT.N and Marriott MAR.O.

"As we look into 2026, while it's very early days, the RevPAR so far has been positive. We would expect the U.S. in the first quarter to be positive," Chief Financial Officer Michael Glover told Reuters.

IHG launched a new $950 million share buyback programme for 2026 and proposed a 10% dividend increase.

"We expect shares to be up today, given the solid print and a buyback that was stronger than the Street anticipated," said JPMorgan analysts, adding that IHG remained their top sector pick for fiscal 2026 given easier U.S. comparatives and expected World Cup demand.

Shares of the FTSE 100 group .FTSE hit a record high of 150.9 pence in early trading, before paring gains to stand marginally higher at 0908 GMT.

WORLD CUP SET TO DRIVE DEMAND

Tourism Economics estimates the World Cup, which the U.S. will host in June and July with Mexico and Canada, will attract more than a million visitors to North America.

Glover said that should provide a significant uplift thanks to IHG's footprint in host cities.

Fourth-quarter global room revenue rose 1.6%, ahead of forecasts of 1.5%, helped by Greater China's return to growth and a 7.1% jump across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Greater China - which includes Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan - posted RevPAR growth of 1.1% after most of 2025 was marked by declines, as leisure demand improved.

IHG's 2025 operating profit from reportable segments rose 13% to $1.27 billion, close to analyst expectations of $1.26 billion.