InterContinental Hotels gloomy on year ahead | reuters.com

InterContinental Hotels (IHG.L), the world's largest hotelier, said a marked fourth-quarter slowdown had continued into 2009 and demand was still easing, as it met forecasts with a 13 percent rise in 2008 profit. The operator of InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn hotel brands, said underlying revenue per available room (RevPAR), a key industry measure, fell 6.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 and slid 12.