Business

A Hotel Chief Talks About Managing His Way Through the Pandemic

InterContinental’s Keith Barr on plunging revenue, conserving cash, and the coming industry consolidation.

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By Carol A Massar and Jason Kelly

May 1, 2020 at 4:01 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

This article is part of the May 4, 2020 issue of businessweek.

InterContinental Hotels Group’s chief executive officer was sheltering in place with family in the U.K., where the company is based, when he spoke by phone about how businesses may recover from the virus.

● While about 400,000 people work in InterContinental hotels around the world, the company is basically a franchise operation ● Almost 6,000 hotels are individually owned small businesses that may employ 15 to 20 people ● The hotels are hosting front-line medical workers