The company, whose brands include Holiday Inn, the Crowne Plaza, Regent and Hualuxe hotel chains, on Friday posted a 53.4% fall in third-quarter revenue per available room (RevPAR), compared to the 75% drop reported in the previous quarter.

Occupancy also improved to 44% from 25% in the second-quarter.

"Progress will continue to vary by region as restrictions come and go, and the potential for further improvement in trading in the near term remains uncertain," said Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson, chief financial officer at IHG.

The hospitality industry has been hit by a plunge in tourist numbers due to coronavirus-led travel restrictions, which led IHG and rivals, including Europe's biggest hotel group Accor and Premier-inn owner Whitbread, to cut costs and lower their workforce this year.

Hotel operators are now set to bear the brunt from a second wave of coronavirus infections, which has forced countries to introduce new travel curbs.

IHG said http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20201023:nRSW9799Ca capital spending is expected to be around $150 million in 2020, about a $100 million (76.5 million pounds) lower when compared to 2019.

(Reporting by Tanishaa Nadkar and Samantha Machado in Bengaluru; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel)