Owner of Holiday Inn, Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG), has acknowledged a cyber-attack on the business.

IHG, which owns some of the biggest hotel chains in the world, said in a statement that it was looking into “unauthorised access” to many of its technological systems.

The UK-based business said that since Monday, “booking channels and other apps” have been affected.

The Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, and Regent hotels are managed by it.

IHG said that it was striving to quickly restore all systems to their original state.

IHG acknowledged that it had undertaken its response protocols, including hiring outside experts to look into the breach, and that it was evaluating the nature, size, and effect of the event.

Additionally, the business is in the process of informing regulatory authorities.

The business said in a statement: “As part of our reaction to the continuing service interruption, we will provide assistance to hotel owners and operators. Direct bookings may still be made and operations at IHG hotels are still possible.”

But many individuals who have tried to make hotel reservations have complained.

IHG denied that any client data had been lost.

Although it was not explicitly stated, the majority of the conjecture is that it was a ransomware assault.

LockBit penetrated a Holiday Inn in Istanbul last month, releasing information that had been taken from the business.

If there is a relationship between the assaults, it remains unknown.

More than 1,200 of the hotel chain’s franchised properties in the US were impacted by a three-month security hack in 2017.

In the context of heightened geopolitical tensions after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine early this year, there is greater scrutiny on proper defenses against cyberattacks, notably on Western financial institutions, around the time of the intrusion.