① Huazhu Group achieved revenue of 21.9 billion yuan in 2023, up 57.9% year on year; turnover reached 80.4 billion yuan, up 62.1% year on year; ② CEO Jin Hui expects RevPAR to remain flat or grow slightly this year; ③ Throughout 2024, Huazhu's revenue is expected to increase 8%-12% year on year.
Finance Association, March 21 (Reporter Hu Haoqiong) - Demand for travel is strong, demand for business travel is gradually recovering, and Huazhu Group (01179.HK/HTHT.US) China RevPar (revenue per available room) is recovering. “We expect the number of new hotels opened by Huazhu this year to reach a record high of 1,800.” At the performance briefing held today, Huazhu Group CEO Jin Hui said.
However, according to Jin Hui, although the overall RevPAR of Chinese hotels increased significantly last year and the travel and leisure market also showed growth in the first quarter of this year, the recovery in the number of business travelers has always been in a relatively slow growth stage. “This also caused some confusion about our RevPAR estimates for this year, based on a high base. We are cautious about our 2024 RevPAR forecast, judging that this year's RevPAR will remain flat or grow slightly.”
According to the results announced by Huazhu Group yesterday evening, Huazhu's revenue for the fourth quarter of 2023 was 5.6 billion yuan, up 50.7% year on year, exceeding previously announced revenue growth of 41% to 45% compared to the fourth quarter of 2022; hotel turnover was 20.4 billion yuan, up 55% year on year. Looking at the full year, Huazhu achieved revenue of 21.9 billion yuan, an increase of 57.9% year on year; turnover reached 80.4 billion yuan, an increase of 62.1% year on year.
From February 2023 to the end of the year, Huazhu China's monthly RevPAR recovery rate remained above 115% compared to 2019, and recovered to 122% of 2019 throughout 2023. Huazhu International's 2023 RevPAR increased 14.5% year-on-year.
Regarding the future development of China's hotel industry, Jin Hui said that the company believes that in China, in addition to the chain dividends of leading brands, sinking market opportunities, and the upgrading trend of institutional travel consumption, the company has seen consumers' pursuit of quality and diversity of experience, and the company's strategic transformation has also seen structural opportunities in the Chinese hotel industry.
As of 2023, Huazhu Group operated 9394 hotels with 912,444 guest rooms in 18 countries. Among them, Huazhu China operates 9,263 hotels. 1,641 new stores were opened throughout the year, and the number of hotels to be opened was 3061, all of which reached record highs. Currently, 92% of the hotels in operation in Huazhu China are budget and mid-range brands, 85% of the hotels to be opened are budget and mid-range brands, and 90% of the new stores to be opened in 2023 are budget and mid-range brands.
Furthermore, in terms of Hanting brands, the share of Hanting 2.7 and above products increased from 34.3% in 2020 to 71.2% in 2023. The all-season brand launched a new 5.0 product. The Orange brand launched Lehuo products in 2022. Currently, Orange Lehuo products account for 58% of Orange hotels to open.
As for the 2024 performance guidelines, the company's CFO Zou Jun explained at the performance conference that in the first quarter of 2024, the company's revenue will increase by 12%-16% over the same period in 2023, and revenue without the German Hotel Group (DH) will increase 11%-15%; for the whole of 2024, the company's revenue is expected to increase by 8%-12% year-on-year, and revenue without DH will also increase by 8%-12%.