HTHT - H World Group Limited Announces Preliminary Results for Hotel Operations in the Fourth Quarter and the Full Year of 2022

SHANGHAI, China, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- H World Group Limited (NASDAQ: HTHT and HKEX: 1179) (“H World”, “we” or “our”), a key player in the global hotel industry, today announced preliminary results for hotel operations in the fourth quarter (“Q4 2022”) and the full year ended December 31, 2022.

COVID-19 update
For our Legacy-Huazhu business, our RevPAR in Q4 2022 recovered to 83% of the 2019 level. The recovery was accelerated after Chinese Government announced the reopening policy in mid-November. Breaking down into each month, our RevPAR in October, November and December 2022 recovered to 74%, 87% and 91% of the 2019 levels, respectively. The trend continued during the Spring Festival holiday with RevPAR recovered to roughly 95% of 2019 seven days’ holiday period.

Steigenberger Hotels GmbH and its subsidiaries (“DH”, or “Legacy-DH”) have experienced a seasonal slowdown of RevPAR recovery in Q4 2022. Blended RevPAR recovered to 110% of 2019 levels in Q4, driven by the Steigenberger hotels in Qatar and Egypt. Excluding the effects of the FIFA World Cup and the COP27 UN Climate Conference, the RevPAR recovered to 100% of 2019 levels. RevPAR recovery continues to be driven by ADR increases while occupancy levels still remain behind the levels achieved in 2019. The ongoing reduction of energy-related risks eases energy prices in Europe. However, inflation is continuing to impact operating costs. We will bridge the rising cost through further rate increases as well as an ongoing focus on cost reduction, process optimization and stringent cash management.

Operating Results: Legacy-Huazhu ⁽¹⁾

(4) If including hotels under requisition, RevPAR in Q4 2022 would have been 85% of the 2019 level.

(5) If including hotels under requisition, RevPAR in 2022 would have been 82% of the 2019 level.

Operating Results: Legacy-DH ^{( 6 )}

Hotel Portfolio by Brand

(8) As of December 31, 2022, 5 operational hotels and 11 pipeline hotels of IntercityHotel were in China.
(9) As of December 31, 2022, 11 operational hotels and 3 pipeline hotels of Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts were in China.
(10) As of December 31, 2022, 3 operational hotels and 8 pipeline hotels of MAXX were in China.
(11) As of December 31, 2022, 3 operational hotels of Steigenberger Icon were in China.
(12) Other hotels include other partner hotels and other hotel brands in Yongle Huazhu Hotel & Resort Group (excluding Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts and Blossom House).

About H World Group Limited
Originated in China, H World Group Limited is a key player in the global hotel industry. As of December 31, 2022, H World operated 8,543 hotels with 809,478 rooms in operation in 17 countries. H World’s brands include Hi Inn, Elan Hotel, HanTing Hotel, JI Hotel, Starway Hotel, Orange Hotel, Crystal Orange Hotel, Manxin Hotel, Madison Hotel, Joya Hotel, Blossom House, Ni Hao Hotel, CitiGO Hotel, Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts, MAXX, Jaz in the City, IntercityHotel, Zleep Hotels, Steigenberger Icon and Song Hotels. In addition, H World also has the rights as master franchisee for Mercure, Ibis and Ibis Styles, and co-development rights for Grand Mercure and Novotel, in the pan-China region.

H World’s business includes leased and owned, manachised and franchised models. Under the lease and ownership model, H World directly operates hotels typically located on leased or owned properties. Under the manachise model, H World manages manachised hotels through the on-site hotel managers that H World appoints, and H World collects fees from franchisees. Under the franchise model, H World provides training, reservations and support services to the franchised hotels, and collects fees from franchisees but does not appoint on-site hotel managers. H World applies a consistent standard and platform across all of its hotels. As of December 31, 2022, H World operates 13 percent of its hotel rooms under lease and ownership model, and 87 percent under manachise and franchise models.

For more information, please visit H World’s website: https://ir.hworld.com .

Safe Harbor Statement Under the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: The information in this release contains forward-looking statements which involve risks and uncertainties. Such factors and risks include our anticipated growth strategies; our future results of operations and financial condition; economic conditions; the regulatory environment; our ability to attract and retain customers and leverage our brands; trends and competition in the lodging industry; the expected growth of demand for lodging; and other factors and risks detailed in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements, which may be identified by terminology such as “may,” “should,” “will,” “expect,” “plan,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “forecast,” “project” or “continue,” the negative of such terms or other comparable terminology. Readers should not rely on forward-looking statements as predictions of future events or results.

H World undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by applicable law.

Contact Information
Investor Relations
Tel: +86 (21) 6195 9561
Email: ir@hworld.com
https://ir.hworld.com