By Angela Green, Content Executive, H&C News: Accor reports progress in recovery evident in Q1 2022.
Accor’s business has rebounded sequentially every quarter since Q2 2021, seeing first-quarter 2022 revenue of €701 million up 85% like-for-like.
The outbreak of the Omicron variant caused only a brief hiccup in January, and the recovery seen in February gained further momentum in March. This rebound reflects both the sustained increase in the number of business and leisure domestic guests, and border reopenings which accelerated the return of international travellers.
It was accompanied by a sharp increase in prices, which are now above 2019 levels for the last 4 months in a row across the Group, driven by demand and exacerbated by inflation.
During the first quarter of 2022, Accor opened 26 hotels, representing about 3,700 rooms, for net growth in the network of 2.5% over the twelve-month period.
At end March 2022, the Group had a portfolio of 777,849 rooms (5,304 hotels) and a pipeline of about 212,000 rooms (1,212 hotels).
For 2022, the Group is confirming its forecast of net growth in the network of 3.5%.
Sébastien Bazin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Accor, said: “Accor’s performance in the first quarter of 2022 confirms the clear upturn in business across all regions and the renewed momentum in tourism, food services and entertainment. These results are notably driven by our market dynamics in Europe, the Middle East and the Americas as well as the strong demand for our Luxury and Lifestyle hotels, and domestic travel.
Such underlying trends, combined with borders reopening give us confidence that our performance will continue to improve month after month, with prices already above 2019 level.
Our brands are attractive, ideally positioned, and the augmented hospitality ecosystem we have built over the past years is attracting an increasing number of guests and owners. In the coming months, we will continue to focus our efforts on accelerating the development of our network, promoting our brands as well as attracting and retaining more and more customers.”
