Luxury Figures
Accor Group shows strong growth despite industry concerns
Accor has achieved a very positive first half-year for 2024, in line with the growth targets set by the Group and by financial analysts. The French hotel group posted sales of €2,677 million, a positive jump of +11% on the same period
last year. Earnings per share also saw a similar increase, to €0.90.
Accor Chairman and CEO Sébastien Bazin expressed his satisfaction: "Accor has once again delivered a solid performance, in line with our medium-term outlook (...). We are highlighting the strength of our model, the operational and financial discipline of our teams, and the positive momentum of our brands."
Over the past year, Accor has enhanced its already substantial portfolio with the opening of 146 new hotels, adding a further 24,000 rooms to its list. The Group now boasts 5,682 hotel establishments. Revenue per available room (RevPAR) for the Luxury & Lifestyle division performed very well, with an increase of +8%.
The countries driving this growth included Germany, which hosted Euro 2024 this year, but it was above all in the Middle East that Accor recorded its most remarkable performance. In the region, RevPAR rose by around +7%. In addition, the rise in InterContinental Hotels' share price on the back of solid half-year results benefited Accor, which posted one of the strongest gains on the CAC 40.
These results prove to be quite comforting, a few days after Marriott warned of lower sales expectations in several regions of the world. This warning was motivated above all by a drop in RevPAR in China, caused by the current fragile state of the Chinese market. For several months now, the Asian country has been feeling the consequences of macroeconomic problems and the unstable global geopolitical situation, reacting with
a slowdown in consumption and a contraction in spending.
But while the situation in China may be worrying, even for Marriott, all the lights are green. The group's revenue per room rose overall by +6% over the year; the Asia-Pacific region is doing very well (except for the drop in sales in China); and the company expects to return around $4.3 billion to shareholders. These results look promising for the future of the luxury hotel business.
