Under the trend of consumer downgrading, mid to high end hotels with business travelers as the main customer group have seen a counter trend increase in performance. On August 20th, Huazhu Group released its unaudited financial report for the second quarter and interim of 2024. Data shows that in the second quarter of this year, Huazhu Group's hotel revenue was 23.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15.5%; Achieved revenue of 6.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.2%, slightly higher than the previous guidance limit of revenue growth of 7% -11%.
In the first half of the year, Huazhu Group's revenue was 11.426 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 14.1%. Among them, Huazhu China's revenue was 9.073 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 14.3%, and Huazhu International's revenue was 2.353 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.7%.
Huazhu Group stated that due to the concentrated release of compensatory travel demand in 2023, coupled with delayed supply recovery, accommodation and transportation prices in most destinations are generally high. Since the beginning of this year, the tourism industry has basically returned to a normal pace, the supply side has been comprehensively improved, and the consumer market has gradually returned to normalcy. From a year-on-year perspective, both the average daily room rate (ADR) and occupancy rate (OCC) of the domestic hotel industry were under pressure in the second quarter.
Data shows that in the second quarter, Huazhu China achieved a month on month increase in three key operating indicators: average rentable room revenue, average daily room rate, and occupancy rate. Compared with the same period last year, despite a 2% decrease in average rental room revenue due to the high base, Huazhu China still increased the occupancy rate of its hotels. In the second quarter, Huazhu China's occupancy rate increased to 82.6%, a year-on-year increase of 0.7 percentage points. In terms of overseas business, Huazhu International's operating indicators showed a significant improvement in the second quarter, with three key operating indicators achieving year-on-year growth.
As of the end of the second quarter, Huazhu Group had 10286 operating hotels worldwide, with 1 million hotel rooms and 3294 hotels awaiting opening. Among them, Huazhu China has 10150 operating hotels and 567 newly opened hotels in the second quarter.
At the time of the financial report release, Huazhu Group welcomed the newly opened Guozhan Intercity Hotel at Shanghai Hongqiao Hub. The hotel is located in the heart of the Hongqiao Business District, only about a 15 minute drive from Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station, Hongqiao International Airport, and the National Convention and Exhibition Center, accommodating the huge influx of people from Shanghai Hongqiao's comprehensive transportation hub. The surrounding area is also filled with large commercial buildings and office buildings, with a dense concentration of business people.
It is reported that Shanghai Hongqiao Business District, relying on the Hongqiao comprehensive transportation hub, has formed a gathering area for Shanghai's modern service industry, bringing together numerous domestic and foreign enterprise headquarters and trade institutions. It is a high-end business center serving the Yangtze River Delta, Yangtze River Basin, and even the whole country. As one of the world's largest integrated transportation hubs, Shanghai Hongqiao Integrated Transportation Hub integrates various modes of transportation such as aviation, high-speed rail, subway, and highway, with a total passenger flow of nearly 900 million people since its construction three years ago.