The pandemic is not yet behind us and yet the recovery of the global hotel industry is already being felt. Accor, IHG and Radisson Hotel Group confirm this positive trend with the publication of their annual results for the year 2021, and their ambitions for the year 2022.

Accor

In its annual report, the Accor group presents the figures for the 2021 financial year, and the first encouraging fact is the increase in its turnover. 2.2 billion, an increase of 34% compared to 2020, with 36% growth for HotelServices and 29% for Hotel and Other Assets. Even if the activity is still down compared to 2019, the group still posts a profit of €85 million, allowing it to return to the green.

HotelServices, which includes Management & Franchise (M&F) and Owner Services, generated revenue of €1,582 million. 1,582 million, indicating a significant recovery in business, particularly in the second half of the year, as confirmed by CEO Sébastien Bazin.

The group's RevPAR, up compared to 2020, nevertheless shows an overall drop of 46% compared to the 2019 financial year, due to a health context that is still restrictive. Despite a 41% drop in RevPAR, Southern Europe enjoyed a clear sequential improvement, with a 7% increase between the third and fourth half of the year. Northern Europe saw a fall in RevPAR of around 57% with a smaller sequential improvement (2%).

Asia-Pacific saw a sequential improvement in its RevPAR, with +9% between the third and fourth halves of the year, although it was down 49% compared to the 2019 financial year. The third quarter was notably marked by numerous health restrictions that curbed tourism. As for the Americas, the improvement in RevPAR is notable, with an 18% increase between the third and fourth halves. Overall, these figures are hopeful and demonstrate once again the resilience of the hospitality sector in times of crisis.

During 2021, Accor opened 288 hotels (41,000 rooms) according to the official communication, representing a net network growth of +3%. At the end of last year, the group had 777,714 rooms and expects a net network increase of 3.5% in 2022. A number of hotel openings have already been announced for this year in the various regions where Accor operates.

The year 2021 has been eventful for the Group, with the appointment of two new members of the Executive Committee, Brune Poirson as Director of Sustainable Development and Stephen Alden as General Manager of the Raffles and Orient Express brands. And during the first quarter, two capital increases for AccorInvest were completed, including €45 million and €109 million for Accor. 

After a year that began still disrupted by health constraints, 2021 was marked from the spring onwards by a significant improvement in our business and an increasingly strong momentum month after month until December. Our solid performance reflects the strength of our brands, our financial discipline and the efforts of our teams who, throughout the year, have shown determination, tenacity and generosity. Thanks to their commitment, we have emerged stronger from this crisis and have gained market share in all our key regions. In addition, our pipeline has continued to grow, with our Luxury & Upscale segment now accounting for nearly 40% of future openings, an increase of 12 percentage points over the last 4 years. With the desire to get away from it all and travel at an all-time high, we are well positioned to capture the rebound in all our markets. In 2022, we will continue to deploy our vision of an ever more experiential, responsible and digitally facilitated tourism.

Sébastien Bazin, CEO of Accor

IHG

The IHG group is also coming out of the red, announcing a profit of $494 million for the year 2021, compared to a loss of $153 million the previous year. In order to return to profitability, the group had to make choices, including reducing its total number of rooms by 0.6%. Almost 50,000 rooms were removed from the portfolio, 70% of which were owned by the Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza brands.

We have made significant progress in 2021 on multiple fronts that will enable us to emerge from this period as a stronger company. We have continued to invest in the quality and consistency of our businesses, including completing the overhaul of our Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza brands. 

Keith Barr, CEO of IHG

In the fourth quarter of 2021, IHG's RevPAR was 83% of the fourth quarter 2019 RevPAR. This indicator bodes well for the group, whose recovery relies heavily on the US market. IHG's US RevPAR for the full year was up 54% on 2020 figures and down just 17% on full year 2019 RevPAR. In the EMEA region, RevPAR was up 118% compared to 2020.

In 2021, IHG opened 43,958 rooms in 291 hotels according to the presse release. At the end of the year, its portfolio totalled around 880,000 rooms. The group now wants to focus on the high-end, luxury and lifestyle segment, which is becoming increasingly popular. In terms of future development, IHG has signed up 69,800 rooms in 437 hotels during 2021, a 23% increase on 2020. Its global pipeline, 40% of which is currently under construction, now stands at approximately 271,000 rooms in 1,797 hotels.

Next year we need to open a few more rooms to get to where we would like to see ourselves, which is in line with what we were seeing in 2018. We still need to find a few more rooms to open during the year, for sure. That's not unusual for us. We have some great conversion brands, and we are well placed to do that. 

Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson, CFO of IHG

Radisson Hotel Group

The year 2021 was synonymous with development for the Radisson Hotel group despite the global epidemic. It opened its 100th hotel in India and strengthened its leading position in various key markets such as Turkey, Morocco, Vietnam, China and Italy. It also expanded its presence in major cities such as Amsterdam, Dubai and Shanghai. This year also marked the 10th anniversary of Radisson Blu with 400 hotels in Europe.

The Group's Resorts range was also expanded during 2021 with 20 new properties, bringing the total number to over 100 resorts in operation and under development. This range will continue to expand this year with 9 new addresses including the Radisson Resort Dubai Palm Jumeirah and the Radisson Blu Resort in Hoi An.

In 2021, the Group opened Radisson Collection hotels in Seville, Venice, Milan, Bodrum, Nanjing and Shanghai, bringing the brand's portfolio to 45 hotels in operation and under development. And the expansion of the brand continues into 2021 with a number of openings announced for this year including the newly renovated Radisson Collection Hotel, Berlin, the Radisson Collection Mansard Riyadh and the Radisson Collection Hotel, Gran Vía Bilbao.

Finally, Radisson Individuals, the Group's conversion brand, will move to 13 new destinations in 2022 with properties in Russia, the UK, India, Belgrade, Athens, Paris and Istanbul.

2021 has been another exciting and challenging year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The context has prompted us to innovate, which has led to more possibilities and opportunities. We look forward to creating more growth in 2022. Many thanks to our owners, colleagues, investors, shareholders and customers who have continued to support us along the journey so far.

Elie Younes, Global Chief Development Officer, Radisson Hotel Group

NH Hotel Group 

The fourth quarter of 2021 marks the first positive quarter since the start of the pandemic for NH Hotel Group, with a net profit of €41.5 million. The recovery is accelerating quarter after quarter. The group achieved a turnover of 618 million euros in the second half of 2021, which is almost three times that recorded in the first half. Annual turnover amounted to 834 million euros, up 54.6% compared to 2020. This recovery was driven in particular by the good performance in southern Europe, where health restrictions were quickly lifted. 

The business recovery in the second half of the year, coupled with tight cost control, also enabled NH Hotel Group to stem the cash drain, generating €29 million of cash in the second half. Net debt was also reduced through capital raising and asset rotation during the year. 

Hotel occupancy rates averaged 34% in 2021, up 9% on 2020. In particular, this rate rose from 19% in the first half of the year to 50% in the fourth quarter of 2021, a notable development. The weight of domestic tourism coupled with the gradual recovery of intra-European demand has played an important role in the trend observed. The number of hotels in operation rose from 60% at the beginning of the year to 95% in September. RevPAR also recovered, particularly in Southern Europe. In Italy, RevPAR has increased by 97% compared to 2020 and in Spain by 83%. 

In 2021, we managed to reduce our losses by 70% and return to cash generation in the second half of the year by focusing on cost control and pricing strategy as the business started to recover. We are on track to return to profitability. We expect to complete this trajectory this year, leveraging our unique value proposition in the leisure segment, our prime urban locations in iconic cities and the gradual recovery that has been taking place since the summer in the MICE and business travel segments. Omicron has had a significant but limited impact on the months of lower activity. The data we have so far this year shows a week-to-week recovery, giving us cause for optimism that the good news will start to arrive more quickly.

Ramón Aragonés, CEO of NH Hotel Group

Meliá Hotels International

The group is up 213.1% in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared to 2020, confirming the resilience and upward trend in demand. Meliá Hotels International's revenue amounted to 902.2 million euros, an increase of 70.8% compared to 2020. Bookings have increased daily in recent weeks and are approaching 2019 levels, especially in leisure destinations. 

Average occupancy improved by 1.7% for the full year, with a boost in the fourth quarter. This represents a 22.3% improvement in occupancy compared to the same period in 2020, despite the strong impact of Omicron in December. RevPAR followed the same trajectory and is up 14.9% for the full year compared to the previous year. In particular, it increased by 163% in the fourth quarter. 

In the last six months, Meliá has signed up a total of 42 hotels with 10,912 rooms, all under management and franchise models. It has opened 13 new properties, seven of which are in major European cities. The company has also just presented a strategic alliance with the Vinpearl Group to integrate 12 luxury hotels in Vietnam. The group has emerged stronger than ever from this crisis and intends to pursue its expansion ambitions during 2022. 

The 2021 results show a clear recovery trend in the sector, with a very significant increase in our revenues quarter after quarter, despite the impact of Omicron in December and the first 45 days of 2022, and also highlight our resilience, the result of careful management during the pandemic, and the strengths that the Group intends to build on in a new roadmap for the recovery phase. In particular, these results highlight our clear commitment to brands, online distribution and the loyalty programme, as well as our focus on the fast-growing luxury segment, a strategy that has also supported the Group's expansion by positioning us as a 'safe haven' for independent and small chain hotel management at a time of increasing competition and market consolidation.

Gabriel Escarrer, Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of Meliá Hotels International