The hotel industry can only be delighted after two years of severe turbulence linked to a pandemic that spared no region of the world. The cascade of results announced by the sector's leaders over the past year shows that back in the black of most of them. Marriott, the world's leading hotel group with nearly 8,000 hotels and 1.5 billion rooms worldwide, has announced that it will net profit in excess of one billion dollars for 2021, compared with a loss of 267 million in 2020. For its part, IHG of the UK posted an operating profit of $494 million for the full year, compared with a loss of $153 million in 2020, while Hilton recorded a net profit of roughly the same amount, at $407 million.
On the other hand, with its more upmarket offering, the Hyatt group is experiencing the difficulties encountered by destinations that are more sensitive to travel restrictions from international customers. Over the year as a whole, losses amounted to 222 million, compared with 703 million in 2020, but these have eased over the months, with the group recording limited losses in the last quarter 22 million.
Conversely, Accor notes a " significant upturn in business "The Group is now in the black, with net profit of 85 million euros and EBITDA of 22 million euros for 2021. A very sharp turnaround compared with the loss of almost two billion euros (€1,988m) and EBITDA of €391m in 2020. " After a start to the year 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." said Accor CEO Sébastien Bazin. The French group's RevPAR - revenue per room, the key hotel indicator that combines the average price and occupancy - showed a limited decline of -27.2% in the last quarter compared with 2019, compared with a decline of -46% for the year as a whole.
Similarly, in the last quarter of 2021 alone, this time compared to 2020, the Hilton Group recorded an increase in revenue per room of 104.2 %, compared to an increase of 60.4 % over the twelve months as a whole. " We are delighted to note a steady recovery throughout the year 2021, with our fourth quarter showing solid results compared with 2019" said Christopher J. Nassetta, CEO of Hilton. The recovery was noticeable from the summer onwards, and accelerated as the months went by, approaching 2019 levels by the end of the year. In the fourth quarter, worldwide RevPAR was 19 % below pre-covid levels at Marriott, 17% below pre-covid levels at IHG and even 13.5 % below pre-covid levels at Hilton.
A horizon that has emerged over the course of 2021
With average prices now almost back to their pre-crisis levels and visitor numbers rising sharply, the outlook has gradually cleared. " Leisure demand continued to shine in the fourth quarter, with a slower but steady improvement in demand from business travellers and groups." said Anthony Capuano, CEO of Marriott. In its analyses, STR shows that gradual return of business customers in the main European cities, with November generally better than September. Similarly, in the United States, weekday demand, mainly from business travellers, returned in the last quarter to 92% of what it was in 2019, compared with just 68% in the first quarter and 82% in the second.
Of course it is, this upturn in business in the second half of the year has been suddenly stopped by the Omicron wavebut without being swallowed up by it. Hyatt points out, for example, that while RevPAR fell back to 63% of 2019 levels in January, it rose to 68% in the first two weeks of February. Reassuringly for the sector, the group also notes that a continuing high volume of bookings over the coming monthsThe same applies to Marriott. " While Omicron caused a temporary setback to the recovery in demand worldwide, particularly for groups and individual business travel, new bookings have rebounded in all customer segments to pre-Omicron levels." said Anthony Capuano. Which leaves the Marriott boss optimistic about a recovery. which will grow significantly throughout 2022 on a global scale" .
Europe up, China down
A region-by-region analysis of the results shows that the United States is still driving the global recoveryThis is due in particular to the size of its domestic market. According to the figures announced by Marriott, the American group's RevPAR is gradually returning to pre-covid levels, with a decline of 15.3% in the last quarter for the United States and Canada compared with 2019, while the group's international hotels recorded a decline of -28.2% compared with 2019. " All regions saw a significant recovery in RevPAR in the fourth quarter compared with the third quarter, with the exception of the Greater China region, where the recovery stalled due to its zero Covid policy." commented Anthony Capuano. The consequences of this strict policy have also been seen at Accor, where Hotel RevPAR in China down 32% for the 2021 financial year compared with the 2019 financial year.
The results unveiled by the French group give a fairly accurate idea of the dynamics at work around the world. France, with the resilience of its domestic leisure clientele and the upturn in corporate seminar business, is driving the Southern Europe region, where overall RevPAR is down by only -17% in the fourth quarter compared with 2019, representing a positive trend of +7 points between the third and fourth quarters. Like France, Spain experienced a clear upturn from the summer onwards. and the United Kingdom followed a similar trajectory, with London nevertheless being penalised more than Paris by the restrictions on travel by international customers (-63% over the year, compared with -56% for the French capital). Germany is suffering from more severe health restrictions than in neighbouring countries, with RevPAR down by -66% over the full year compared with the 2019 financial year.
Meanwhile, Asia-Pacific, with the easing of health restrictions from the autumn onwards, particularly in Thailand and Indonesia, and the gradual reopening of internal borders in Australia, is in a better position to cope with the impact of the global economic crisis. back on track, its RevPAR having improved by +9 points between the third and fourth quarters. Driven by the holding of the World Expo in Dubai, the rebound in business between the third and fourth quarters was again noticeable in the India, Africa, Middle East & Turkey region, with an increase of +28 points from one quarter to the next, and RevPAR above 2019 levels in the final quarter.
