UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 6-K

 

REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16 UNDER THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the month of July 2021

 

Commission File Number: 001-34656

 

Huazhu Group Limited

(Registrant’s name)

 

No. 699 Wuzhong Road

Minhang District

Shanghai 201103
People’s Republic of China
(86) 21 6195-2011
(Address of principal executive office)

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F. Form 20-F x Form 40-F ¨

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b) (1): ¨

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b) (7): ¨

 

 

 

 

EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Exhibit Number   Description
Exhibit 99.1   Huazhu Group Limited Announces Preliminary Results for Hotel Operations in the Second Quarter of 2021

 

2

 

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

    Huazhu Group Limited
    (Registrant)

 

Date: July 22, 2021 By: /s/ Qi Ji
  Name: Qi Ji
  Title: Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors, Chief Executive Officer

 

3

 

 

Exhibit 99.1

 

 

Contact Information

Huazhu Investor Relations

Tel: 86 (21) 6195 9561

Email: ir@huazhu.com

http://ir.huazhu.com

 

Huazhu Group Limited Announces Preliminary Results for Hotel Operations

in the Second Quarter of 2021

 

Shanghai, China, July 22, 2021 – Huazhu Group Limited (NASDAQ: HTHT and HKEX: 1179) (“Huazhu”, “we” or “our”), a world-leading hotel group, today announced preliminary results for hotel operations in the second quarter (“Q2 2021”) ended June 30, 2021.

 

COVID-19 update

 

For our Legacy-Huazhu business, the RevPAR in 2Q2021 recovered to 102% of 2019, slightly below our previous expectation. RevPAR recovery in June achieved 100%, slowing down from 106% in May. It was mainly due to COVID-19 resurgence in Guangdong Province and traffic control in Beijing for the celebration of centenary of the Communist Party of China since late May. However, if excluding the impact of Guangdong Province and Beijing, our RevPAR recovery was on track. In July, with the COVID-19 resurgence in Guangdong effectively contained and relaxation of travel restriction in Beijing, our RevPAR recovery resumed.

 

Steigenberger Hotels AG and its subsidiaries (“DH”) saw an initial recovery of hotel demand along with vaccination process in Germany since the first lockdown in November 2020. As of July 16th, 2021, almost 60% of Germans have received at least one shot of vaccine. In July, the recovery continued with occupancy rate reaching 35%. But the recovery is still uncertain given that the recent news shows there is possibly another upcoming wave of delta variant of COVID-19 resurgence in European countries.

 

Page 1 of 7

 

 

Operating Results: Legacy-Huazhu(1)

 

   Number of hotels   Number of rooms 
     Opened
in Q2 2021
  

Closed (2)
in Q2 2021

   Net added
in Q2 2021
  

As of
June 30, 2021 (3)

   As of
June 30, 2021
 
Leased and owned hotels   18    (7)   11    675    91,892 
Manachised and franchised hotels   381    (149)   232    6,329    575,778 
Total   399    (156)   243    7,004    667,670 

 

(1)     Legacy-Huazhu refers to Huazhu and its subsidiaries, excluding DH.

 

(2)     The reasons for hotel closures mainly include non-compliance with our brand standards, operating losses, and property-related issues. In Q2 2021, we temporarily closed 8 hotels for brand upgrade and business model change purposes.

 

(3)     As of June 30, 2021, 32 hotels were requisitioned by governmental authorities.

 

   As of June 30, 2021 
   Number of hotels   Unopened hotels in pipeline 
Economy hotels   4,451    1,295 
  Leased and owned hotels   417    3 
  Manachised and franchised hotels   4,034    1,292 
Midscale and upscale hotels   2,553    1,401 
  Leased and owned hotels   258    13 
  Manachised and franchised hotels   2,295    1,388 
Total   7,004    2,696 

 

Page 2 of 7

 

 

Operational hotels excluding hotels under requisition

 

   For the quarter ended     
   June 30,   March 31,   June 30,   yoy 
   2020   2021   2021   change 
Average daily room rate  (in RMB)            
  Leased and owned hotels   205    243    311    51.8%
  Manachised and franchised hotels   181    203    246    36.2%
  Blended   185    209    255    38.3%
Occupancy rate (as a percentage)                    
  Leased and owned hotels   67.4%   64.0%   81.1%   13.7 p.p. 
  Manachised and franchised hotels   69.1%   66.6%   82.5%   13.4 p.p. 
  Blended   68.8%   66.2%   82.3%   13.5 p.p. 
RevPAR  (in RMB)                    
  Leased and owned hotels   138    156    252    82.7%
  Manachised and franchised hotels   125    135    203    62.7%
  Blended   127    138    210    65.5%

 

   For the quarter ended     
   June 30,   June 30,   yoy 
   2019   2021   change 
Average daily room rate  (in RMB)        
  Leased and owned hotels   281    311    10.4%
  Manachised and franchised hotels   225    246    9.2%
  Blended   236    255    7.9%
Occupancy rate (as a percentage)               
  Leased and owned hotels   89.4%   81.1%   -8.4p.p. 
  Manachised and franchised hotels   86.3%   82.5%   -3.8p.p. 
  Blended   86.9%   82.3%   -4.6p.p. 
RevPAR  (in RMB)               
  Leased and owned hotels   252    252    0.1%
  Manachised and franchised hotels   194    203    4.4%
  Blended   206    210    2.2%

 

Page 3 of 7

 

 

Same-hotel operational data by class

 

Mature hotels in operation for more than 18 months (excluding hotels under requisition)

 

   Number of hotels   Same-hotel RevPAR   Same-hotel ADR   Same-hotel Occupancy 
  

As of
June 30,

  

For the quarter
ended
June 30,

  

yoy
change

  

For the quarter
ended
June 30,

  

yoy
change

  

For the quarter
ended
June 30,

  

yoy
change

 
   2020   2021   2020   2021       2020   2021       2020   2021   (p.p.) 
Economy hotels   3,017    3,017    107    168    57.7%   146    196    34.4%   73.1%   85.8%   12.7 
 Leased and owned hotels   408    408    109    191    75.7%   154    227    47.6%   70.8%   84.2%   13.5 
 Manachised and franchised hotels   2,609    2,609    106    163    53.6%   144    189    31.3%   73.7%   86.2%   12.5 
Midscale and upscale hotels   1,520    1,520    172    272    57.8%   254    336    32.3%   68.0%   81.0%   13.1 
 Leased and owned hotels   213    213    182    316    73.3%   285    405    42.3%   64.0%   77.9%   13.9 
 Manachised and franchised hotels   1,307    1,307    170    262    54.1%   247    321    29.9%   68.9%   81.7%   12.8 
Total   4,537    4,537    133    210    58.1%   187    250    33.9%   71.1%   83.9%   12.8 

 

   Number of hotels   Same-hotel RevPAR   Same-hotel ADR   Same-hotel Occupancy 
   As of
June 30,
   For the quarter
ended
June 30,
   yoy
change
   For the quarter
ended
June 30,
   yoy
change
   For the quarter
ended
June 30,
   yoy
change
 
   2019   2021   2019   2021       2019   2021       2019   2021   (p.p.) 
Economy hotels   2,308    2,308    179    168    -5.9%   193    195    1.2%   92.5%   86.0%   -6.5 
 Leased and owned hotels   392    392    202    187    -7.2%   217    223    2.9%   93.3%   84.1%   -9.2 
 Manachised and franchised hotels   1,916    1,916    172    163    -5.6%   187    188    0.8%   92.3%   86.5%   -5.8 
Midscale and upscale hotels   931    931    285    269    -5.7%   337    338    0.1%   84.6%   79.7%   -4.9 
 Leased and owned hotels   184    184    350    311    -11.1%   406    401    -1.4%   86.1%   77.7%   -8.5 
 Manachised and franchised hotels   747    747    264    255    -3.3%   314    317    1.1%   84.1%   80.4%   -3.7 
Total   3,239    3,239    216    203    -5.7%   240    243    1.0%   89.7%   83.8%   -6.0 

 

Page 4 of 7

 

 

Operating Results: Legacy-DH(4)

 

   Number of hotels     Number of
rooms
   Unopened hotels
in pipeline
 
  Opened
in Q2 2021
   Closed
in Q2 2021
   Net added
in Q2 2021
   As of
June 30,
2021(5)
   As of
June 30, 2021
   As of
June 30, 2021
 
Leased hotels  1    -    1    74    13,839    27 
Manachised and franchised hotels  1    -    1    48    10,775    11 
Total  2    -    2    122    24,614    38 

 

(4)Legacy-DH refers to DH.

 

(5)As of June 30, 2021, a total of 5 DH brand hotels were temporarily closed due to COVID-19, and 1 hotel was closed for renovation.

 

   For the quarter ended     
   June 30,   March 31,   June 30,   yoy 
   2020   2021   2021   change 
Average daily room rate  (in EUR)                
Leased hotels   82.4    77.9    85.2    3.4%
Manachised and franchised hotels   96.5    59.0    77.9    -19.3%
Blended   86.5    68.5    81.5    -5.8%
Occupancy rate (as a percentage)                    
Leased hotels   18.7%   14.6%   20.0%   1.3%
Managed and franchised hotels   17.3%   26.5%   30.8%   13.5%
Blended   18.3%   18.8%   24.4%   6.1%
RevPAR  (in EUR)                    
Leased hotels   15.4    11.4    17.04    10.7%
Managed and franchised hotels   16.7    15.6    24.01    43.5%
Blended   15.8    12.9    19.85    25.6%

 

Page 5 of 7

 

 

Hotel Portfolio by Brand

 

   Total 
   Hotels   Rooms   Unopened hotels 
   in operation   in pipeline 
Economy hotels   4,465    370,297    1,307 
HanTing Hotel   2,834    260,252    740 
Hi Inn   430    25,419    83 
Elan Hotel(6)   976    60,645    431 
Ibis Hotel   211    22,320    41 
Zleep Hotels   14    1,661    12 
Midscale hotels   2,146    241,370    1,121 
Ibis Styles Hotel   78    9,046    19 
Starway Hotel   477    39,524    279 
JI Hotel   1,203    148,008    616 
Orange Hotel   360    40,285    202 
CitiGO Hotel(7)   28    4,507    5 
Upper midscale hotels   408    61,350    250 
Crystal Orange Hotel   129    17,517    60 
Manxin Hotel   68    6,764    54 
Madison Hotel   31    4,745    40 
Mercure Hotel   117    19,786    57 
Novotel Hotel   13    3,579    17 
IntercityHotel(8)   48    8,535    20 
Upscale hotels   101    17,681    54 
Joya Hotel   9    1,760    0 
Blossom House   29    1,420    30 
Grand Mercure Hotel   7    1,485    6 
Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts(9)   51    12,239    12 
MAXX (10)   5    777    6 
Jaz in the City   2    424    2 
Others   6    1,586    2 
Other hotels(11)   6    1,586    2 
Total   7,126    692,284    2,734 

   

(6)

As of June 30, 2021, 17 Ni Hao Hotels were included in the operational hotel for Elan Hotels and 111 Ni Hao hotels were included in the pipeline for Elan Hotels.

  
(7)

We completed CitiGO acquisition in May 2021.

  
  
(8)

As of June 30, 2021, 2 operational hotels and 4 pipeline hotels of IntercityHotel were in China.

  
(9)As of June 30, 2021, 1 operational hotel and 5 pipeline hotels of Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts were in China.
  
(10)As of June 30, 2021, 5 pipeline hotels of MAXX were in China.
  
(11)

Other hotels include other partner hotels and other hotel brands in Yongle Huazhu Hotel & Resort Group (excluding Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts and Blossom House).

 

Page 6 of 7

 

 

About Huazhu Group Limited

 

Originated in China, Huazhu Group Limited is a world-leading hotel group. As of June 30, 2021, Huazhu operated 7,126 hotels with 692,284 rooms in operation in 17 countries. Huazhu’s brands include Hi Inn, Elan Hotel, HanTing Hotel, JI Hotel, Starway Hotel, Orange Hotel, Crystal Orange Hotel, Manxin Hotel, Madison Hotel, Joya Hotel, Blossom House, Ni Hao Hotel and CitiGO Hotel. Upon the completion of the acquisition of DH on January 2, 2020, Huazhu added five brands to its portfolio, including Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts, MAXX by Steigenberger, Jaz in the City, IntercityHotel and Zleep Hotels. In addition, Huazhu also has the rights as master franchisee for Mercure, Ibis and Ibis Styles, and co-development rights for Grand Mercure and Novotel, in the pan-China region.

 

Huazhu’s business includes leased and owned, manachised and franchised models. Under the lease and ownership model, Huazhu directly operates hotels typically located on leased or owned properties. Under the manachise model, Huazhu manages manachised hotels through the on-site hotel managers that Huazhu appoints, and Huazhu collects fees from franchisees. Under the franchise model, Huazhu provides training, reservations and support services to the franchised hotels, and collects fees from franchisees but does not appoint on-site hotel managers. Huazhu applies a consistent standard and platform across all of its hotels. As of June 30, 2021, Huazhu operates 15 percent of its hotel rooms under lease and ownership model, and 85 percent under manachise and franchise models.

 

For more information, please visit Huazhu’s website: http://ir.huazhu.com.

 

Safe Harbor Statement Under the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: The information in this release contains forward-looking statements which involve risks and uncertainties. Such factors and risks include our anticipated growth strategies; our future results of operations and financial condition; economic conditions; the regulatory environment; our ability to attract and retain customers and leverage our brands; trends and competition in the lodging industry; the expected growth of demand for lodging; and other factors and risks detailed in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements, which may be identified by terminology such as “may,” “should,” “will,” “expect,” “plan,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “forecast,” “project” or “continue,” the negative of such terms or other comparable terminology. Readers should not rely on forward-looking statements as predictions of future events or results.

 

Huazhu undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by applicable law.

 

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