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 April 2022

 

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 o

 

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): o

 

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): o

 

 

 

EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Exhibit Number		Description
Exhibit 99.1		Huazhu Group Limited Announces Preliminary Results for Hotel Operations in the First Quarter of 2022

 

   

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: April 28, 2022	By:	/s/ Qi Ji
	Name:	Qi Ji
	Title:	Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors

 

 

 

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 First Quarter of 2022

 

Shanghai, China, April 28, 2022 – 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 first quarter (“Q1 2022”) ended March 31, 2022.

 

COVID-19 update

 

For our Legacy-Huazhu business, RevPAR recovery in the first two months of 2022 was on track. Nevertheless, such recovery was significantly interrupted by the large-scale outbreak of the Omicron variant in over 30 provinces in China since early-March 2022. Many cities, such as Shanghai and Jilin, have been subject to lockdown since then, which resulted in a sharp decline of both business and leisure traveling activities. However, such outbreak led to a rise in demand for hotels to serve the quarantine needs of infected persons or those in close contact with infected persons, as well as the accommodation needs of medical teams and delivery riders. As the Omicron variant is highly infectious, there are still uncertainties in terms of the impact on our Legacy-Huazhu business in the near-term. To mitigate risks, we are now implementing several costs and cash flow management measures.

 

Steigenberger Hotels AG and its subsidiaries (“DH”, or “Legacy-DH”) have been experiencing continuous RevPAR recovery since Germany unfolded its opening-up plan in mid-February 2022. RevPAR in March 2022 recovered to 65% of the 2019 level, as compared to only 47% of the 2019 level in January 2022. However, since RevPAR recovery is still at an early stage, a comprehensive cash flow improvement program remains critical. Therefore, DH will continuously focus on efficiency improvements, negotiation of further lease waivers, and personnel cost optimization.

 

 

 

 

Operating Results: Legacy-Huazhu⁽¹⁾

 

		Number of hotels																Number of rooms
		Opened in Q1 2022				Closed (2) in Q1 2022				Net added in Q1 2022				As of March 31, 2022 (3)				As of March 31, 2022
Leased and owned hotels			3				(12	)			(9	)			653				91,163
Manachised and franchised hotels			299				(128	)			171				7,215				649,330
Total			302				(140	)			162				7,868				740,493

 

(1)	Legacy-Huazhu refers to Huazhu and its subsidiaries, excluding DH.
(2)	The reasons for hotel closures mainly included non-compliance with our brand standards, operating losses, and property-related issues. In Q1 2022, we temporarily closed 9 hotels for brand upgrade and business model change purposes.
(3)	As of March 31, 2022,1299 hotels were requisitioned by governmental authorities.

 

		As of March 31, 2022
		Number of hotels				Unopened hotels in pipeline
Economy hotels			4,810				937
Leased and owned hotels			387				4
Manachised and franchised hotels			4,423				933
Midscale and upscale hotels			3,058				1,289
Leased and owned hotels			266				19
Manachised and franchised hotels			2,792				1,270
Total			7,868				2,226

 

 

 

 

Operational hotels excluding hotels under requisition

 

		For the quarter ended
		March 31,				December 31,			March 31,			yoy
		2021				2021			2022			change
Average daily room rate  (in RMB)
Leased and owned hotels			243			286			263			8.0	%
Manachised and franchised hotels			203			232			218			7.5	%
Blended			209			239			224			7.2	%
Occupancy Rate (as a percentage)
Leased and owned hotels			64.0	%		67.4	%		56.7	%		-7.3p.p.
Manachised and franchised hotels			66.6	%		68.4	%		59.6	%		-7.0p.p.
Blended			66.2	%		68.2	%		59.2	%		-7.0p.p.
RevPAR  (in RMB)
Leased and owned hotels			156			193			149			-4.4	%
Manachised and franchised hotels			135			159			130			-3.8	%
Blended			138			163			132			-4.1	%

 

		For the quarter ended
		March 31,				March 31,			yoy
		2019				2022			change
Average daily room rate  (in RMB)
Leased and owned hotels			258			263			1.9	%
Manachised and franchised hotels			211			218			3.2	%
Blended			221			224			1.2	%
Occupancy Rate (as a percentage)
Leased and owned hotels			83.6	%		56.7	%		-27.0p.p.
Manachised and franchised hotels			79.8	%		59.6	%		-20.3p.p.
Blended			80.6	%		59.2	%		-21.4p.p.
RevPAR  (in RMB)
Leased and owned hotels			216			149			-31.0	%
Manachised and franchised hotels			169			130			-23.0	%
Blended			178			132			-25.7	%

 

 

 

 

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
										For the quarter								yoy				For the quarter								yoy				For the quarter								yoy
		As of March 31,								ended March 31,								change				ended March 31,								change				ended March 31,								change
		2021				2022				2021				2022								2021				2022								2021				2022				(p.p.)
Economy hotels			3320				3320				115				105				-8.5	%			161				167				4.0	%			71.5	%			62.9	%			-8.6
Leased and owned hotels			380				380				121				114				-6.5	%			177				186				4.9	%			68.4	%			61.0	%			-7.4
Manachised and franchised hotels			2940				2940				114				104				-8.9	%			158				164				3.8	%			72.0	%			63.2	%			-8.8
Midscale and upscale hotels			1905				1905				181				164				-9.4	%			281				289				2.7	%			64.4	%			56.8	%			-7.6
Leased and owned hotels			229				229				201				187				-7.3	%			339				352				4.0	%			59.4	%			53.0	%			-6.4
Manachised and franchised hotels			1676				1676				177				160				-9.9	%			271				277				2.3	%			65.5	%			57.7	%			-7.8
Total			5225				5225				144				131				-8.9	%			210				218				3.5	%			68.4	%			60.2	%			-8.2

 

		Number of hotels								Same-hotel RevPAR												Same-hotel ADR												Same-hotel Occupancy
										For the quarter								yoy				For the quarter								yoy				For the quarter								yoy
		As of March 31,								ended March 31,								change				ended March 31,								change				ended March 31,								change
		2019				2022				2019				2022								2019				2022								2019				2022				(p.p.)
Economy hotels			2024				2024				160				104				-34.9	%			183				167				-8.7	%			87.5	%			62.4	%			-25.1
Leased and owned hotels			358				358				177				111				-37.4	%			200				182				-9.0	%			88.2	%			60.7	%			-27.5
Manachised and franchised hotels			1666				1666				155				102				-34.1	%			178				162				-8.6	%			87.3	%			62.9	%			-24.4
Midscale and upscale hotels			795				795				251				155				-38.1	%			324				288				-11.1	%			77.3	%			53.8	%			-23.5
Leased and owned hotels			170				170				304				171				-43.9	%			383				332				-13.1	%			79.4	%			51.3	%			-28.1
Manachised and franchised hotels			625				625				231				149				-35.4	%			302				273				-9.7	%			76.5	%			54.7	%			-21.8
Total			2819				2819				191				122				-36.2	%			227				205				-9.9	%			84.0	%			59.4	%			-24.6

 

 

 

 

Operating Results: Legacy-DH⁽⁴⁾

 

		Number of hotels																Number of rooms				Unopened hotels in pipeline
		Opened in Q1 2022				Closed in Q1 2022				Net added in Q1 2022				As of March 31, 2022(5)				As of March 31,2022				As of March 31,2022
Leased hotels			1				-				1				77				14,472				29
Manachised and franchised hotels			-				(5	)			(5	)			43				9,894				16
Total			1				(5	)			(4	)			120				24,366				45

 

(4)	Legacy-DH refers to DH.
(5)	As of March 31, 2022, a total of 3 hotels were temporarily closed. 1 hotel was closed for renovation and 1 hotel was closed due to flood damage. Additionally, 1 hotel was temporarily closed due to low demand.

 

		For the quarter ended
		March 31,				December 31,				March 31,				yoy
		2021				2021				2022				change
Average daily room rate  (in EUR)
Leased hotels			77.9				95.4				90.0				15.6	%
Manachised and franchised hotels			59.0				92.8				85.5				44.9	%
Blended			68.5				94.2				88.0				28.4	%
Occupancy rate (as a percentage)
Leased hotels			14.6	%			42.8	%			34.1	%			+19.5 p.p.
Managed and franchised hotels			26.5	%			50.7	%			44.0	%			+17.5 p.p.
Blended			18.8	%			46.1	%			38.0	%			+19.2 p.p.
RevPAR  (in EUR)
Leased hotels			11.4				40.9				30.7				169.6	%
Managed and franchised hotels			15.6				47.1				37.6				141.0	%
Blended			12.9				43.4				33.4				158.8	%

 

 

 

 

Hotel Portfolio by Brand

 

		As of March 31, 2022
		Hotels				Rooms				Unopened hotels
		in operation								in pipeline
Economy hotels			4,824				388,174				951
HanTing Hotel			3,096				277,885				608
Hi Inn			447				24,682				117
Ni Hao Hotel			83				5,772				178
Elan Hotel			965				55,421				2
Ibis Hotel			219				22,751				32
Zleep Hotels			14				1,663				14
Midscale hotels			2,554				281,168				977
Ibis Styles Hotel			82				8,522				17
Starway Hotel			544				44,740				202
JI Hotel			1,449				173,866				534
Orange Hotel			449				49,231				216
CitiGO Hotel			30				4,809				8
Upper midscale hotels			472				69,267				270
Crystal Orange Hotel			148				19,793				65
Manxin Hotel			91				8,705				54
Madison Hotel			41				6,164				56
Mercure Hotel			128				21,697				53
Novotel Hotel			15				4,032				16
IntercityHotel(6)			49				8,876				26
Upscale hotels			115				20,691				62
Jaz in the City			3				587				1
Joya Hotel			9				1,760				-
Blossom House			36				1,793				34
Grand Mercure Hotel			7				1,485				6
Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts(7)			53				13,889				13
MAXX (8)			7				1,177				8
Luxury hotels			15				2,327				4
Steigenberger Icon(9)			9				1,848				2
Song Hotels			6				479				2
Others			8				3,232				7
Other hotels(10)			8				3,232				7
Total			7,988				764,859				2,271

 

(6)

As of March 31, 2022, 2 operational hotels and 9 pipeline hotels of IntercityHotel were in China.

 

(7)

As of March 31, 2022, 11 operational hotels and 5 pipeline hotels of Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts were in China.

 

(8)

As of March 31, 2022, 2 operational hotels and 7 pipeline hotels of MAXX were in China.

 

(9)

As of March 31, 2022, 3 operational hotels and 1 pipeline hotel of Steigenberger Icon were in China.

 

(10)

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

 

 

 

 

About Huazhu Group Limited

 

Originated in China, Huazhu Group Limited is a world-leading hotel group. As of March 31, 2022, Huazhu operated 7,988 hotels with 764,859 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, CitiGO Hotel, Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts, MAXX, Jaz in the City, IntercityHotel, Zleep Hotels, Steigenberger Icon and Song 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 March 31, 2022, Huazhu operates 14 percent of its hotel rooms under lease and ownership model, and 86 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.