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 January 2024

Commission File Number: 001-34656

 

H World Group Limited

(Registrant’s name)

 

No. 1299 Fenghua Road

Jiading District

Shanghai
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 ¨

 

  

 

EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Number		Description of Document
Exhibit 99.1		H World Group Limited Announces Preliminary Results for Hotel Operations in the Fourth Quarter and the Full Year of 2023

 

 

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.

 

		H World Group Limited
		(Registrant)
Date: January 22, 2024	By:	/s/ Qi Ji
	Name:	Qi Ji
	Title:	Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors

 

 

 

Exhibit 99.1

 

 

 

Contact Information

Investor Relations

Tel: +86 (21) 6195 9561

Email: ir@hworld.com

https://ir.hworld.com

 

H World Group Limited Announces Preliminary Results for Hotel Operations in the Fourth Quarter and the Full Year of 2023

 

Singapore/Shanghai, China, January 22, 2024 – H World Group Limited (NASDAQ: HTHT and HKEX: 1179) (“H World”, “we” or “our”), a key player in the global hotel industry, today announced preliminary results for hotel operations in the fourth quarter (“Q4 2023”) and the full year ended December 31, 2023.

 

Business update

 

For our Legacy-Huazhu business, our RevPAR in Q4 2023 recovered to 120% of the 2019 level, supported by the sustained recovery in both leisure and business travel demand. Breaking down into each month, our RevPAR in October, November and December 2023 recovered to 120%, 117% and 123% of the 2019 levels, respectively. For the full year of 2023, our RevPAR reached 122% of the 2019 level. While the RevPAR growth in 2023 was primarily driven by ADR, we also experienced continuous recovery in the occupancy rate. With respect to the network expansion, we opened 460 hotels and closed 225 hotels in Q4 2023. We recorded a net increase of 852 hotels to our network in the full year of 2023.

 

For Steigenberger Hotels GmbH and its subsidiaries (“DH”, or “Legacy-DH”), RevPAR in Q4 2023 recovered to 111% of the 2019 level, and was marginally above the 2022 level mainly due to a higher ADR base experienced during the FIFA World Cup and the COP27 UN Climate Change Conference in Q4 2022.

 

 

 

 

Operating Results: Legacy-Huazhu⁽¹⁾

 

		Number of hotels																Number of rooms
		Opened in Q4 2023				Closed (2) in Q4 2023				Net added in Q4 2023				As of December 31, 2023				As of December 31, 2023
Leased and owned hotels			4				(5	)			(1	)			607				86,691
Manachised and franchised hotels			456				(220	)			236				8,656				798,939
Total			460				(225	)			235				9,263				885,630

 

(1)       Legacy-Huazhu refers to H World 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 Q4 2023, we temporarily closed 18 hotels for brand upgrade and business model change purposes.

 

		As of December 31, 2023
		Number of hotels				Unopened hotels in pipeline
Economy hotels			4,968			1,106
Leased and owned hotels			329			0
Manachised and franchised hotels			4,639			1,106
Midscale, upper-midscale hotels and others			4,295			1,955
Leased and owned hotels			278			9
Manachised and franchised hotels			4,017			1,946
Total			9,263			3,061

 

 

 

 

Operational hotels excluding hotels under requisition

 

		For the quarter ended
		December 31,				September 30,				December 31,				yoy
		2022				2023				2023				change
Average daily room rate (in RMB)
Leased and owned hotels			279				406				356				27.7	%
Manachised and franchised hotels			236				314				276				17.1	%
Blended			240				324				284				18.3	%
Occupancy rate (as a percentage)
Leased and owned hotels			63.1	%			87.8	%			83.7	%			+20.6 p.p.
Manachised and franchised hotels			66.6	%			85.7	%			80.1	%			+13.5 p.p.
Blended			66.2	%			85.9	%			80.5	%			+14.3 p.p.
RevPAR (in RMB)
Leased and owned hotels			176				356				298				69.4	%
Manachised and franchised hotels			157				269				221				40.9	%
Blended			159				278				229				43.8	%

 

		For the quarter ended
		December 31,				December 31,				yoy
		2019				2023				change
Average daily room rate (in RMB)
Leased and owned hotels			277				356				28.4	%
Manachised and franchised hotels			223				276				24.1	%
Blended			232				284				22.5	%
Occupancy rate (as a percentage)
Leased and owned hotels			84.7	%			83.7	%			-1.1 p.p.
Manachised and franchised hotels			81.6	%			80.1	%			-1.5 p.p.
Blended			82.2	%			80.5	%			-1.7 p.p.
RevPAR (in RMB)
Leased and owned hotels			235				298				26.8	%
Manachised and franchised hotels			182				221				21.8	%
Blended			191				229				20.0	%

 

 

 

 

Operational hotels excluding hotels under requisition

 

		For full year ended
		December 31,				December 31,				yoy
		2022				2023				change
Average daily room rate (in RMB)
Leased and owned hotels			272				372				36.9	%
Manachised and franchised hotels			231				290				25.3	%
Blended			236				299				26.6	%
Occupancy rate (as a percentage)
Leased and owned hotels			63.9	%			82.8	%			+18.9 p.p.
Manachised and franchised hotels			67.1	%			80.8	%			+13.8 p.p.
Blended			66.7	%			81.1	%			+14.4 p.p.
RevPAR (in RMB)
Leased and owned hotels			174				308				77.4	%
Manachised and franchised hotels			155				234				51.0	%
Blended			157				242				53.9	%

 

		For full year ended
		December 31,				December 31,				yoy
		2019				2023				change
Average daily room rate (in RMB)
Leased and owned hotels			276				372				34.5	%
Manachised and franchised hotels			224				290				29.1	%
Blended			234				299				27.4	%
Occupancy rate (as a percentage)
Leased and owned hotels			87.0	%			82.8	%			-4.1 p.p.
Manachised and franchised hotels			83.8	%			80.8	%			-2.9 p.p.
Blended			84.4	%			81.1	%			-3.3 p.p.
RevPAR (in RMB)
Leased and owned hotels			240				308				28.1	%
Manachised and franchised hotels			188				234				24.6	%
Blended			198				242				22.4	%

 

 

 

 

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												For the quarter												For the quarter
		As of								ended								yoy				ended								yoy				ended								yoy
		December 31,								December 31,								change				December 31,								change				December 31,								change
		2022				2023				2022				2023								2022				2023								2022				2023				(p.p.)
Economy hotels			3,641				3,641				129				173				34.5	%			184				212				14.9	%			69.8	%			81.7	%			+11.9
Leased and owned hotels			318				318				134				209				56.6	%			200				248				24.1	%			66.8	%			84.3	%			+17.5
Manachised and franchised hotels			3,323				3,323				128				168				31.3	%			182				206				13.3	%			70.2	%			81.3	%			+11.1
Midscale, upper-midscale hotels and others			2,898				2,898				197				283				44.2	%			302				351				16.0	%			65.0	%			80.8	%			+15.8
Leased and owned hotels			250				250				223				370				66.0	%			364				445				22.2	%			61.3	%			83.2	%			+22.0
Manachised and franchised hotels			2,648				2,648				193				271				40.5	%			294				337				14.4	%			65.5	%			80.5	%			+14.9
Total			6,539				6,539				164				230				40.8	%			243				283				16.7	%			67.3	%			81.2	%			+13.9

 

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 December 31,								For the year ended December 31,								yoy change				For the year ended December 31,								yoy change				For the year ended December 31,								yoy change
		2022				2023				2022				2023								2022				2023								2022				2023				(p.p.)
Economy hotels			3,641				3,641				129				186				44.4	%			180				225				25.1	%			71.5	%			82.5	%			+11.0
Leased and owned hotels			318				318				135				225				65.9	%			196				266				36.0	%			69.2	%			84.3	%			+15.2
Manachised and franchised hotels			3,323				3,323				128				180				41.0	%			178				219				23.2	%			71.8	%			82.2	%			+10.4
Midscale, upper-midscale hotels and others			2,898				2,898				198				301				51.9	%			304				369				21.7	%			65.2	%			81.4	%			+16.2
Leased and owned hotels			250				250				219				381				74.0	%			365				465				27.5	%			60.1	%			82.0	%			+21.9
Manachised and franchised hotels			2,648				2,648				195				288				48.0	%			295				354				20.1	%			66.0	%			81.3	%			+15.3
Total			6,539				6,539				163				244				49.4	%			239				298				24.6	%			68.3	%			81.9	%			+13.6

 

 

 

 

Operating Results: Legacy-DH⁽³⁾

 

		Number of hotels												Number of rooms			Unopened hotels in pipeline
		Opened in Q4 2023			Closed in Q4 2023			Net added in Q4 2023			As of December  31, 2023(4)			As of December  31,2023			As of December  31,2023
Leased hotels			2			-			2			84			16,303			21
Manachised and franchised hotels			-			-			-			47			10,511			16
Total			2			-			2			131			26,814			37

 

(3)       Legacy-DH refers to DH.

 

(4)       As of December 31, 2023, a total of 2 hotels were temporarily closed due to repair work.

 

 

 

 

		For the quarter ended
		December 31,			September 30,			December 31,			yoy
		2022			2023			2023			change
Average daily room rate (in EUR)
Leased hotels			114			113			118			3.1	%
Manachised and franchised hotels			134			116			111			-17.3	%
Blended			122			114			115			-5.9	%
Occupancy rate (as a percentage)
Leased hotels			60.0	%		71.4	%		64.7	%		+4.7 p.p.
Manachised and franchised hotels			58.3	%		65.5	%		62.6	%		+4.3 p.p.
Blended			59.3	%		69.0	%		63.8	%		+4.5 p.p.
RevPAR (in EUR)
Leased hotels			68			81			76			11.2	%
Manachised and franchised hotels			78			76			69			-11.2	%
Blended			72			79			73			1.3	%

 

		For full year ended
		December 31,			December 31,			yoy
		2022			2023			change
Average daily room rate (in EUR)
Leased and owned hotels			110			115			4.6	%
Manachised and franchised hotels			113			110			-3.2	%
Blended			111			113			1.4	%
Occupancy Rate (as a percentage)
Leased and owned hotels			56.0	%		64.7	%		+8.7 p.p.
Manachised and franchised hotels			56.4	%		61.6	%		+5.1 p.p.
Blended			56.2	%		63.4	%		+7.2 p.p.
RevPAR (in EUR)
Leased and owned hotels			61			74			20.9	%
Manachised and franchised hotels			64			67			5.6	%
Blended			62			71			14.5	%

 

 

 

 

Hotel Portfolio by Brand

 

		As of December 31, 2023
		Hotels			Rooms			Unopened hotels
		in operation						in pipeline
Economy hotels			4,984			407,657			1,121
HanTing Hotel			3,598			317,647			731
Hi Inn			471			24,431			180
Ni Hao Hotel			269			20,009			177
Elan Hotel			404			21,012			1
Ibis Hotel			226			22,659			17
Zleep Hotels			16			1,899			15
Midscale hotels			3,543			379,614			1,503
Ibis Styles Hotel			105			10,607			24
Starway Hotel			670			55,786			228
JI Hotel			2,116			244,175			936
Orange Hotel			652			69,046			315
Upper midscale hotels			704			98,508			397
Crystal Orange Hotel			183			23,664			119
CitiGO Hotel			35			5,308			4
Manxin Hotel			137			12,678			69
Madison Hotel			90			11,704			64
Mercure Hotel			164			25,803			58
Novotel Hotel			23			5,763			17
IntercityHotel(5)			63			12,219			64
MAXX(6)			9			1,369			2
Upscale hotels			137			21,046			69
Jaz in the City			3			587			1
Joya Hotel			7			1,234			-
Blossom House			63			2,791			56
Grand Mercure Hotel			10			2,039			2
Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts(7)			54			14,395			10
Luxury hotels			16			2,360			2
Steigenberger Icon(8)			9			1,847			2
Song Hotels			7			513			-
Others			10			3,259			6
Other hotels(9)			10			3,259			6
Total			9,394			912,444			3,098

 

(5)

As of December 31, 2023, 9 operational hotels and 53 pipeline hotels of IntercityHotel were in China.

 

(6)

As of December 31, 2023, 4 operational hotels and 2 pipeline hotels of MAXX were in China.

 

(7)

As of December 31, 2023, 11 operational hotels and 3 pipeline hotels of Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts were in China.

 

(8)

As of December 31, 2023, 3 operational hotels and 1 pipeline hotel of Steigenberger Icon were in China.

 

(9)

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

 

 

 

 

About H World Group Limited

 

Originated in China, H World Group Limited is a key player in the global hotel industry. As of December 31, 2023, H World operated 9,394 hotels with 912,444 rooms in operation in 18 countries. H World’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, H World 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.

 

H World’s business includes leased and owned, manachised and franchised models. Under the lease and ownership model, H World directly operates hotels typically located on leased or owned properties. Under the manachise model, H World manages manachised hotels through the on-site hotel managers that H World appoints, and H World collects fees from franchisees. Under the franchise model, H World provides training, reservations and support services to the franchised hotels, and collects fees from franchisees but does not appoint on-site hotel managers. H World applies a consistent standard and platform across all of its hotels. As of December 31, 2023, H World operates 11 percent of its hotel rooms under lease and ownership model, and 89 percent under manachise and franchise model.

 

For more information, please visit H World’s website: https://ir.hworld.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.

 

H World 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.