Unprecedented price increases and a still very strong appetite for travel have propelled Accor's results to the top in 2023. The sixth largest hotel group in the world (Ibis, Sofitel, Novotel, Mercure, Pullman, Raffles, Fairmont, etc.) has announced , this Thursday morning, record performances, higher than its own forecasts.
Turnover increased by 30% to 5 billion euros.
As for the net profit, it soared by 57.5% to 633 million euros (+57.5%).
“In 2023, Accor recorded record results and crossed the billion euro mark in gross operating surplus for the first time in its history,”
says Sébastien Bazin, CEO.
During 2023, Accor opened 291 hotels corresponding to 41,000 rooms, representing net network growth of 2.4% over the last 12 months.
The first half of the year had already set the trend.
Taking advantage of a strong recovery in international travel, Accor had increased its room rates by 30%, without this causing its customers to flee.
The occupancy rate of 64% was tangential to its pre-Covid level of 68%.
The annual report confirms this positive trend.
“
The group has deployed its growth in all segments and across all geographic areas, demonstrating the strength of its
asset light model,
the efficiency of its organization around its two divisions
–
premium, mid-range and economic on the one hand and luxury and lifestyle on the other hand
–
the desirability of its brands, the strength of its distribution and loyalty tools, and its financial discipline,”
explains Sébastien Bazin.
Favorable global trend for the hotel industry
Investors are not mistaken.
Last year, Accor's stock price jumped by around 45%, to the point that the hotel giant is a candidate for a return to the CAC 40.
“There is a very favorable global trend for the hotel industry,”
notes Olivier Petit, managing director of the In Extenso tourism, culture & hotel industry.
Like all of its competitors, the group is benefiting from the strong rebound in travel since the end of Covid.
Last year, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) recorded nearly 1.3 billion international travelers, 40% more than in 2022.
Despite waning purchasing power, traveling is one of consumers' priority expenses.
Clothing purchases make you look dull, cars drive longer before being replaced.
Tourism is thriving.
Macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties do not change anything: leisure activities capture an increasingly large part of household budgets.
On the other hand, they weigh on the choice of destinations.
The rise of Asia is the best proof of this.
The region was the last to open after Covid.
It is booming.
Return of business customers
In addition to sustained demand for leisure, Accor is benefiting from teleworking and flex office.
These two new ways of working help to bring back a long-awaited business clientele to its establishments.
Teleworking encourages many employees to take long weekends, even if it means working part of the time in their hotel room.
The flex office, for its part, boosts company meetings: what better way to maintain team spirit than to bring everyone together for a seminar?
If certain business trips have been replaced by videoconferencing, the demand from companies to rent rooms –
and rooms –, in more or less upscale hotels, is picking up much faster than expected.
With around forty brands ranging from economy to luxury, and more than 5,500 hotels in operation in 110 countries, Accor is able to respond to the greatest number of requests.
The group is all the more confident, for 2024, as the UNWTO forecasts are encouraging.
According to the organization's forecasts, international arrivals should increase by another 2%.
The calendar of major events is particularly favorable, particularly in France with the Olympic Games this summer in Paris.
In addition to resuming a dividend payment policy, Accor confirms its growth forecasts for the future.
In particular, annual growth of 3 to 4% in average revenue per room (RevPar, a key sector indicator), by 2027.