Oct 26 (Reuters) – Accor, Europe’s largest hotel group, reported better-than-expected revenue per available room (RevPAR) for the third quarter on Wednesday, continuing the strong improvement in business since the start of the year.
The easing of COVID-19 restrictions at the start of the year led to a boom in travel demand after more than two years of lockdowns, allowing the hospitality sector to raise its profit forecasts and report higher income per available room.
The group, which manages high-end chains Sofitel and Pullman and low-cost brands like Ibis, saw its third-quarter RevPAR increase by 14% compared to the same period in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic.
This figure also exceeds the forecasts of analysts compiled by the group, which expected an average growth of 9% of this key indicator of the performance of the hotel industry.
American tourists traveling to Europe have benefited from the strength of the dollar against the euro and other currencies, Chief Financial Officer Jean-Jacques Morin said in an interview with reporters.
“Between the Americans and the Chinese, you have the two large populations of travelers and these people had increased purchasing power, so we took advantage of this phenomenon,” he added.
Jean-Jacques Morin also pointed out that the strong dollar and currencies pegged to the dollar in Latin America and East Asia have boosted the group’s revenues from an accounting point of view.
While Accor has seen “slight” signs of improvement in China, the restrictions implemented as part of China’s “zero COVID” policy continue to weigh on activity, the group said in a statement.
Accor’s turnover for the third quarter jumped 83% at constant scope and exchange rates, to 1.15 billion.
For the whole of 2022, the group said it was confident of being able to reach the top of its range of objectives for net profit, which should thus be between 610 million and 640 million euros. (Report Diana Mandia and Dina Kartit; French version Dagmarah Mackos, edited by Jean-Michel Bélot)