Accor plans to add more than 1,200 hotels

Accor plans to open more than 1,200 hotels in the next five years, increasing the number of its resorts by more than one-fifth, Europe’s biggest hotel group said in a Reuters report.

The hotel industry has benefited from higher prices and a rebound in travel demand in the wake of the pandemic, with consumers rushing to travel even as rising interest rates stoke fears of a recession and inflation erodes household purchasing power.

Accor also raised its outlook at its capital markets day, forecasting its 2023 revenue per room (RevPAR) to grow by 15% to 20% amid reorganisation plans that were implemented in January.

The firm expects core earnings before interests, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) this year of 920-960 million euros ($1.01-$1.05 billion).

CEO Sebastien Bazin attributes the growth to the “confirmation of a very broad international demand across the different countries, a summer that will be a good one based on current confirmation of booking occupancy, and therefore demand that is only growing in almost all the Group’s segments, in almost all geographies,” he said on a call.

The French-listed group aims to grow its EBITDA by 9-12% annually from 2023 through 2027.

Accor said it plans to return around 3 billion euros to shareholders in that period via dividends and share buybacks.