Accor ‘prepared for the rebound’ despite fall in revenue and revpar

The chief executive of Accor has said the hotel group is “prepared for the rebound” of the hospitality and travel sectors despite a 10% drop in revenue to €824m (£701m).

In its half-year trading update, the group said the recovery was “gaining traction” and cost savings were “delivering results”, but earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were negative at €120m (£102m) and revenue per available room (revpar) was down by 60% against the same period in 2019.

However, the revenue decline masked mixed situations by country, with certain regions experiencing a “remarkable improvement” from the first quarter, while others continued to be hard-hit by government restrictions.

In the UK, in which revpar was also down 60% in the second quarter, regional cities and domestic demand were the driving force. London was more affected with revpar down 79%.

During the first half of the year, Accor opened 121 hotels, representing 15,000 rooms. At the end of June, it had a portfolio of 762,000 rooms (5,199 hotels) and a pipeline of 211,000 rooms (1,203 hotels). As of 26 July, 93% of its hotels were open, equating to more than 4,800 units.

Sébastien Bazin, chairman and chief executive of Accor, said: “Since May, we have seen a clear recovery. Positive signs including the ramp-up of vaccine roll-out and the progressive reopening of borders will continue throughout the summer.

“In the first half of the year, Accor significantly improved its operating performance. Furthermore, we continued to efficiently and cautiously manage our liquidity and investments. We are therefore prepared for the rebound with a solid balance sheet and an increasingly agile and efficient organisational structure. It is still too early to fully define the outlook for the end of the year, but we are confident in our ability to capture recovery in all geographies and to put into place a reinvented vision of travel.”

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