AccorHotels, which has been on a tear of acquisitions in the
lodging space and elsewhere, will look to acquire additional businesses in
2018, according to chairman and CEO Sebastien Bazin.
Bazin, during an overview of the company's full-year
2017 results and strategic plans, said Accor's strong performance gives it the
means to continue to pursue acquisitions.
The companies Accor purchased last year include business
travel solutions and distribution company Gekko
Group, vacation rental provider TravelKeys,
upscale and luxury hotel booking platform VeryChic and channel management
solution Availpro.
Accor is also awaiting the close of its acquisition of Asia/Pacific-focused
hotelier Mantra
Group. Accor's new
businesses division more than doubled its full-year revenue year over year
owing to the new acquisitions, growing from 44 million euros in 2016 to 100
million euros in 2017. In like-for-like terms, the division saw 6.9 percent
revenue growth year over year.
CFO Jean-Jacques Morin said the company is on track to break
even on those acquisitions by 2019. Bazin pointed out that while the
acquisitions that make up the new businesses division get Accor a lot of
attention, they still comprise only a small portion of Accor's investment
spending since 2014: about 10 percent, or 600 million euros. Thirty percent of
its investment money has gone toward hotel assets, and 60 percent has gone
toward the hotel services division, which includes the acquisitions of FRHI
and Mantra Group and stakes in brands like Mama Shelter and Thailand's Banyan
Tree.
Bazin characterized Accor's new businesses and homegrown
initiatives that take the company beyond its core, such as AccorLocal, as a way
for the company to find growth in new areas and stay in the minds of consumers
beyond when they stay in hotels. "Will we succeed? I don't know," he said
via an English translator. "Will we give it a try? For sure."
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Earnings Results
Comparable systemwide occupancy increased 3.1 percentage
points year over year during the fourth quarter to 68 percent, and average
daily rate increased 1.4 percent to 87 euros. For the full year, occupancy
increased 2.5 percentage points to 68.8 percent and ADR grew 0.9 percent to 89
euros.
On a market and region basis, France and Switzerland saw
full-year revenue per available room grow 4.2 percent year over year, while
Europe RevPAR increased 6.5 percent. North America, Central America and the
Caribbean recorded a 5.7 percent year-over-year gain in RevPAR, and Asia/Pacific
saw a 5.8 percent increase. South America reported a 3.4 percent decline in
RevPAR, and the Middle East and Africa posted a 0.8 percent increase.
As of Dec. 31, Accor's portfolio totaled 4,283 hotels, or
616,181 rooms, across 99 countries. Its pipeline is 874 hotels, or 161,000
rooms. Almost half of that is for rooms in the Asia/Pacific region, and one-fifth
is for rooms in the Middle East and Africa.
Accor's full-year net profit totaled 481 million euros, up
from 299 euros in 2016.
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