Martine Gerow, group CFO of Accor, was on her own. Conspicuously absent during the French lodging company’s first-quarter sales and revenue call was Accor CEO Sébastien Bazin, one of the frankest and most outspoken chiefs on the hospitality executive circuit. Amid the most pivotal time for the travel industry since the global pandemic, Bazin could have been the candid and direct voice within a cacophony of confusion. Maybe that was the point.
Of all the large lodging companies, Paris-based Accor draws almost all its business in regions outside the U.S. Data point to a retrenchment of travel to the U.S. (Accor has a total of 108 hotels in North America, the bulk of which belonging to its luxury and lifestyle brands, out of more than 5,500 hotels worldwide), where, in March, the number of overseas visitors fell nearly 12% compared to the same time in 2024, according to data from the International Trade Administration. Only about 5% of Accor’s total global room revenue is derived from the U.S. In that way, Accor is insulated better than its global counterparts that have a much higher percentage of hotels in the U.S. Those companies report their Q1 numbers in the coming weeks.
Absent Bazin, Gerow offered some of the first data pointing to a slowdown in travel to the U.S. “In March, bookings to the U.S. [were] down 10% and [from] some European countries [it was] more,” she said, citing Germany, Denmark and the U.K.
Due north of the U.S., Canada is one of Accor’s largest high-rated feeder markets with 27 hotels, the bulk of them under its luxury Fairmont Hotels & Resorts flag. Traveler data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection show visitors coming across the northern border was down 12.5% YOY in February and off 18% for March. Gerow noted the trend as a boon for Accor. “It’s actually benefiting us, where we see Canadians who are planning to travel in the U.S. actually staying in Canada,” she said. “If they don’t come to the U.S., they usually end up going somewhere where Accor is present.”
On The Number
For the quarter, Accor RevPAR was up 5% YOY, driven predominantly by rate as occupancy only was up just 1 percentage point. Despite U.S. headwinds, RevPAR in America was was up 13.1% in the quarter, proof of Accor’s large presence especially in South America, where it has 400 hotels, mostly in Brazil, which posted mid-teens RevPAR growth. China, which accounts for 16% of the region’s hotel room revenue, continued to be a drag, with RevPAR variation remaining negative, “with the recovery in tourist flows appearing to mainly benefit overseas tourism, particularly in Southeast Asia,” Accor said.
Broken out by segments, RevPAR in Accor’s premium, midscale and economy category grew 3.4% YOY while luxury and lifestyle RevPAR grew 8.3% YOY.
In the first quarter of 2025, Accor opened 45 hotels corresponding to more than 5,900 rooms and representing net unit growth of 2.7% over the last 12 months. Accor said net unit growth should accelerate from the start of the second half of 2025. At the end of March 2025, the Accor had a hotel network of 847,290 rooms and a pipeline of more than 235,000 rooms.
Earlier this month, Accor announced a deal with InterGlobe aimed at expanding Accor’s presence in India. The agreement involves the creation of a unified platform and a strategic investment in Treebo, a budget-hotel platform, with a stated objective is to reach 300 Accor-branded hotels in India by 2030. Also this month, Accor entered into exclusive negotiations with Royal Holiday Group to acquire management agreements for 17 properties across Mexico, Argentina, Puerto Rico and the U.S. The deal covers 3,200 keys with six all-inclusive resorts in Mexico (1,660 keys) to be operated by Ennismore and 11 resorts and city hotels (1,540 keys) to be managed by Accor Premium Midscale & Economy Americas.
“We expect our net unit growth to accelerate in the second half as we lap over the Daiwa portfolio conversion, which had boosted NUG in the second quarter of last year, combined with what we see as strong planned openings in the third and fourth quarter now,” Gerow said.
