H World Group (NASDAQ:HTHT) executives used the company’s fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings call to outline what management described as a steady recovery in China’s travel demand, continued network expansion driven by an asset-light model, and a turnaround in its Legacy-Deutsche Hospitality (Legacy-DH) business. The company also introduced 2026 revenue and unit-growth guidance, announced a $400 million cash dividend for the second half of 2025, and disclosed a CFO transition.
Management sees shifting travel demand and an opening in “value-for-money” supply
CEO Hui Jin said travel demand in China is “gradually shifting from discretionary demand to necessity,” citing data across railway, aviation, and tourism as indicators of “steadily growing travel demand.” He added that improving transportation networks are expanding accommodation needs beyond major cities and into county-level and lower-tier markets, which management called a new growth engine.
RevPAR turns positive year-over-year in Q4; rooms, GMV, and member nights rise
Hui Jin said H World maintained relatively stable occupancy while improving average daily rate (ADR) quarter by quarter. He highlighted that the fourth quarter marked the first time since the second quarter of 2024 that the company achieved positive year-over-year RevPAR growth. For full-year 2025, he said ADR was “largely flat” year over year.
Management also emphasized growth in scale and customer engagement metrics in 2025:
- Rooms in operation increased 16.2% year over year.
- Group hotel GMV grew 16.4% year over year to RMB 108.1 billion.
- Room nights sold to members rose 21.5% year over year, exceeding 245 million.
Hui Jin said the company continued upgrading its core limited-service brands—HanTing, JI, and Orange—and that the proportion of “new versions” of those brands increased further by the end of 2025.
Asset-light franchising growth and a new economy brand: HanTing Inn
Management repeatedly pointed to the growing contribution of its asset-light managed and franchised model. Hui Jin said the company’s “asset-light monetized and franchised business” delivered “solid growth” in network, revenue, and profit.
He also introduced HanTing Inn, which the company launched to expand further into lower-tier markets and to support what he called HanTing brand “purification.” He described HanTing Inn as designed to balance cost effectiveness and quality, including new room types such as multi-bedroom and family rooms to serve family and group travel. Hui Jin added that the brand incorporates smart services like self check-in and self-service laundry to balance guest experience and operating efficiency, and that it offers franchisees of older HanTing hotels a “light refurbishment” renovation option intended to be quick and lower cost.
Legacy-DH posts turnaround; integration synergies targeted for 2026
CSO Jihong He said 2025 represented a “successful business turnaround” for Legacy-DH. She reported record adjusted EBITDA of “around RMB 500 million” and said Legacy-DH’s RevPAR rose 8.2% year over year in 2025.
He attributed the improvement to revenue-management adjustments, property-level sales execution, and “disciplined efficiency programs” that reduced the cost base. She said restructuring efforts included headquarters changes and administrative cost reductions begun in late 2024 and early 2025, followed by further optimization across personnel, external services, and supply chain while maintaining organizational stability.
He also highlighted portfolio actions, including lease renegotiations and exits from loss-making properties, which she said helped transform part of the leased-hotel portfolio toward a more asset-light structure and improved resilience. Looking into 2026, she said priorities include improving commercial and operational effectiveness, adjusting revenue management by segment, and leveraging integration synergies with H World in areas such as supply chain, design and construction, technology, and loyalty. She added the company is developing a “next generation” IntercityHotel concept aimed at being more guest-friendly and operationally efficient.
In the Q&A, management said it expects to continue rental reduction, lease renegotiation, and potential exits of loss-making properties within DH, while also looking to expand the network. Management described Europe as the core international market, while also exploring Middle East and North Africa where it already has a presence, and said the Legacy-DH business is expected to remain profitable in the years ahead.
Full-year 2025 financial results, shareholder returns, and 2026 guidance
CFO Hui Chen reported that full-year 2025 group revenue increased 5.9% year over year to RMB 25.3 billion, while Legacy-Huazhu revenue rose 7.9% to RMB 20.5 billion. She said the top-line performance was driven by “high quality network expansion” and stabilized RevPAR.
Chen reported group adjusted EBITDA increased 24.2% year over year to RMB 8.5 billion, with adjusted EBITDA margin improving 4.9 percentage points to 33.5%. She said the margin expansion reflected a larger contribution from the high-margin asset-light business and improvements and cost savings from Legacy-DH. Adjusted net income increased 32.9% to RMB 4.9 billion, she said.
On cash flow and capital returns, Chen said H World generated RMB 8.4 billion in operating cash flow in 2025. She reported that at year-end 2025 the group held RMB 15.4 billion in cash and cash equivalents and RMB 9.6 billion in net cash. The company declared a $400 million cash dividend for the second half of 2025; combined with a $250 million interim dividend and about $110 million of share repurchases, Chen said total shareholder return was around $760 million for full-year 2025. She noted that the company’s previously announced $2 billion, three-year shareholder return plan is now more than 75% complete, and said the company remains committed to returning capital through dividends and/or buybacks.
For 2026, Chen guided for group revenue growth of 2% to 6% year over year (and 5% to 9% excluding DH). She guided managed and franchised revenue growth of 12% to 16%. The company expects to open 2,200 to 2,300 hotels and close 600 to 700 hotels in 2026, which management said implies about 12% year-over-year hotel network growth. In response to questions about demand and supply, Hui Jin said management is “cautiously optimistic” and is targeting flat to slightly positive year-over-year RevPAR growth in 2026, citing steady leisure demand, improving inbound travel trends, and signs that business travel has bottomed and is improving in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities.
Separately, the company announced a leadership change in finance. Chen said she will step down as CFO, with Arthur Yu taking the CFO role, while she continues as chief compliance officer. Yu told investors his priorities include building a “world-class finance function,” maintaining rigorous control and investment oversight, and providing transparent communications with capital markets. Executive Chairman Qi Ji welcomed Yu and said the appointment supports a push toward more professionalized, internationalized management as the company pursues its longer-term ambitions.
About H World Group (NASDAQ:HTHT)
H World Group, formerly known as Huazhu Group, is a leading hotel management and franchising company primarily serving the China market. The company operates a broad portfolio of midscale to luxury hotel brands, including Hi Inn, Blossom, Manxin, Madison International, Joya, Grand Mercure, Novotel, Mercure and ibis. Through a network of both directly managed and franchised properties, H World Group caters to business and leisure travelers by offering consistent service standards and loyalty benefits across its brands.
In addition to its core hotel operations, H World Group provides technology-driven hospitality solutions such as centralized reservation systems, revenue management platforms and customer relationship management tools.
