French hotel firm Accor saw notable performance gains in revenue per available room, average daily rate and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in the first half of the year.
But foreign exchange rates dominated analyst questions on Accor's first-half earnings call today.
Sébastien Bazin, chairman and CEO, said he was pleased with the company's performance, despite “a complex geopolitical environment and the impact of exchange rates.”
The impact of exchange rates to Accor’s bottom line was negative to the tune of €21 million ($24 million). Bazin said this is higher than expected, but Accor maintained its medium-term outlook first set in mid-2023.
In the first half of 2025, Accor's systemwide RevPAR increased 4.6%, revenue grew 5.1% and recurring EBITDA increased 9.4% to €552 million.
“We just cannot do [anything] about [currency exchange],” Bazin said. “We are reentering a very stringent phase of operational and financial discipline, trying to mitigate whatever we can … into contribution of profit.”
Accor's earnings benefit from stronger contributions from its loyalty program, which Bazin said get stronger with every quarter and “surpassed 100 million members a couple of months ago.”
Martine Gerow, Accor's group chief finance officer, said currency exchange losses mostly stemmed from changes to the Australian dollar (-4%), Canadian dollar (-4%) and Brazilian real (-13%). If exchange rates had remained constant, Accor's recurring EBITDA would have risen by 13.4%, not by the actual 9.4%, she added.
The impact of foreign exchange rates caused Accor's stock to fall by about 5% at Wednesday's close. At press time, Accor's stock was trading at €45.06 per share, down 2% year to date. The Euronext stock exchange index is up 8.5% year to date.
“We control all the things we can control, but there are some elements we do not, and one of them is foreign exchange. Let us accept it, and let’s fight on all the other items,” Bazin told analysts.
Gerow said Accor’s “momentum remains positive, despite the negative impact of exchange rate fluctuations, in particular the appreciation of the euro against the (U.S.) dollar.”
She added third- and fourth-quarter metrics might show year-over-year softness due to 2024 hotel performance including from the Summer Olympics in Paris last summer.
For the full year, Accor executives expect RevPAR growth between 3% and 4%, net unit growth of around 5% and recurring EBITDA growth between 9% and 10% in constant currency.
During the first six months of the year, Accor opened 117 hotels and approximately 15,000 rooms, a net unit growth of 1.9% year over year. Those openings increased the company's portfolio to 5,740 hotels and 854,695 rooms. Accor has a pipeline of 1,432 hotels and approximately 241,000 rooms.
Development on pace
Hotel development across all markets is at a record pace for Accor, Bazin said.
Recent notable deals include Accor's partnership with India’s InterGlobe that was announced in April. The joint venture calls for the addition of 300 hotels by 2030 across all Accor’s brands and its two divisions: luxury and lifestyle and premium, midscale and economy.
Accor and InterGlobe also invested a majority share of Indian hotel-franchising firm Treebo, which has approximately 800 hotels across the country.
Also in April, Accor agreed to acquire 17 hotel-management agreements from Royal Holiday Group totaling 3,200 rooms in Argentina, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the U.S. for $79 million.
A week ago, Accor announced it was entering Las Vegas with a management agreement for the 2,884-room hotel-casino Treasure Island - TI Las Vegas Hotel & Casino, Handwritten Collection, which in one swoop increased Accor’s Americas’ room count by 4%.
Accor also put into place a second tranche of a share buyback scheme valued at €240 million on top of the €200 million announced at the beginning of the year.
Bazin said 90% of Accor’s assets held by Essendi, formerly AccorInvest, now have been sold, with its full exit on pace to meet formerly announced timelines.
In May, Accor’s board agreed to extend Bazin’s contract as CEO to 2028.