Chinese hotel firm H World Group — formerly Huazhu Hotels Group — has launched a new budget brand called Hanting Inn.
Designed "with a lower investment threshold, simplified construction standards and greater flexibility in location and property type," according to the company, Hanting Inn joins H World Group's existing Hanting brand family. Hanting Hotels, concentrated in Greater China, has 4,531 hotels open already.
H World said it is this large number that provides “the scale and operational foundation that underpins the launch of Hanting Inn and reinforces H World Group’s long-term commitment to asset-light growth and leadership in the economy hotel segment.”
It added the lower-tier Hanting Inn brand would have a “faster rollout and deeper penetration into lower-tier cities and price-sensitive markets,” and be ideal for hotel conversions.
The Shanghai-based H World Group has a market capitalization of $15.98 billion. As of September 2025, H World across all its brands had 12,702 hotels and approximately 1.25 million rooms in 20 countries.
The group's primarily Asian hotel brands include HanTing, JI Hotel and Crystal Orange Hotel. In November 2019, H World acquired Germany-based Deutsche Hospitality for approximately €700 million ($833 million). Deutsche was the parent of Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts, and also owned the Danish Zleep Hotels brand. Both now are under H World Group's ownership. H World also is the master franchiser in the Greater China region for Accor brands Ibis, Ibis Styles and Mercure.
H World’s shares closed on Feb. 10 at $51.93, a 57% year-over-year increase. It primarily trades on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, which in the same period has seen its worth increase by 31.2%.